Web accessibility
The Council would like its website to be as easy to use and understand for as many visitors as possible. We hope that this guide is helpful for new users. It explains how you can:
- change the text size and colour;
- access PDF documents;
- have a document read out loud;
- get around the site if you don’t have a computer mouse.
Text size and colour
You can change the size and font style of the text, and the colour scheme of the website. This may be useful for you if you have impaired vision and need larger fonts or high contrast colours.
Changing font style and colour scheme
- Click on ‘Tools’ on the toolbar in your web browser and choose ‘Internet options’.
- Click the ‘Accessibility’ button and tick the following boxes. Then click ‘OK’:
Ignore colors specified on Web pages
Ignore font styles specified on Web pages
Ignore font sizes specified on Web pages
- Now you can click on ‘Fonts’ and/or ‘Colors’ and change the font style and color scheme.
Changing text size on a PC
- To alter the text size, click on ‘View’ on the toolbar of your web browser and choose ‘Text size’. Chose the size you want from options on a scale from ‘Largest’ to ‘Smallest’.
Changing text size on an Apple Mac
- Select ‘Preferences’ from the Edit menu in your web browser. From there, click on ‘Web content’ and uncheck the ‘Show style sheets’ option.
- Return to the list of preferences and choose ‘Web browser’. Then click on ‘Language/fonts’ and choose the size you need.
PDF accessibility
PDF (Portable Document Format) files are documents that you can read on your screen or print out. All Council publications are available as PDF files. You need the programme Adobe Reader to view them. This can be downloaded free of charge from www.adobe.com.
Useful information about how to make Adobe Reader documents more accessible is provided on Adobe's website: www.adobe.com/enterprise/accessibility/main.html.
Read Out Loud function
If you have audio speakers on your computer, Adobe Reader can read out loud the text of a document, which may be useful if you have impaired vision.
- Open the document in Adobe Reader. Click on ‘View’ on the toolbar and then ‘Read Out Loud’.
Keyboard navigation
You don’t have to use a mouse to navigate the Council’s website. You can use your arrow keys to scroll up or down the page. You can use your Tab key to move between links, and press Return or Enter to select one. To go back to the previous page, use the Backspace key.
Last Updated Tue, 20 December 2005