Using Windows Ease of Access Center

The quickest way to get to the Ease of Access Center is to press the Windows key and U at the same time. The long way is to click on the Start Menu, then choose the Control Panel, then click on the Ease of Access heading and then on the Ease of Access Center link. When the Ease of Access Center is first opened recommendations may be offered. If not, click on ‘Get recommendations to make your computer easier to use’: we will briefly work through these options before taking a look at how to enable tools on a standalone basis.

The Ease of Access recommendations tool asks questions regarding eyesight, dexterity, hearing, speech and reasoning abilities. Tick the box next to any statements that apply, clicking Next at each stage. Most of these statements refer to specific physical impairments, such as blindness and deafness. However, some can apply to anyone (like ‘lighting conditions make it difficult to see images on my monitor’). When completed, some suggestions will be presented ­ these can be enabled by ticking the relevant boxes and then clicking Save at the bottom of the page when finished.

The recommendations tend to be more relevant to disabled people and some hidden gems may need to be turned on separately. Mouse Keys is one such jewel, allowing the mouse pointer to be controlled using the numeric keypad on the right of a full-size keyboard instead of a mouse. Numbers 8, 2, 4 and 6 move the pointer up, down, left and right respectively, while 7, 9, 1 and 3 move the cursor diagonally and number 5 can be used to left-click. Mouse Keys can come in handy if your mouse breaks, but it’s also useful when trying to draw straight lines in graphics programs. To enable Mouse Keys, click on the ‘Make the keyboard easier to use’ link followed by the ‘Set up Mouse Keys’ link.

Now tick the box next to where it says ‘Turn on Mouse Keys’ and click Apply at the bottom of the page. The default Mouse Keys settings move the pointer around pretty slowly ­ especially problematic on large displays ­ so adjust the Top speed and Acceleration sliders until the pointer moves at an appropriate speed and click Apply when done. Under the Other Settings heading, select Off and click Apply if you want to be able to use the numeric pad when NumLock is enabled and the Mouse Keys when it is disabled. NumLock can be turned on and off by pressing the NumLock key above the number pad.

Modern computer screens have very high resolutions. This shows more detail but can also cause squinting. That’s where the Magnifier tool comes in. Click on the Start Magnifier button in the Ease of Access Center and you’re away. Typing and mouse pointer movements are then magnified in a strip at the top of the screen. The magnification strip can be moved around the Desktop by selecting a new location from the Dock position dropdown menu. The magnification level can also be increased via the Scale factor dropdown menu. If you don’t need magnification any more, click on the application’s top right Close button.

Sometimes, sunlight can make it difficult to read the screen. The high-contrast setting changes white backgrounds to black ones and dark edges and text to white. This makes Windows look like it’s from the early 1990s but it can solve legibility problems. To turn on the high-contrast setting, click on the Set up High Contrast button in the Ease of Access Center. Then tick the first box under the High Contrast heading and click Save at the bottom of the page. A high-contrast theme will now be turned on (or off) by pressing Alt and left Shift and Print Screen at the same time.