MORE ABOUT COMPUTER

                                                           

Make Your PC Easier To Use

There are lots of ways to set up your PC to make it more accessible and meet your needs. All accessibility options are available in PC settings. To get to them, swipe in from the right edge of the screen and tap Settings (or if you're using a mouse, point to the lower-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer up, and click Settings), tap or click Change PC settings, and then tap or click Ease of Access.

The most commonly used accessibility options are also available from the sign-in screen. Tap or click the Ease of Access button in the lower-left corner and choose the features or settings for your PC that you want.

Note

You can also get to accessibility settings from the desktop by pressing the Windows logo key + U. 

Use The PC Without a Display

With Narrator, you can interact with your PC without a display. For example, you can hear audio descriptions for the interface or videos, set up Text-to-Speech, and choose how long notifications are retained to be read. For more info, see Hear text read aloud with Narrator.

Hear text read aloud with Narrator

Narrator is a screen reader that reads text on the screen aloud and describes events like error messages so you can use your PC without a display.

Note

Narrator is available in English (United States, United Kingdom, and India), French, Italian, German, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin (Chinese Simplified and Chinese Traditional), Cantonese (Chinese Traditional), Spanish (Spain and Mexico), Polish, Russian, and Portuguese (Brazil).

Starting Narrator

There are different ways to start Narrator. These are the three shortcuts many people prefer:

• On a keyboard, press the Windows logo key +Enter.
• On a tablet, press the Windows logo button and Volume Up button together.
• On the sign-in screen, tap or click the Ease of access button in the lower-left corner and choose Narrator.

Another way to get to Narrator is to use search:

1. Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, and then tap Search.
   (If you're using a mouse, point to the lower-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer up, and then click Search.)
2. Enter Narrator in the search box, and then tap or click Narrator.

Notes

• If you want to get started right away, press Caps Lock+F1 after you open Narrator, or tap the touchscreen three times with four fingers. This will show you all of the Narrator commands.
• If you want to use Caps Lock to capitalize letters while you're using Narrator, press the Caps Lock key twice in quick succession.

Exiting Narrator

There are also different ways to exit Narrator. These are the two shortcuts many people prefer:

• On a keyboard, press the Windows logo key +Enter.
• On a tablet, press the Windows logo button and Volume Up button together.

New touch gestures

Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1 have new actions and new locations for common commands. Here are a few important gestures to get you started.

Use this touch gesture	To do this
Swipe in from the right edge with one finger	Open the charms (Search, Share, Start, Devices, Settings)
Swipe in from the left edge with one finger	Switch apps, snap them to the side, and close them
Swipe in from the top or bottom edge with one finger	Show app commands like Save, Edit, and Delete

Note

The press and hold gesture isn't supported in Narrator.

New keyboard shortcuts

Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1 have new keyboard shortcuts too. Here are a few helpful ones.

Use this keyboard shortcut	To do this
Windows logo key‌ +C	Open the charms (Search, Share, Start, Devices, Settings)
Windows logo key‌ +Z	Show app commands like Save, Edit, and Delete
Windows logo key‌ +period	Snap apps to the side
Windows logo key‌ +Tab or Alt+Tab	Switch apps

Narrator settings

You can change settings for Narrator in PC settings. To find these settings:

1. Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, tap Settings, and then tap Change PC settings.
   (If you're using a mouse, point to the lower-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer up, click Settings, and then click Change PC settings.)
2. Tap or click Ease of Access, and then change any of the following settings.

Hear what's on the screen

• Narrator. Use this slider to turn Narrator on or off.
• Start narrator automatically. This setting controls whether Narrator starts automatically each time you sign in.

Voice

• Choose a voice. With this drop-down menu you can select different types of voices in Narrator, if they're available in your language.
• Speed. You can change the speed of the voice with this slider.
• Pitch. You can change the pitch of the voice with this slider.

Sounds you hear

• Read hints for controls and buttons. This option controls whether Narrator will read hints about how to interact with common items such as buttons, links, list items, and sliders.
• Characters you type. You can choose whether or not Narrator reads each key you type.
• Words you type. Choose whether or not Narrator reads the words that you type.
• Lower the volume of other apps when Narrator is running. This option makes other apps quieter so it's easier to hear Narrator.
• Play audio cues. This option turns on the extra sounds that Narrator plays when you do certain actions.

Cursor and keys

• Highlight the cursor. This option lets you show or hide the box that highlights where Narrator is on your screen.
• Have insertion point follow Narrator. This option lets you show or hide the box that highlights where Narrator is on your screen.
• Activate keys on touch keyboard when I lift my finger off the keyboard. If touch mode is available, you can turn this setting on so you can type faster using the touch keyboard. With this setting, you can drag to search for the item you're looking for and lift your finger to press the key.

Keyboard commands

Use this keyboard shortcut	To do this
Ctrl	Stop reading
Windows logo key +Enter	Exit Narrator
Caps Lock+Space	Do primary action
Caps Lock+Right arrow	Move to next item
Caps Lock+Left Arrow	Move to previous item
Caps Lock+Up arrow	Change view
Caps Lock+Down arrow	Change view
Caps Lock + A	Change verbosity mode
Caps Lock+F1	Show commands list
Caps Lock+F2	Show commands for current item
Caps Lock+F3	Jump to next cell in row
Caps Lock+Shift+F3	Jump to previous cell in row
Caps Lock+F4	Jump to next cell in column
Caps Lock+Shift+F4	Jump to previous cell in column
Caps Lock+F5	Read which row and column Narrator is in
Caps Lock+F6	Jump to table cell
Caps Lock+F7	Read current column
Caps Lock+F8	Read current row
Caps Lock+F9	Read current column header
Caps Lock+F10	Read current row header
Caps Lock+F11	Toggle touch mode on/off
Caps Lock+F12	Toggle keystroke announcements
Caps Lock+Z	Lock Narrator Key
Caps Lock+X	Pass keys to app
Caps Lock+V	Repeat last phrase
Caps Lock+Page Up	Increase voice volume
Caps Lock+Page Down	Decrease voice volume
Caps Lock+Plus	Increase voice speed
Caps Lock+Minus	Decrease voice speed
Caps Lock+D	Read item
Caps Lock+F	Read item advanced
Caps Lock+S	Read item spelled out or read detailed reading for Japanese or Korean
Caps Lock+W	Read Window
Caps Lock+R	Read all items in containing area
Caps Lock+Q	Move to last item in containing area
Caps Lock+G	Move Narrator cursor to system cursor
Caps Lock+T	Move Narrator cursor to pointer
Caps Lock+Tilde	Set focus to item
Caps Lock+Backspace	Go back one item
Caps Lock+Insert	Jump to linked item
Caps Lock+M	Start reading
Caps Lock+Close bracket	Read text from start to cursor
Caps Lock+O	Read text attributes
Caps Lock+H	Read document
Caps Lock+U	Read next page
Caps Lock+Ctrl+U	Read current page
Caps Lock+Shift+U	Read previous page
Caps Lock+I	Read next paragraph
Caps Lock+Ctrl+I	Read current paragraph
Caps Lock+Shift+I	Read previous paragraph
Caps Lock+O	Read next line
Caps Lock+Ctrl+O	Read current line
Caps Lock+Shift+O	Read previous line
Caps Lock+P	Read next word
Caps Lock+Ctrl+P	Read current word
Caps Lock+Shift+P	Read previous word
Caps Lock+Open bracket	Read next character
Caps Lock+Ctrl+Open bracket	Read current character
Caps Lock+Shift+Open bracket	Read previous character
Caps Lock+J	Jump to next heading
Caps Lock+Shift+J	Jump to previous heading
Caps Lock+K	Jump to next table
Caps Lock+Shift+K	Jump to previous table
Caps Lock+L	Jump to next link
Caps Lock+Shift+L	Jump to previous link
Caps Lock+Y	Move to beginning of text
Caps Lock+B	Move to end of text
Caps Lock+C	Read current date/time

Touch commands

If you have a new PC that supports four or more contact points, you can use touch commands to control your PC.

Use this touch command	To do this
Swipe left/right with one finger	Move to next or previous item
Swipe up/down with one finger	Change move increment
Tap or drag a single finger	Read what's under your finger
Double-tap with one finger	Activate primary action
Triple-tap with one finger	Activate secondary action
Swipe left/right/up/down with two fingers	Scroll
Tap with two fingers	Stop Narrator from reading
Double-tap with two fingers	Show context menu
Hold with one finger and tap with a second	Activate primary action
Hold with one finger and double-tap with a second	Activate secondary action
Swipe left/right with three fingers	Tab forward and backward
Swipe up with three fingers	Read current window
Swipe down with three fingers	Start reading explorable text
Tap with three fingers	Change verbosity mode
Double-tap with three fingers	Read Text Attributes
Hold with one finger and tap with two other fingers	Start dragging or extra key options
Swipe left/right with four fingers	Move Narrator cursor to beginning / end of unit
Swipe up/down with four fingers	Turn zoom on/off
Tap with four fingers	Show commands for current item
Double-tap with four fingers	Toggle search mode
Triple-tap with four fingers	Show Narrator commands list

Note

Narrator provides basic screen-reading capabilities so you can use Windows when you don't have a more comprehensive screen reader. Narrator isn't designed to read content in all apps. For more info about screen readers and other assistive technologies, go online and search for the Microsoft Accessibility website.

Make it easier to see what's on the screen

To make your screen easier to see, you can change some common settings under Ease of Access.

• Magnifier. Enlarges part—or all—of your screen so you can see the words and images better. You can choose to invert colors and whether to start Magnifier automatically.
• High contrast. Turn on high contrast if it’s hard to read text on your screen because you need more color contrast, you can turn on high contrast. You can choose from a selection of themes.
• Other options. Turn off animations in Windows, adjust cursor thickness, and make other selections to customize your visual experience. 

Make typing easier

You can customize your keyboard experience to make it easier to use. Tap or click Keyboard, and then select the options that you want.

• On-Screen Keyboard. If you prefer to use your PC without using a keyboard, try using On-Screen Keyboard, which lets you enter text by selecting characters on the screen.
• Sticky Keys. With Sticky Keys turned on, you won't have to press complicated key combos. For example, instead of pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del at the same time, you can press keys one at a time.
• Toggle Keys. Toggle Keys play a notification each time you press the Caps Lock, Num Lock, or Scroll Lock keys. These notifications can help prevent the frustration of inadvertently pressing a key and not realizing it.
• Filter Keys. When you turn on Filter Keys, Windows ignores when you press the same key rapidly or when you press keys for several seconds unintentionally.

You can also use Speech Recognition to dictate text or control your PC with voice commands. For more info, see Using Speech Recognition.

Make it easier to use the mouse

You can make the mouse easier to use. Tap or click Mouse, and then and select the options that you want to use:

• Change the color and size of mouse pointers. You can use these options to make the mouse pointer larger, or change the color of the pointer to make it easier to see.
• Turn on Mouse Keys. If using a mouse is awkward or difficult, you can turn on Mouse Keys so you don't need to use a mouse. Instead, you can use the numeric keypad or the arrow keys on your keyboard to move the pointer.

Notes

• If you prefer to use your PC without using a mouse, try using Windows Speech Recognition, a tool that lets you use voice commands to work with Windows. For more info, see Using Speech Recognition.
• If you're looking for new ways to use a mouse and keyboard, see Mouse and keyboard: What's new.

Get recommendations for Ease of Access settings

If you're not sure which settings to use, fill out the Ease of Access questionnaire to get recommendations.

1. Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, and then tap Search.
   (If you're using a mouse, point to the lower-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer up, and then click Search.)
2. Enter current accessibility settings in the search box, and then tap or click View current accessibility settings.
3. Tap or click Get recommendations to make your computer easier to use and follow the instructions on the screen.

For more info about other assistive technologies, go online and search for the Microsoft Accessibility website.