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Library Accessibility Services

This guides provides details about accessibility options at National University Library.

Browser Accessibility

Please note that some browsers work better than others with the Library website and its resources. If you experience an issue with a library resource, we recommend testing in a different browser.

Some accessibility features are common to all browsers, such as using the keyboard to zoom in or out on a web page:

Press CTRL + PLUS SIGN (+) to zoom in, or CTRL + HYPHEN (-) to zoom out.

Other options will vary from browser to browser. The most popular browsers seem to provide the most options and are further described in the box below. For a comprehensive comparison of browser accessibility options, please see the Wikipedia chart at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_web_browsers#Accessibility_features

Internet Browsers

The Chrome browser supports assistive technology including some screen readers and magnifiers. It offers people with low vision several tools, including full-page zoom and high-contrast color. In addition, Chrome Extensions are extra features and functionality that you can easily add to your Chrome browser to customize it with functionality you need. There are many extensions which improve accessibility, or which help developers create accessible web applications, such as ChromeVox, ChromeShades, and ChromeVis.

Chrome Accessibility Resources:

Find out how to turn on accessibility features in Google Chrome by visiting the support page at https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/177893?hl=en.

Internet Explorer offers many accessibility options to help users browse the web more easily. For additional information about accessibility features in IE, visit the support page at http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/internet-explorer/ie-accessibilty-options#ie=ie-11.

Note: In order to display the most accurate accessibility information for your version of IE, you must select it from the drop down menu on the right.

For IE accessibility tutorials, you may visit the Microsoft Accessibility website.

Because Lynx is a text-only browser, it is designed for keyboard-only interaction, with no pull-down menus, no pop-up windows, no mouse controls, and nothing to click on. This makes it far more disability-friendly than popular web browsers.

For more information, visit http://lynx.invisible-island.net/.

For information about accessibility in Microsoft Edge, see the article here: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/accessibility.

Firefox includes many features to make the browser and web content accessible to all users, including those who have low vision, no vision, or limited ability to use a keyboard or mouse.

For additional information about accessibility features in Firefox, visit the accessibility website at http://accessfirefox.org/ and the support site at https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/accessibility-features-firefox-make-firefox-and-we.

Opera was designed to run well even on low-end and small computers, and with a commitment to computer accessibility for users who may have visual or mobility impairments. It provides a fully integrated keyboard shortcut and was also one of the first browsers to support mouse gestures, allowing patterns of mouse movement to trigger browser actions, such as “back” or “refresh”. Opera also supports fit to window and page zooming features.

Page Zoom

  1. Click the View button in the lower, right side of the screen.
  2. Select on the slider how much you would like to zoom.

For information about how to turn on accessibility features in Opera, visit https://mediaaccess.org.au/web/web-browsers/how-to-turn-on-accessibility-features-in-opera.

There is also a tutorial on how to use Opera without a mouse at http://www.opera.com/help/tutorials/nomouse/.

Safari provides many accessibility features including Voice-over Screen Reader, Enhanced Keyboard, Support Zoom Text Only, and Full-Page Zoom. To read about all the accessibility extensions for the latest version of Safari, visit: https://www.apple.com/safari/. You may also read more on the Apple Accessibility website at https://www.apple.com/accessibility/.

  • Full-Page Zoom - To add the Zoom button to your toolbar, simply choose Customize toolbar from the View menu and drag the button onto your toolbar.
  • Zoom text only - You can choose to zoom in on only the text when you take a closer look at a web page.
  • Minimum font size - If you find that text on some websites is too small to read (such as photo captions or fine print) Safari can increase the font size to make it more legible. Just set the minimum font size in the Advanced pane of Safari preferences.

This free web browser for blind and visually impaired people lets you browse web pages, search the web, fill in forms, do ecommerce, and use online email, all in a highly-usable text-only display that works with any screen reader.

For more information, visit http://www.webbie.org.uk/webbrowser/index.htm.