Site help

This page provides tips on getting the most from your web browser and in particular, this website.

Use your keyboard

Did you know that you can use your keyboard for more than just writing a letter or entering numerical data? You can navigate round an accessible website with just your keyboard! Learning just a few simple keyboard commands can help you work more efficiently.

When a page first loads you can press the Tab key on your keyboard to focus on three links which provide quick access to useful parts of the site:

• navigation (n) - this is an internal link which moves the cursor (or point of focus) to the main navigation by jumping past the content sections
• help (h) - a link to this page
• site map (m) - an list of all the pages on the site split up into directories and files

You will see a letter after each of these links; these are called Accesskeys. To bring the point of focus to a link with an Accesskey use this combination of keystrokes:

• Alt + Shift + Accesskey

Then all you need to do is press the Return (or Enter) key to either load the page (or in the case of the navigation link, change the point of focus to the first link in the navigation). You can also jump to the Search form by using the Accesskey 's'.

Other handy keyboard shortcuts with the Navigation keys

Using the Navigation keys, you can zip around the site. The navigation keys allow you to move the cursor, move around in documents and webpages and edit text in forms. The following lists covers some common functions of these keys:

• Arrow Keys - left arrow, right arrow, up arrow and down arrow
  Move the cursor or selection one space or line in the direction of the arrow, or scroll a webpage in the direction of the arrow
• Home - move the cursor to the beginning of a line or move to the top of a webpage
• End - move the cursor to the end of a line or move to the bottom of a webpage
• Ctrl + Home - move to the top of a document
• Ctrl + End - move to the bottom of a document
• Page Up - move the cursor or page up one screen
• Page Down - move the cursor or page down one screen
• Delete - delete the character after the cursor, or the selected text; in Windows, delete the selected item and move it to the Recycle Bin
• Insert - turn Insert mode off or on. When Insert mode is on, text that you type is inserted at the cursor. When Insert mode is off, text that you type replaces existing characters

Change text size

You can adjust the size of the text on an accessible web site by using your browser or keyboard + mouse. For example if you are browsing the web with Firefox or Internet Explorer, you can change text size by going to View > Text Size and making your desired choice. Alternatively, if you have a mouse with a scroll-wheel you can press your Ctrl key and move the scroll-wheel back-and-forth to change the text size.

Change text size with keyboard shortcuts

As well as changing text size with Ctrl and your mouse scroll-wheel, you can also use Ctrl and the + and - keys.

Enable JavaScript

On this site (and most sites we design) we may use JavaScript to jazz things if we think it will add some value to the end-user (i.e. you). If you can we suggest you enable JavaScript; it could make your surfing experience much more enjoyable.

Learn how to enabled and disable JavaScript.

Change the page layout ( ideal for small screens)

If you are using a device with a small screen, like a mobile telephone or a PDA, you can change the page layout to make it easier to read and navigate.

1. Small screen style

   
   Small screen style

2. Default style

   
   Default style

Learn more about your browser

Most modern browsers provide lots of functionality built-in to help you view web pages. Select your browser from the following list to find out more:

• Firefox
• Internet Explorer
• Opera
• Safari
• Konqueror

Some further reading

Find out more about web accessibility and why web accessibility is important. Read about web browsers and assistive technologies like screen readers to see how they enhance the experience of surfing the web for those with a disability. Check out this accessibility software:

• JAWS, a screen reader for Windows. A time-limited, down-loadable demo is available
• Lynx, a free text-only web browser for blind users with refreshable Braille displays
• Links, a free text-only web browser for visual users with low bandwidth
• Opera, a visual browser with many accessibility-related features, including text zooming, user stylesheets, image toggle. A free down-loadable version is available. Compatible with Windows, Macintosh, Linux, and several other operating systems

...and finally

Here are some platform specific links that show you how to modify a website further:

• Windows users
• Mac users
• Linux users