Amazing Windows 10 Accessibility Features for People with Disabilities

Like most large technology companies, Microsoft is also on a mission to make its products increasingly accessible to everyone, including users with special needs. Over the past few years, Microsoft has added many accessibility features. Currently, it has an assortment of built-in accessibility features, making it one of the most convenient operating systems to date.

Windows 10 accessibility features are designed to help see, hear, and use Windows 10. Some of the more prominent names include; narrator, magnifying glass, high contrast, closed captions, keyboard and mouse. Each of these features includes customization capabilities designed to improve your access to the computer. If you're one of those with special needs, or know someone who does, the Windows 10 accessibility features mentioned below might be worth a try.

Table of Contents

Windows 10 accessibility features for people with disabilities

Check out these Windows 10 accessibility features that can dramatically improve your user experience or that of someone you know with a disability:

1. Magnifier
2. High contrast
3. Narrator
4. Speech recognition
5. Subtitles
< li>Mouse
6. On-screen keyboard
7. Eye control.

Let's cover them briefly.

1]Magnifier

With this feature, you can magnify text and other items, such as icons, on your screen without changing the screen resolution of your monitor or your laptop. This lets you play with the size of text or other elements on your screen while keeping your monitor or laptop set to its optimal resolution. The magnifying glass can be very useful for anyone with poor eyesight or difficulty reading their screen.

To access this feature, navigate to the same Ease of Access section in Settings; here is the path: Settings> Ease of access> Magnifying glass. To use the magnifier, activate the “Enable magnifier” button.

There are several settings available in this feature that allow you to enable/disable the tool, designate what you want to magnify, and also invert the colors in the magnified area. When this feature is enabled, a magnifying glass will appear on your screen, and you can easily zoom in or out by clicking the '+' or '-' icon.

Read: How to increase font size and enlarge text on Windows 10.

2]High Contrast

Windows 10 lets you change the overall color scheme to make it easier to display text, images, icons, and application windows. The "High Contrast" feature can be amazing for people with visual impairments or color blindness, as it can make on-screen items more distinct and easier to identify.

To choose preset high contrast themes in Windows 10, go to Settings> Ease of access> High contrast.

3]Narrator

Microsoft named this feature Narrator because of its amazing function. Narrator is a screen reader that can read aloud text that appears on the screen. It describes events such as error messages, reading text as you type, websites, notifications, app content, and specific parts aloud, so the user can use the PC without a screen. For people struggling with blindness, color blindness, or low vision, this Windows 10 accessibility feature can be a big help.

To make your computer speak, get narrator by going to Settings > Ease of access > Narrator and turn on "Use Narrator to read and interact with your device."

Read: How to use Narrator in Windows 10.

4]Speech Recognition

Speech Recognition is another gem in the accessibility feature compartment of Windows 10. This feature lets you control your PC with your voice, including the skill to navigate menus, dictate in almost any application, surf the web. Moreover, it listens to your words and translates them into on-screen actions.

You can enable this feature by opening Settings > Time and language > Voice and scroll down to Dictate text and control your device using only your voice.

Please note: The voice recognition feature is only available in English (US, UK, Canada, Australia and India), French, German, Japanese, Mandarin (Traditional Chinese and simplified Chinese) and Spanish.

5]Subtitles

If you struggle to play the white colored subtitles on a video, movie or TV show, especially on a light background, the “ Subtitles” can be a savior. This feature can help you change the colors and backgrounds of any caption text.

To access subtitles, go to Settings > Ease of access > Subtitles and change the settings as you like.

You can also customize the legend's transparency, size, style, and effects. A live preview appears at the top of the screen showing each change you make. Note that these settings will be applied to subtitles on all supported local media players.

6]Mouse

If you have trouble locating the mouse pointer on your screen, you can make it more visible with this feature. Yes, you can change the size and color of the mouse pointer appearing on your screen.

To change the appearance of your mouse pointer, go to Settings > Ease of access > Cursor and pointer.

Read: How to change mouse pointer color to red, solid black, etc. and adjust the size, color, and thickness of the text cursor indicator for better visibility.

7]On-Screen Keyboard

On-Screen Keyboard displays an on-screen keyboard; like the normal keyboard, this one has all the standard keys intact. To use this keyboard, you can use your mouse or other pointing device. This feature provides a variety of customization options for people with special needs or disabilities, making the keyboard much easier and more comfortable to use. Some amazing mini-features of this accessibility tool are:

8]Eye Control

The Windows 10 Eye Control feature allows you to access the PC with eye movement. You can use Eye Control feature in Windows 10. Eye Control can be enabled by going to Settings > Ergonomics options > Eye Control and selecting Enable Eye Control. This will open LaunchPad which is like a control panel from which you can perform various functions like right click, left click, task view etc.

UPDATES:

Improved screen reading with Narrator: Microsoft has made many changes to Narrator as part of the Windows 10 Anniversary Update. The updates are:

On top of that, Narrator has a few extra features like more familiar keyboard navigation, AutoSuggest results announcement, and easy feedback to Microsoft team. To make Narrator easier to use, the Microsoft team is working hard on user guides and documentation. User guides will be available online when the Anniversary Update is released.

Making apps and experiences more accessible: The Microsoft team not only worked on Narrator, but they also worked to make apps and experiences more accessible. Some of these accessibility improvements in Windows 10 are:

Windows 10 brings meaningful innovation to everyone's life, whether you have a disability, a personal inclination, or an exclusive work style. With this robust set of accessibility features built into Windows 10, Microsoft lets you choose how to interact with your screen, express ideas, and ultimately get your work done.