Windows 7 has improved all of the accessibility features from past Windows versions and improved the way users interact with the system. In Windows 7 the Accessibility features are called Ease of Access and are located in Start menu > All Programs > Accessories. All of the Ease of Access features are available before login by clicking the Ease of Access icon on the bottom left of the screen. Additionally, an Ease of Access Center exists in the Control Panel and Start menu > All Programs > Accessories > Ease of Access to manage Ease of Access settings and other common related settings.
The Magnifier has been improved and users with low vision will enjoy the new features. The Magnifier can enlarge harder-to-see text and pictures when it is enabled. Three view options are available: full-screen mode, lens mode, and docked mode. Each view option then has other options accessible by clicking the Settings button to the right of the Views button. These options are available by clicking the magnifying lens on the desktop. Full screen mode enlarges the entire desktop while Lens mode zooms on a particular area, and Docked mode creates a dock on the top of the screen. The Lens mode can be set to follow the mouse or the keyboard focus. Many other options exist depending on the view setting.
Windows 7 includes Microsoft Narrator, which reads on-screen text to the user through the speakers or headset. Microsoft Narrator can echo the user's keystrokes, announce system messages, and announce scroll notifications. This feature can prove helpful to some users and is recommended to at least mention to your users in case they do find this useful.
Windows 7 has improved the on-screen keyboard as well. It is visually more appealing and works with multiple inputs such as clicking mode, hovering mode, and scanning mode. Also with the Windows Touch features and the correct hardware you may use touch as an input method.
By far the most improved Accessibility feature in Windows 7 is Speech Recognition. This feature, bundled with a microphone or headset, allows for the dictating of commands that are understood by Windows and is used to start an e-mail client, surf the Internet without a keyboard, and even dictate your documents.
Like all voice recognition software, this feature requires a bit of training on your part to help the computer's capability to understand you. To access Speech Recognition, go to Control Panel > Ease of Access > Speech Recognition or start it through Start menu > All Programs > Accessibility > Ease of Access. Once started, a wizard will greet you to easily set up and configure this feature. First, you must configure an input device such as a microphone on a headset, webcam, or standalone device. This step also involves testing the microphone location with a sentence you must read aloud. The rest of the wizard asks questions about things such as document review and startup options.
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