Accessibility Web Site Help

The Microsoft Accessibility Web site provides information about accessible techology to help improve computing for people with difficulties and impairments.

Navigating This Site

• The Site Index provides a map of all the content areas of the site for easy access to links.
• Text Version of each page of the Microsoft Accessibility Web site is available by selecting the Text Version link at the top right corner of all formatted pages. You can also access the text version by selecting ALT+J, ENTER. Pressing those keys again will return you to the formatted version.
• Custom Keyboard Shortcuts
  This site includes a few custom keyboard shortcuts to make navigation easier. The following shortcuts will work on the Microsoft Accessibility Web site with Microsoft Internet Explorer for Windows version 4.0 or later:

Shortcut Internet Explorer

Go Home
ALT+G, Enter
Search
ALT+S, Enter
Jump to the Text version of the page from the formatted version of a page.
ALT+J, Enter
Jump to the formatted version from the Text version version of a page.
ALT+J, Enter
• Accessibility site contents are at the top left of every formatted page and near the bottom of every text version page. This format provides the table of contents of the site and the search feature to assist you in navigating within the Microsoft Accessibility Web pages.
• The Microsoft.com search bar is in the top right corner of every formatted page and near the top of every text version page. Use this to search outside of the Microsoft Accessibility site to other areas on the Microsoft.com site. This search bar is common among all Microsoft.com Web pages.
• Configuring Your Screen Reader to Use This Site
  Some screen readers allow users to select how Web sites are read. If this feature is available on your screen reader, contact your assistive technology manufacturer to learn how to adjust the options on your screen reader.
• Additional Accessibility Features on this Site:
  • Graphics and ALT Text
    Each graphic image on the site has alternative text (ALT text) which describes a graphic. Speech synthesizers and screen readers can read ALT text aloud to provide information about the graphic.
  • Colors and Fonts
    High-contrast colors were chosen for this site to assist people with color blindness and other visual impairments.
  • Active Links
    Words that link to other topics or pages change color and/or become underlined when a pointer is paused over them. This feature helps to identify the links more easily and is available with the most recent Internet browser versions.
  • External Links
    You'll notice that some of our links are indicated as "External Links". We use this feature (the TITLE attribute in HTML) on our site to indicate when you are leaving the Microsoft Accessibility site. Screen reader users may be able to adjust the settings on their screen readers to properly identify these links.
  • TAB Key and Arrow Keys
    Links and form controls on this site are accessible with the TAB and arrow keys. This is helpful for people who do not navigate with a mouse. This feature is available to people using Microsoft Internet Explorer for Windows.

Subscribing to the Accessibility Update Newsletter

To subscribe to the Accessibility Update Newsletter, and other e-newsletters at Microsoft, you first will need to log into your Microsoft Passport account. If you do not have a Microsoft Passport account, you can create one without cost.

After you have created your Microsoft Passport account and logged in, you can select the Microsoft newsletters you want to subscribe to, including the Microsoft Accessibility Update newsletter. At any time you can change your subscription status.