Comparison of Accessibility Features in Various Versions of Windows
Microsoft Windows accessibility features are listed below. If a tutorial is available to help you adjust options related to the feature, the feature name is linked. Select the name of the product at the top of the column to display a full list of tutorials for the product. In some cases, tutorials for one version of a product will also help you adjust the feature in another version for which a tutorial is not available.
Features Related To: | Windows Vista | Windows XP | Windows 2000 | Windows NT 4.0 | Windows 98 | Windows 95 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hearing | SoundSentry | SoundSentry | SoundSentry | SoundSentry | SoundSentry | SoundSentry |
| Captions (ShowSounds) | ShowSounds (Captions) | ShowSounds (Captions) | ShowSounds (Captions) | ShowSounds (Captions) | ShowSounds (Captions) | |
| (see replacement) | SerialKeys | SerialKeys | SerialKeys | SerialKeys | SerialKeys | |
| MSN Messenger | NetMeeting, Windows Messenger | NetMeeting | Chat | Chat | Chat | |
| Sound Volume Control | Sound Volume Control | Sound Volume Control | Sound Volume Control | Sound Volume Control | Sound Volume Control | |
| Notification (visual) | Notification (visual) | Notification (visual) | Notification | Notification | Notification | |
| Vision | ToggleKeys | ToggleKeys | ToggleKeys | ToggleKeys | ToggleKeys | ToggleKeys |
| MouseKeys | MouseKeys | MouseKeys | MouseKeys | MouseKeys | MouseKeys | |
| (see replacement) | SerialKeys | SerialKeys | SerialKeys | SerialKeys | SerialKeys | |
| Sound Schemes | Sound Schemes | Sound Schemes | Sound Schemes | Sound Schemes | Sound Schemes | |
| High Contrast Schemes | High Contrast Schemes | High Contrast Schemes | High Contrast Schemes | High Contrast Schemes | High Contrast Schemes | |
| Scalable User Interface Elements | Scalable User Interface Elements | Scalable User Interface Elements | Scalable User Interface Elements | Scalable User Interface Elements | Scalable User Interface Elements | |
| Pointer Schemes | Pointer Schemes | Pointer Schemes | Pointer Schemes (available for download) | Pointer Schemes | Pointer Schemes (available for download) | |
| Pointer Speed & Acceleration | Pointer Speed Control | Pointer Speed & Acceleration | Pointer Speed & Acceleration | Pointer Speed & Acceleration | ||
| Pointer Visibility: Show Pointer Trails, Hide Pointer While Typing, Show Location of Pointer | Pointer Visibility: Display Pointer Trails, Hide the Pointer While Typing, Show Location of Pointer | Pointer Visibility: Show Pointer Trails | Pointer Visibility: Show Pointer Trails | |||
| Click Lock (included in Mouse Options) | ClickLock (included in Mouse Options) | Click Lock (included in Mouse Options) | ClickLock (available with Intellipoint mouse) | ClickLock (available with Intellipoint mouse) | ClickLock (available with Intellipoint mouse) | |
| SnapTo (included in Mouse Options) | SnapTo (included in Mouse Options) | SnapTo (included in Mouse Options) | SnapTo (available with Intellipoint mouse) | SnapTo (available with Intellipoint mouse) | SnapTo (available with Intellipoint mouse) | |
| Magnifier | Magnifier | Magnifier | Magnifier | |||
| Narrator | Narrator | Narrator | ||||
| Cursor thickness | Cursor thickness | |||||
| Personalized appearance | Personalized appearance | Personalized appearance | ||||
| Sound notification (SoundSentry) | Sound notification | Sound notification | Notification | Notification | Notification | |
| Dexterity | StickyKeys | StickyKeys | StickyKeys | StickyKeys | StickyKeys | StickyKeys |
| FilterKeys | FilterKeys | FilterKeys | FilterKeys | FilterKeys | FilterKeys | |
| MouseKeys | MouseKeys | MouseKeys | MouseKeys | MouseKeys | MouseKeys | |
| (see replacement) | SerialKeys | SerialKeys | SerialKeys | (see replacement) | SerialKeys | |
| ToggleKeys | ToggleKeys | ToggleKeys | ToggleKeys | ToggleKeys | ToggleKeys | |
| Scalable User Interface Elements | Scalable User Interface Elements | Scalable User Interface Elements | Scalable User Interface Elements | Scalable User Interface Elements | Scalable User Interface Elements | |
| Pointer Schemes | Pointer Schemes | Pointer Schemes | Pointer Schemes (available for download) | Pointer Schemes | Pointer Schemes (available for download) | |
| Pointer Speed & Acceleration | Pointer Speed Control | Pointer Speed & Acceleration | Pointer Speed & Acceleration | Pointer Speed & Acceleration | ||
| Pointer Visibility: Show Pointer Trails, Hide Pointer While Typing, Show Location of Pointer | Pointer Visibility: Display Pointer Trails, Hide the Pointer While Typing, Show Location of Pointer | Pointer Visibility: Show Pointer Trails | Pointer Visibility: Show Pointer Trails | Pointer Visibility: Show Pointer Trails | ||
| SnapTo (included in Mouse Options) | SnapTo | SnapTo (included in Mouse Options) | SnapTo (available with Intellipoint mouse) | SnapTo (available with Intellipoint mouse) | SnapTo (available with Intellipoint mouse) | |
| Configure mouse for right- or left-handed use, choose click speed | Reverse the Function of the Right and Left Mouse Buttons | Configure mouse for right- or left-handed use, choose click speed | Configure mouse for right- or left-handed use, choose click speed | Configure mouse for right- or left-handed use, choose click speed | Configure mouse for right- or left-handed use, choose click speed | |
| Click Lock (included in Mouse Options) | ClickLock | Click Lock (included in Mouse Options) | ClickLock (available with Intellipoint mouse) | ClickLock (available with Intellipoint mouse) | ClickLock (available with Intellipoint mouse) | |
| On-Screen Keyboard | On-Screen Keyboard | On-Screen Keyboard | ||||
| Cursor Width Control | Cursor Width Control | |||||
| Language and Learning | Pointer Schemes | Pointer Schemes | Pointer Schemes | Pointer Schemes (available for download) | Pointer Schemes | Pointer Schemes (available for download) |
| (see replacement) | SerialKeys | SerialKeys | SerialKeys | SerialKeys | SerialKeys | |
| Pointer Speed & Acceleration | Pointer Speed & Acceleration | Pointer Speed & Acceleration | Pointer Speed & Acceleration | Pointer Speed & Acceleration | ||
| Pointer Visibility: Show Pointer Trails, Hide Pointer While Typing, Show Location of Pointer | Pointer Visibility: Display Pointer Trails, Hide the Pointer While Typing, Show Location of Pointer | Pointer Visibility: Show Pointer Trails | Pointer Visibility: Show Pointer Trails | Pointer Visibility: Show Pointer Trails | ||
| Click Lock (included in Mouse Options) | ClickLock (included in Mouse Options) | Click Lock (included in Mouse Options) | ClickLock (available with Intellipoint mouse) | ClickLock (available with Intellipoint mouse) | ClickLock (available with Intellipoint mouse) | |
| SnapTo (included in Mouse Options) | SnapTo (included in Mouse Options) | SnapTo (included in Mouse Options) | SnapTo (available with Intellipoint mouse) | SnapTo (available with Intellipoint mouse) | SnapTo (available with Intellipoint mouse) | |
| Cursor Width Control | Cursor Width Control | |||||
| Personalized appearance | Personalized appearance | Personalized appearance | ||||
| Seizure Disorders | Cursor Blink Rate | Cursor Blink Rate | Cursor Blink Rate | Cursor Blink Rate | Cursor Blink Rate | Cursor Blink Rate |
| All Accessibility Areas | Ease of Access Center | Accessibility Wizard | Accessibility Wizard | |||
| Online Help | Online Help | Online Help | Online Help | Online Help | Online Help | |
| User Profiles | User Profiles | User Profiles | User Profiles | User Profiles | ||
| Automatic Reset | Automatic Reset | Automatic Reset | Automatic Reset | Automatic Reset | Automatic Reset | |
| Notification (visual and sound) | Notification (visual and sound) | Notification (visual and sound) | Notification | Notification | Notification | |
| Emergency Hotkey Activation | Emergency Hotkey Activation | Emergency Hotkey Activation | Emergency Hotkey Activation | Emergency Hotkey Activation | Emergency Hotkey Activation | |
| Accessibility Status Indicator | Accessibility Status Indicator | Accessibility Status Indicator | Accessibility Status Indicator | Accessibility Status Indicator | Accessibility Status Indicator | |
| Extra Keyboard Help in Programs | Extra Keyboard Help in Programs | Extra Keyboard Help in Programs | Extra Keyboard Help in Programs | Extra Keyboard Help in Programs | ||
| Get recommendations to make your computer easier to use | Accessibility Wizard | Accessibility Wizard | Accessibility Wizard | |||
| Make accessibility settings default for new users | Accessibility Settings Applied for New Users | Make accessibility settings default for new users | ||||
| Accessibility Features Loaded by Default | Accessibility Features Loaded by Default | Accessibility Features Loaded by Default | ||||
| Save Accessibility Settings to File | Save Accessibility Settings to File | |||||
| Fast User Switching | Fast User Switching |
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