Web User - UK (2019-11-27)

Weekend Project

Subscribe toWebUser atsubscribe.webuser.co.uk 27 Nov-10Dec 2019 59

and displaysize.The latteroption lets
youincreasethe sizeofitems onthe
screen,suchas buttons, menusandtext.
Use the slider toadjustthe settings and
previewtheeffect of thechanges.You
can also turn on magnification, which lets

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With TalkBackswitched on,youcan

use your phone without lookingat

the screen–handyforblind or partially

sighted users.Toe nable it,open

Settings, goto Sy stem and tap

Accessibility (theexact processmay

vary depending onyour versionof

Android).Tap TalkBackand switch

the toggle to On.^1

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GrantTalkBack itsrequired

permissionsandthe tutorialscreen

loads.This explains howit works and

offersafew lessonsto help master it.

Youcan learnabou talesson^1 or

practise it.^2 Single-tap on anything

(such as buttons andtext) and TalkBack

reads whatits ays aloud. Double-tapto

action thecommand.

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With the tutorialdone, returntot he

screen whereyou enabledTalkBack

and tapSettings.Text-to-Speech

output^1 lets youchange thespeech

rate andpitch. Set what’sspoken under

Verbosity.^2 Youcan setTalkBackto

only speak passwords when

headphones arebeing worn.^3 Scroll

downto access the navigation options.

using spoken requests, andthereare

special Android launchers available that

redesignthe lookoftheinterface,making

it easiertouse.Twowe’drecommendare

SimpleLauncher ( bit.ly/simple489),

whichdisplaysbig fonts andicons;and

Senior Homescreen (bit.ly/senior 48 9),

whichisaimed atolderusers and

displaysthe apps theyaremostlikely

toneed, suchas phone,camera, photos

and WhatsApp.Accessanyinstalled

launchersthrough Settings,‘Apps &

notifications’, ‘Default apps’,‘Home app’.

MakeiOS easier to use

iOSandiPadOS(Apple’snewtablet

operating system) come withanumber

of options tomakeApple’sdevices more

accessible.OpenSettingsand tap

MINIWORKSHOP|UsetheTalkBackscreenreaderinAndroid

youzoom inon items. Aswell ascolour

correction, for peoplewho suffer from

colourblindness, there’salso aColour

Inversionoption thatinverts thecolours.

It’snotthe same asdark mode,though

the results aresimilar.

If you useamousewith your Android

device,it’spossible toincrease the sizeof

the cursor.You can alsoremove

animations,set dwelltiming (which,

when using amouse,performsaclick if

the cursor has beenstationaryfor a

period of time),switch tomonofor audio

and enable captions. Android 9alsohas

an experimentalHighContrastText

settingwhichcan beenabled atthe

bottom of the Accessibilityscreen.

In addition, Android userscan make

use of Google Assistanttoperformtasks

SimpleLauncherstripsback

thelookof thephoneto

makeitmoreaccessible

Androidoffersavarietyof

usefultoolsthroughits

Accessibilitymenu

Thecolour-correctiontool

offersthree modestohelp

thecolourblind

TheSenior Homescreen launcheronly
showsappsmostlikelytobeused

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