Microsoft KB Archive/112439

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The information in this article applies to:
 * Microsoft Windows NT operating system version 3.1
 * Microsoft Windows NT Advanced Server version 3.1
 * Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 3.5
 * Microsoft Windows NT Server version 3.5

Microsoft has an Application Note, "WN0789: Customizing Windows NT for Individuals with Disabilities.

You can obtain this Application Note from the following sources:


 * Microsoft's World Wide Web Site on the Internet
 * The Internet (Microsoft anonymous ftp server)
 * The Microsoft Network (MSN)
 * Microsoft Download Service (MSDL)
 * Microsoft FastTips Technical Library
 * Microsoft Product Support Services

For complete information, see the "To Obtain This Application Note" section at the end of this article.

THE TEXT OF WN0789
Microsoft(R) Product Support Services Application Note (Text File) WN0789: CUSTOMIZING WINDOWS NT(TM) FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES Revision Date: 9/94 1 Disk Included The following information applies to Microsoft Windows NT, versions 3.1 and 3.5. | INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT AND ANY SOFTWARE THAT MAY    | CUSTOMIZING WINDOWS NT FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES ======================================================== This Application Note includes Access Pack for Microsoft Windows NT, a product that makes Windows NT more accessible for people with movement or hearing disabilities, and provides additional information not included in the Windows NT documentation about both customizing the appearance and behavior of Windows NT, and products and services available for computer users with special needs. NOTE: You can use Access Pack for Microsoft Windows NT only if you have Windows NT Workstation or Windows NT Server version 3.5. If you have Windows NT or Windows NT Advanced Server version 3.1 go to the section entitled Customizing Windows NT Without Additional Hardware or Software. This section can be used with both versions of Windows NT.
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 * Application Note may not be distributed for profit.                |
 * Copyright (C) 1993-1994 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. |
 * Microsoft, Microsoft Press, and MS-DOS are registered trademarks   |
 * and Windows and Windows NT are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. |
 * Intel is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation.              |
 * MIPS is a registered trademark of MIPS Computer Systems, Inc.      |
 * MIPS is a registered trademark of MIPS Computer Systems, Inc.      |

This Application Note contains the following sections:

 Access Pack for Microsoft Windows NT Information about Products and Services for People with Disabilities Customizing Windows NT Without Additional Hardware or Software  Getting More Information NOTE: The information in this Application Note applies to Windows NT users in the United States only. If you are outside the United States, your Windows NT package contains a subsidiary information card listing product support telephone numbers and addresses. Contact your subsidiary to find out whether the types of products and services described in this Application Note are available in your area. ACCESS PACK FOR MICROSOFT WINDOWS NT                ==================================== 

Access Pack for Microsoft Windows NT provides people with movement or hearing disabilities better access to computers running Windows NT. Access Pack for Microsoft Windows NT contains several features that:
 * Allow single-finger typing of SHIFT, CTRL, and ALT key combinations.
 * Ignore accidental keystrokes.
 * Adjust the rate at which a character is repeated when you hold down a key, or turn off character repeating entirely.
 * Prevent extra characters if you unintentionally press a key more than once.
 * Enable you to use the keyboard to control the mouse.
 * Enable you to control the computer keyboard and mouse by using an alternate input device.
 * Provide a visual cue when the computer beeps or makes other sounds.
 * Advise applications when you want them to provide a caption for speech or other sounds they play.

This additional functionality is already a part of Windows NT Workstation and Windows NT Server version 3.5. The Access Pack utility enables you to easily adjust the new accessibility features of Windows NT. The disk included with this Application Note contains complete documentation about using the Access Pack utility. To install Access Pack for Microsoft Windows NT, run the Install command. For example, type the following from Command Prompt :install where is the letter of the drive containing the floppy disk. NOTE: If you have Windows NT or Windows NT Advanced Server version 3.1, see the section below titled "Customizing Windows NT Without Additional Hardware or Software."

INFORMATION ABOUT PRODUCTS AND SERVICES FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES ====================================================================

MICROSOFT SUPPORT SERVICES FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE DEAF OR HARD-OF-HEARING
Through text telephone (TT/TDD) services, Microsoft provides the same technical product support and customer service for both people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing and hearing customers.

For sales information and nontechnical customer service, you can contact the Microsoft Sales Information Center on a text telephone at (800) 892-5234 between 6:30 A.M. and 5:30 P.M. Pacific time. For technical assistance, you can contact Microsoft Product Support Services (PSS) on a text telephone at (425) 635-4948 between 6:00 A.M. and 6:00 P.M. Pacific time. Microsoft support services are subject to Microsoft's prices, terms, and conditions in place at the time the service is used.

KEYBOARD LAYOUTS FOR SINGLE-HANDED COMPUTER USERS
Microsoft distributes software to modify your keyboard layout. These keyboard layouts can be useful for people who have difficulty using the standard QWERTY layout. You can use these drivers to modify your keyboard configuration without changing your physical keyboard.

Windows NT has built-in support for the two-handed Dvorak keyboard layout, which may be useful for preventing or coping with some types of repetitive motion injuries associated with typing. To use this layout, choose the International icon in Control Panel. Two additional layouts are provided for people who type with the left hand only or with the right hand only. These layouts can also be useful for people who type with a single finger or a wand.

The single-handed layouts are included with the PSS Application Note GA0650, "Dvorak Keyboard Layouts."

You can find GA0650.EXE (size: 38955 bytes) , a self-extracting file, on the following services:   Microsoft's World Wide Web Site on the Internet On the www.microsoft.com home page, click the Support icon. Click Knowledge Base, and select the product. Enter kbfile GA0650.EXE (size: 38955 bytes), and click GO! Open the article, and click the button to download the file.   Internet (anonymous FTP) ftp ftp.microsoft.com Change to the Softlib/Mslfiles folder. Get GA0650.EXE (size: 38955 bytes)   The Microsoft Network On the Edit menu, click Go To, and then click Other Location. Type "mssupport" (without the quotation marks). Double-click the MS Software Library icon. Find the appropriate product area. Locate and Download GA0650.EXE. </li>  Microsoft Download Service (MSDL) Dial (425) 936-6735 to connect to MSDL Download GA0650.EXE (size: 38955 bytes) </li></ul>

For additional information about downloading, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: ARTICLE-ID: Q119591 TITLE    : How to Obtain Microsoft Support Files from Online Services

1200,n,8,1 2400,n,8,1 9600,n,8,1 (V.32, V.32bis, V.42, V.42bis) 14,400,n,8,1 (V.32, V.32bis, V.42, V.42bis)

NOTE: If you cannot connect at 14,400, lower the baud rate to 9600 and try again. Customers who do not have a modem can obtain GA0650 by calling the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400 (voice telephone) or (800) 892-5234 (text telephone).

DOCUMENTATION ON CD-ROM, AUDIO CASSETTES, AND FLOPPY DISKS
Most of the documentation for Windows NT is provided on the Windows NT CD-ROM.

People who have difficulty reading or handling printed documentation can obtain many of Microsoft's publications from Recording for the Blind, Inc. (RFB). RFB distributes these documents on audio cassettes and floppy disks to registered members of its distribution service. RFB's collection contains more than 80,000 titles, including Microsoft product documentation and books from Microsoft Press(R). You can contact Recording for the Blind at the following address and phone and fax numbers:

Recording for the Blind, Inc.  20 Roszel Road Princeton, NJ 08540

(800) 221-4792  Voice telephone (609) 987-8116  Fax

PRODUCTS FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE BLIND OR HAVE LOW VISION
If you are blind or have low vision, many products are available to help you use Windows(TM). For persons with low vision, there are several screen-enlargement utilities. For blind individuals, there are screen readers that provide alternative output by synthesized voice or refreshable Braille displays. At the time this Application Note was written, these types of products were not yet available for Windows NT. However, Microsoft is working in conjunction with third-party companies to have these products available for Windows NT in late 1994.

CUSTOMIZING WINDOWS NT WITHOUT ADDITIONAL HARDWARE OR SOFTWARE ============================================================== There are many ways you can adjust the appearance and behavior of Windows NT to suit varying eyesight and motor skill needs without any additional software or hardware. For example, by changing settings in the Windows NT Registry, you can control screen colors, font sizes, and mouse behavior. You can change these settings in Control Panel or by directly modifying the Registry. The following sections describe how to identify which settings to modify to achieve the desired results and how to safely modify the Registry. NOTE: This section applies to both Windows NT and Windows NT Advanced Server version 3.1 and Windows NT Workstation and Windows NT Server version 3.5.

MODIFYING THE REGISTRY
The Registry contains information about your system environment. You can configure Windows NT and Windows-based applications to meet your needs and preferences by modifying the information stored in the Registry. You may need administrative privileges to modify the Registry. If so, contact your system administrator. For more information about the Registry, refer to the Windows NT Resource Kit.

You can use the following procedure to make Registry changes described later in this Application NOTE:

<ol> Create a backup copy of the Registry. If you do not have backup privileges, contact your system administrator for assistance.</li> Start Registry Editor (REGEDT32.EXE).</li> Find the appropriate key.</li>  Edit the specific values in the String Editor dialog box by selecting the value. Many of the Registry entries discussed below are not present in the Registry by default. To add them: a. Select the subkey you want to modify. b. From the Edit menu, choose Add Value. c. Type the value name in the Value Name field. d. Make sure the Data Type is REG_SZ. e. Choose OK. f. Type the values in the String box of the String Editor dialog box. </li> Save the Registry.</li>  Restart Windows NT so that the changes take effect. NOTE: When you add the values specified in this Application Note, always choose REG_SZ as the Data Type. </li></ol>

CHANGING COLORS
 If you have trouble differentiating the system colors, or if they cause eyestrain, you can adjust them in the Colors dialog box of Control Panel.</li> If the desktop pattern or wallpaper causes eyestrain, you can adjust them in the Desktop dialog box of Control Panel.</li>  If you have trouble differentiating the colors used by Windows Help, you can adjust them by using the following subkey under the HKEY_CURRENT_USER subtree: Software\Microsoft\Windows Help registry This key allows you to control the following Help features: </li>  IFJumpColor=red green blue Specifies the color of text that, when chosen, leads to a new panel of information in another Help file. </li>  IFPopupColor=red green blue Specifies the color of text that, when chosen, displays a pop-up panel (the type of panel used for glossary definitions) located in a different Help file. </li>  JumpColor=red green blue Specifies the color of text that, when chosen, leads to a new panel of Help information. </li>  MacroColor=red green blue Specifies the color of text that, when chosen, runs a Help macro. </li>  PopupColor=red green blue Specifies the color of text that, when chosen, displays a pop-up panel (the type of panel used for glossary definitions). Valid values are 000 to 999, with 999 specifying the highest intensity. You must include three digits for each value, and you must include each color value. You can experiment with this setting to create a color that works best for you. The following table lists some colors you can work with: Setting      |   Resulting color </li></ul>

CHANGING FONTS
<ul> <li> If you have trouble reading the Windows NT system fonts (which are used to display window titles, menus, and dialog boxes), you may be able to increase the font size from the Display section of Control Panel. If your video driver does not provide this capability, you can also increase the font size by editing the Registry. You can change the FONTS.FON value in the following subkey under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE subtree to the font of your choice: Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\GRE_Initialize NOTE: You must use a font file with an .FON extension. For example, you can use 8514SYS.FON. Also, some dialog boxes may not fit on your screen if you choose a very large font. </li> <li> If you have trouble reading the titles of icons, you can adjust their appearance by editing the Registry. To do so, go to the following subkey under the HKEY_CURRENT_USER subtree: Control Panel\Desktop Change IconTitleSize and IconTitleFaceName to the size and name (respectively) of the font you desire. For example: IconTitleFaceName=Arial IconTitleSize=12 NOTE: To make all your icon titles visible, you may also need to adjust the icon spacing in the Desktop dialog box of Control Panel, then choose Arrange Icons from the Window menu in Program Manager. </li> <li>If you have trouble reading the small fonts used by some applications, you can restrict the fonts available to Windows-based applications by removing the fonts you do not want from the Fonts dialog box of Control Panel. You do not need to actually delete the font files from your hard disk drive, just remove them from Control Panel. If you remove all the fonts, only the system fonts remain available to applications.</li> <li>If you have trouble reading the file and directory names in File Manager, you can adjust the font settings by choosing Font from the Options menu.</li> <li>If you have trouble locating the text-selection cursor (also known as the caret or insertion point) in your applications, you can adjust the rate at which it flashes. To do this, choose the Desktop icon in Control Panel.</li></ul>

CHANGING SCHEDULE+ AND MAIL SETTINGS
<ul> <li>If you have trouble reading the text in Microsoft Schedule+, you can adjust the fonts and colors by choosing Display from the Options menu.</li> <li> If you have trouble reading the text in Microsoft Mail, you can adjust the fonts using the FixedFont, NormalFont, and PrintFont values in the following subkey under the HKEY_CURRENT_USER subtree: Software\Microsoft\Mail\Microsoft Mail Each value has four parts separated by commas: the font name, point size, a flag for bold (0 or 1), and a flag for italic (0 or 1). </li> <li> FixedFont=, , <0>|<1>, <0>|<1> This value identifies a fixed-pitch font you can substitute for the one supplied with Microsoft Mail. This font serves as an     alternative to the Microsoft Mail default (Helvetica 10 point). This entry affects only the message body text, not the message envelope text or folder lists. In Microsoft Mail, the default is     Courier New, 9, 0, 0 (Courier New, 9-point, not bold, not      italic). </li> <li> NormalFont=, , <0>|<1>, <0>|<1> This value identifies the proportionally spaced default font used to display Mail messages. This entry affects only the message body text, not the message envelope text or folder lists. The default value is Helv, 10, 0, 0. NOTE: To switch between the normal font and the fixed font, choose Change Font from the View menu. </li> <li> PrintFont=, , <0>|<1>, <0>|<1> This value identifies the default proportionally spaced font used to print Mail messages. The default value is Helv, 10, 0, 0. </li></ul>

CHANGING MOUSE BEHAVIOR

 * If you have difficulty controlling the Microsoft Mouse, you can adjust its speed in the Mouse dialog box of Control Panel.
 * If you have trouble double-clicking the mouse, you can adjust the sensitivity using the Double-Click Speed setting in the Mouse dialog box of Control Panel.
 * If you have trouble positioning the mouse on window frames so that you can adjust the size of the windows, you can increase the window border width setting in the Desktop dialog box of Control Panel.
 * If you have trouble locating the pointer on the screen, you can modify its appearance from the Cursors section of Control Panel. You can choose larger, animated, or different colored cursors.

CHANGING KEYBOARD BEHAVIOR
<ul> <li>If you have trouble using the keyboard because of the speed at which it repeats or the delay time before it begins repeating, you can adjust these settings in the Keyboard dialog box of Control Panel.</li> <li> You can use two methods to reduce the number of keystrokes required to switch between applications. You can use Task List to display a list of all applications currently running, or you can assign a shortcut key to each application. Task List can be invoked by pressing CTRL+ESC, or by choosing Switch To from any application's Control menu. Application shortcut keys can be assigned by creating an icon for the application in Program Manager and using the Properties command on the File menu. For more information on Task List and shortcut keys, see the Microsoft Windows NT "System Guide." NOTE: Application shortcut keys work only when Program Manager is the active application. You can create a shortcut key for Program Manager by adding Program Manager to your Startup group and assigning it a shortcut key from the Properties dialog box. GETTING MORE INFORMATION ======================== </li></ul>

INFORMATION FROM MICROSOFT
For more information on Microsoft products and services for people with disabilities, contact the Microsoft Sales Information Center at one of the following numbers:

(800) 426-9400    Voice telephone (800) 892-5234    Text telephone

THIRD-PARTY PRODUCT INFORMATION
The Trace R&D Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison produces a book and CD-ROM that describe products that help people with disabilities use computers. The book is titled "ResourceBook" and contains nearly 500 pages of descriptions and photographs of approximately 2,000 aids. The CD provides a database of more than 12,000 products and other information for people with disabilities. It is issued twice a year and is also available in many public libraries. You can contact the Trace R&D Center at the following address and phone and fax numbers:

Trace R&D Center S-151 Waisman Center 1500 Highland Avenue Madison, WI 53705-2280

(608) 263-2309   Voice telephone (608) 263-5408   Text telephone (608) 262-8848   Fax

ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMS
For general information and recommendations about how computers can help specific individuals, you should consult a trained evaluator who can best match your needs with the available solutions. An assistive technology program in your area can provide referrals to programs and services available to you. To locate the assistive technology program nearest you, contact the Center for Developmental Disabilities at the following address and phone and fax numbers:

National Information System Center for Developmental Disabilities University of South Carolina Benson Building Columbia, SC 29208 (800) 922-9234, ext. 301 Voice or text telephone, outside South Carolina (800) 922-1107           Voice or text telephone, in South Carolina (803) 777-6222           Voice or text telephone, outside the U.S. (803) 777-6058            Fax

TO OBTAIN THIS APPLICATION NOTE
You can find WN0789.EXE (size: 333154 bytes) , a self-extracting file, on the following services: <ul> <li> Microsoft's World Wide Web Site on the Internet On the www.microsoft.com home page, click the Support icon. Click Knowledge Base, and select the product. Enter kbfile WN0789.EXE (size: 333154 bytes), and click GO! Open the article, and click the button to download the file. </li> <li> Internet (anonymous FTP) ftp ftp.microsoft.com Change to the Softlib/Mslfiles folder. Get WN0789.EXE (size: 333154 bytes) </li> <li> The Microsoft Network On the Edit menu, click Go To, and then click Other Location. Type "mssupport" (without the quotation marks). Double-click the MS Software Library icon. Find the appropriate product area. Locate and Download WN0789.EXE. </li> <li> Microsoft Download Service (MSDL) Dial (425) 936-6735 to connect to MSDL Download WN0789.EXE (size: 333154 bytes) </li></ul>

For additional information about downloading, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: ARTICLE-ID: Q119591 TITLE    : How to Obtain Microsoft Support Files from Online Services You can have this Application Note mailed or faxed to you from the automated Microsoft FastTips Technical Library, which you can call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at (800) 936-4400. NOTE: The FastTips Technical Library is available only to customers within the U.S. and Canada. If you are unable to access the source(s) listed above, you can have this Application Note mailed or faxed to you by calling Microsoft Product Support Services Monday through Friday, 6:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. Pacific time at (425) 635-7018. If you are outside the United States, contact the Microsoft subsidiary for your area. To locate your subsidiary, see the Microsoft World Wide Offices Web site at: http://www.microsoft.com/worldwide/default.htm


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Last reviewed: November 7, 1997

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