Accessibility in Windows 95: Overview

Microsoft is committed to making computers easier to use for everyone, including individuals with disabilities. In recent years Microsoft has established close relationships with users who have disabilities, organizations representing disabled individuals, workers in the rehabilitation field, and software developers who create products for this market. Based on their combined input, Microsoft has defined specific design goals for Windows 95:

• Integrate and improve the features from the accessibility product Access Pack for Microsoft Windows that compensate for difficulties some individuals have using the keyboard or the mouse
• Make the visual user interface easier to customize for people with limited vision
• Provide additional visual feedback for users who are deaf or hard-of-hearing
• Provide new API and "hooks" for ISVs developing accessibility aids, including those that allow blind individuals to use Windows
• Make information on accessibility solutions more widely available and increase public awareness of these issues

Windows 95 offers several enhancements designed to meet these accessibility goals. The primary improvements in accessibility for Windows 95 are:

• Scalable user interface elements
• Features that compensate for difficulties in using the keyboard
• Keyboard emulation of the mouse
• Support for alternative input devices that emulate the keyboard and mouse
• Visual cues to tell the user when the application is making sounds
• Notification to other applications when the user has limited vision, needs additional keyboard support due to difficulty using a mouse, or wants visual captions to be displayed for speech or other sounds
• Notification to other applications when they should modify behavior to be compatible with accessibility software utilities running in the system
• Optimized keyboard layouts for users who type with a single hand, a single finger, or a mouthstick
• Audible prompts during Setup for users who have low vision
• Color schemes that are optimized for users with low vision
• Documentation that includes accessibility information

To install accessibility features under Windows 95

1. In the Add/Remove Programs option in Control Panel, click the Windows Setup tab.
2. In the list of components, click Accessibility Options and then click OK.