Where to find accessibility tools

At the top right-hand corner of our home page there is a tab called 'Accessibility tools'.

This shows the top right-hand of the home page with accessibility tool tab

Open the tab to find the toolbar with 12 tools and a link to this guidance page.

This shows the toolbar after accessibility too tab has been opened

What each tool does

The tools have a range of functions. You can use them to:

  • read website text aloud - including PDFs
  • download the text as an MP3 file to play it where and when it suits you
  • change font sizes and colours
  • customise background colours
  • translate text into different languages
  • access a dictionary and thesaurus

How the tools help

Play audio

Three buttons in a row, one back, one play and one forward

Back: rewind to the previous paragraph of text
Play: click the play button to read the text aloud
Forward: skip forward to the next paragraph of text

Make text bigger and smaller

Three buttons,one shows a minus sign, the other shows a font choice the third is a plus sign

Minus: this will make the text size smaller
Font: change how the font looks on the page
Plus: this will make the text size bigger

Colour, Ruler and Screen Mask    

Three buttons, first is colour, second ruler,third is masking tool

Colour: change the background and text colours
Ruler: click to enable the reading ruler
Screen Mask: create a letterbox to focus on a section of a page

Dictionary, Translation, and Magnifier

First image of a dictionary, second of two fonts, third of a magnifying glass

Dictionary: highlight a word and click on this icon to find out its meaning
Translation: translate text into a different language
Magnifier: click and drag the magnifying glass to make the text size bigger

Margins, Plain Text Mode, and Download Audio

First button shows narrow margins, second shows a sheet of text, third shows an arrow pointing downwards

Margins: change the text size by narrowing the width of the text column
Plain Text Mode: remove images to view content in plain text mode
Download Audio: highlight the text and click on this icon to download the text as an audio file

Settings

First buttons shows a cog, second a refresh symbol. third a page with an lower case i

Settings: adjust your toolbar settings
Reset: restore the default settings
User Guide: this will link to the guidance page

Find out more about accessibility support