Set Up Windows 8 Ease of Access

Hi, you're watching VisiHow and today we're going to discuss the Ease of Access applications in Windows 8. These are user assistance applications for the most part. They're there to help you if you have poor eyesight, or difficulty hearing, or you need assistance with other things.

1. 1
   Press the Windows button

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   That's going to open up the tile screen.

   

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2. 2
   Click on the purple PC Settings option

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3. 3
   On the left you'll see a list of things to choose from, click on Ease of Access

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4. 4
   We have six options here

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5. 5
   Narrator is a screen reader

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   It reads everything on screen for you. You can choose different voices for the narrator, the speed at which they speak, and the pitch.

   

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6. 6
   In Narrator, you can also change the sounds you hear

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   You also have cursor and keys sounds options.

   

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7. 7
   The last option in Narrator is a particularly interesting one

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   "Activate keys on touch keyboard when I lift my finger off the keyboard" means you can push your finger on a touchscreen keyboard, then slide to the key that you want, and lift your finger off which will activate the key. That's quite handy, and it's not something that you would normally expect to find in this option area.

   

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8. 8
   Magnifier zooms in on things when it's on

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   Personally I find this to be an extremely annoying feature, however if I did not have my reading glasses I might fall in love with it.

   

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9. 9
   The Tracking option in Magnifier also follows your keyboard focus or the mouse cursor if you're tabbing through options

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   The magnifier has to be on for that.

   

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10. 10
    High Contrast lets you choose different high contrast options which will allow you to set your screen to something that's very easy to read if you have difficulty seeing things

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11. 11
    Keyboard will let you have an on-screen keyboard

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    Alternatively, sticky keys lets you press keys one at a time to toggle them, or you can have the system ignore quick keys or repeated keystrokes. This is particularly good if you press the same button repeatedly, like in a video game.

    

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12. 12
    Mouse can let you change the pointer size and color

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    You can use the numeric keypad to move the mouse around the screen. You can hold down Ctrl to speed up and Shift to slow down. Or you can use the mouse keys when the Num Lock is on.

    

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13. 13
    Other visual options can have animations play or turn off

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    You can show Windows backgrounds. You can show notifications for a period of time.

    

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14. 14
    You can have the cursor look much thicker or much smaller

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    For those of you who remember the old school DOS systems, you can make your cursor look just like it used to be in C Prompt.

    

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15. 15
    That sums up how to use the Ease of Access and how to use these features and options

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    Thanks for watching VisiHow. If you have any questions of comments, let us know and we'll make sure to get back to you.

    

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If you have problems with any of the steps in this article, please ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below.

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