Accessibility

Using the RCSLT website

We hope that you do not have any difficulty using our website. We have given detailed consideration to the design, type sizes and colour contrasts used on the site, to make it easier to read. We recommend that you view our site with your screen resolution set at 800 x 600 or above. However, if you are having difficulty, there are things you can do.

You can change some of the options in your Internet browser (at the top of this window), and using the latest version of Netscape or Internet Explorer you will be able to:

  • alter the size and colour of most text (but not images)
  • alter the background colour (black text on a yellow background gives the most contrast)
  • alter the line length, by changing the size and shape of your browser window
  • over-ride the colour schemes of this website and others with your preferred settings

All the suggestions outlined below will improve the accessibility of web pages on every site you visit. They will not, however, affect images on the screen.

Microsoft Internet Explorer

To permanently apply the font and colour changes outlined below, you must first:

  • on the Tools menu, click Internet Options
  • on the General tab, select Accessibility
  • click the three boxes to show ticks

Changing the font

Most of the documents on this site are in a sans serif font (in this case, Arial), rather than a serif font (such as Times New Roman), which should make the text easier to read. However, if you have a preference for a different font:

  • on the Tools menu, click Internet Options
  • on the General tab, click Fonts
  • in the Web Page Font list, select the font you would like to use
  • click OK

Displaying text larger or smaller

  • on the View menu, click Text Size
  • select the font size you would like

Changing text and background colour

Website authors and designers often specify particular fonts, typefaces and background colours for their pages, and the combinations can sometimes make the text difficult to read. You can override these settings by choosing your own preferred, clearer colour scheme - black text on a yellow background gives the most contrast:

  • on the Tools menu, click Internet Options
  • on the General tab, click Colours
  • click on the tick box labelled Use Windows Colours (to remove the tick)
  • click Text, and select the colour you want. Click OK
  • click Background, and select the colour you want to use. Click OK

To hide images on web pages

  • on the Tools menu, click Internet Options
  • on the Advanced tab, scroll down to Multimedia
  • click on Show pictures to remove the tick
  • click on Apply, and then click on OK

To change the size of the window

  • on the View Menu, click Full Screen

There are more options to make websites easier to read, such as removing animation and expanding text. To look at the other options:

  • on the Tools menu, click Internet Options
  • select the Advanced tab
  • choose the options you would like

Netscape Navigator / Mozilla Firefox

To change the settings on your browser go to the Tools menu, and click on Options. From here you can make the following changes:

Changing the font

  • on Tools Menu click on options
  • under the general tab, click on Fonts & Colours
  • Change the font face, font size

(To use these fonts when you visit all websites in future, check the boxes at the bottom; Always use my default fonts / colours boxes.)

Displaying text larger or smaller

  • on the View menu, click Text Size
  • select the font size you would like

Changing the colour of the text and the background

  • on Tools Menu click on options
  • under the general tab, click on Fonts & colours
  • under Text and Background select text colour
  • under Background select colour for background
  • select Background, and choose a colour
  • click OK

(To use these fonts when you visit all websites in future, check the boxes at the bottom; Always use my default fonts / colours boxes.)

To close images on web pages

  • click on Edit
  • click Preferences
  • select Advanced
  • remove the tick from the box marked Automatically load images
  • click OK

If you have any problems changing these settings, please click the Help menu on the browser toolbar. Also, if your browser has different options to these above, look at the Help menu for specific instructions.