Accessibility for People with Disabilities

Microsoft is committed to making its products and services easier for everyone to use. This Help file provides information about the following features, products, and services that make Microsoft products more accessible for people with disabilities:

Microsoft Services for People Who Are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing

Access Packs for Microsoft Windows 3.1 and Microsoft Windows NT

Keyboard Layouts for Single-Handed Users

Microsoft Documentation in Alternative Formats

Third-Party Utilities to Enhance Accessibility

Customizing Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Windows NT, and Microsoft Windows 95

Other Products and Services for People with Disabilities

Note

This information applies only to users who purchased Microsoft products in the United States. If you purchased Microsoft Windows, Windows NT, or Windows 95 outside the United States, your Windows package contains a subsidiary information card listing Microsoft support services, telephone numbers, and addresses. You can contact your subsidiary to find out whether the type of products and services described in these Help topics are available in your area.


Microsoft Services for People Who Are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing

Through a text telephone/Teletype (TT/TDD) device, Microsoft provides people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing with complete access to Microsoft product and customer support services.

You can contact the Microsoft Sales Information Center on a text telephone by dialing (800) 892-5234 between 6:30 A.M. and 5:30 P.M. Pacific time. For technical assistance in the United States, you can contact Microsoft Support Network on a text telephone at (206) 635-4948 between 6:00 A.M. and 6:00 P.M. Pacific time, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. In Canada, dial (905) 568-9641 between 8:00 A.M. and 8:00 P.M. Eastern time, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Microsoft support services are subject to Microsoft prices, terms, and conditions in place at the time the service is used.


Access Packs for Microsoft Windows 3.1 and Microsoft Windows NT

Microsoft distributes Access Packs for Microsoft Windows and Windows NT that provide people with motion or hearing disabilities better access to computers running Windows or Windows NT. These Access Packs contain 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 control the mouse pointer by using the keyboard.

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.

Access Pack for Microsoft Windows is included on the Microsoft Windows Driver Library in the file Accp.exe. Access Pack for Microsoft Windows NT is included in the Microsoft Application Note WN0789. If you have a modem, you can download Accp.exe or WN0789.exe, which are self-extracting archive files, from the following network services:

CompuServe

GEnie

Microsoft Partner Network

Various user-group bulletin boards (such as the bulletin-board services on the Association of PC User Groups network)

In /SOFTLIB/MSLFILES on the Internet servers FTP.MICROSOFT.COM and WWW.MICROSOFT.COM.

Microsoft Download Service (MSDL), which you can reach by calling (206) 936-6735 any time except between 1:00 A.M. and 2:30 A.M. Pacific time. Use the following communications settings.

For this setting	Specify
Baud rate	1200, 2400, 9600, or 14400
Parity	None
Data bits	8
Stop bits	1
People within the United States who do not have a modem can order the Access Packs on disks by calling the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400 (voice) or (800) 892-5234 (text telephone). In Canada, you can call (905) 568-3503 or (905) 568-9641 (text telephone).


Keyboard Layouts for Single-Handed Users

Microsoft distributes Dvorak keyboard layouts that make the most frequently typed characters on a keyboard more accessible to people who have difficulty using the standard "QWERTY" layout. There are three Dvorak layouts: one for two-handed users, one for people who type with their left hand only, and one for people who type with their right hand only. The left-handed or right-handed keyboard layouts can also be used by people who type with a single finger or a wand. You do not need to purchase any special equipment in order to use these features.

Microsoft Windows 3.1 and Microsoft Windows NT already support the two-handed Dvorak layout, which can be useful for coping with or avoiding types of repetitive-motion injuries associated with typing. To get this layout, choose the International icon in Control Panel. The two layouts for people who type with one hand are distributed as Microsoft Application Note GA0650. This application note is also contained in file GA0650.exe on most network services and on the Microsoft Download Service. For instructions about obtaining this application note, see Access Packs for Microsoft Windows 3.1 and Microsoft Windows NT.


Third-Party Utilities to Enhance Accessibility

A wide variety of third-party hardware and software products are available to make personal computers easier to use for people with disabilities. Among the different types of products available for the MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows, and Microsoft Windows NT operating systems are:

Programs that enlarge or alter the color of information on the screen for people with visual impairments.

Programs that describe information on the screen in Braille or synthesized speech for people who are blind or have difficulty reading.

Hardware and software utilities that modify the behavior of the mouse and keyboard.

Programs that enable users to "type" using a mouse or their voice.

Word or phrase prediction software that allows one to type more quickly and with fewer keystrokes.

Alternate input devices, such as single switch or puff-and-sip devices, for those who cannot use a mouse or a keyboard.

For more information about obtaining third-party utilities, see Other Products and Services for People with Disabilities.


Microsoft Documentation in Alternative Formats

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

Recording for the Blind, Inc.

20 Roszel Road

Princeton, NJ  08540

Phone from within the United States:	(800) 221-4792

Phone outside the United States:	(609) 452-0606

Fax:	(609) 987-8116


Customizing Microsoft Windows, Windows NT, and Windows 95

There are many ways you can adjust the appearance and behavior of Microsoft Windows or Windows NT to suit varying eyesight and motor skills without requiring any additional software or hardware. These include ways to adjust the onscreen appearance and behavior of the mouse and keyboard. The specific methods available depend on which operating system you are using. Application notes are available describing the specific methods available for each operating system.

See the appropriate application note for information related to customizing your operating system for people with disabilities.

Operating system	Application note
Microsoft Windows 3.0	WW0786.txt
Microsoft Windows 3.1	WW0787.txt
Microsoft Windows for Workgroups 3.1	WG0788.txt
Microsoft Windows NT 3.1 and 3.5	WN0789.exe
Microsoft Windows 95	WN1062


Other Products and Services for People with Disabilities

For more information about Microsoft products and services for people with disabilities, contact:

Microsoft Sales Information Center

One Microsoft Way

Redmond, WA  98052-6393

Voice telephone:	(800) 426-9400

Text telephone:	(800) 892-5234

Fax:	(800) 635-6100

The Trace R&D Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison produces a book and a compact disc that describe products that help people with disabilities use computers. The book, titled Trace Resource Book, provides descriptions and photographs of about 2,000 products. The compact disc, titled CO-NET CD, provides a database of more than 18,000 products and other information for people with disabilities. It is issued twice a year.

To obtain these directories, contact:

Trace R&D Center

S-151 Waisman Center

1500 Highland Avenue

Madison, WI 53705–2280

Voice telephone: 	(608) 263-2309

Text telephone:	(608) 263-5408

Fax:	(608) 262-8848

For general information and recommendations on how computers can help specific people, 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 that are available to you. To locate the assistive technology program nearest you, you can contact:

National Information System

Center for Developmental Disabilities

Benson Building

University of South Carolina

Columbia, SC 29208

Voice/text telephone inside the U.S.:	(800) 777-4434

Voice/text telephone outside the U.S.:	(803) 777-6222

Fax:	(803) 777-6058