About accessibility for people with disabilities

Accessibility features in Microsoft Access

You can do the following to take advantage of the accessibility features in Access:

• View and print lists of all available shortcut keys.
• Use the keyboard to define relationships, add or copy text boxes or other controls on forms and reports, and rearrange columns in Datasheet view.
• Create a toolbar that contains only the buttons and menus you use most often for the current database or for all your databases. You can also increase the size of the buttons and group related buttons together.
• Set menus to display all commands all the time. You can also change toolbars to appear as they did in earlier versions of Office.
• Create custom colors or change the background color for a section or control on a form or report.
• Insert repeated entries in a column quickly by using the keyboard.
• Automatically correct common typing errors and even specify a list of errors you want corrected as you type.

Customizing the operating system

Using the operating system running on your computer, you can set or change system accessibility options.

For example, you can use the Windows MouseKeys feature to set up the numeric keypad to move the mouse pointer and to click, double-click, and drag objects.

To access or change the accessibility options for any Windows operating system, press CTRL+ESC to open the Windows Start menu, choose Settings, choose Control Panel, and then choose the Accessibility Options icon. For Help on an option, select the option and press SHIFT+F1.

Printed information about Microsoft services

More information about Microsoft services for people with disabilities is available in an appendix in the book Discovering Microsoft Office XP which is available from the Microsoft Web site. For example, you'll find information about how people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can contact the Microsoft Sales Information Center or the Microsoft Support Network. You'll also find information about obtaining Microsoft documentation for those who have difficulty reading or handling printed documentation. The appendix also describes third-party hardware and software products that make personal computers easier to use for people with disabilities, and lists organizations to contact for more information.

Information on the Web

If you have access to the Web, you can learn more about creating accessible content for Web pages by referring to the accessibility standards developed by the World Wide Web Consortium. To learn more about accessibility in Microsoft products, visit the Microsoft Accessibility Web site.

Note   The hyperlinks in this topic go to the Web. You can switch back to Help at any time.