Advice for web users who have dexterity impairments

Enlarge the text size

By enlarging the size of text you have a bigger target area for links. Most common web browser, such as Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator and Opera, let you adjust the size of text used on web pages. Some websites, such as ours include a style changer, making it easy to change some of the settings without having to adjust your browser. However we also include help on adjusting some of the more popular browsers. More advice can be found in the Help menu of your browser.

Adjusting web browsers

Using the keyboard

If you find using a mouse difficult then you can use your keyboard to move around a page.

The Tab key will move between links. Pressing SHIFT and Tab, will move you to the previous link
The Backspace key is the same as clicking on BACK, moving you to the web page you were looking at previously. Pressing Alt and the right arrow is the same as clicking on FORWARD.

If you cannot use a standard mouse there are a number of alternative "pointing devices" available, such as a ballpoint mouse, trackballs, touch pads and head mounted pointers. Similarly if you find using a standard keyboard difficult then there are alternative devices. Further information can be found in our Using Computers and the Web section.

Use auto-complete

When you are typing web addresses or completing entries on web pages, this displays a list of previous matching entries as you type. To turn AutoComplete on or off:

on the Tools menu, click Internet Options
click the Content tab
click the AutoComplete button. If you have cognitive disabilities, you might want to clear the check boxes to avoid distractions. If you use a blind-access utility, you might want to clear the check boxes if your accessibility aid reads the suggestions as they appear, making typing difficult.

If you want more advice try:

Our guide to broadband