[bcab] Re: Big white letters on black

Hi Rosemary, the last part of your email stating that the email is from AOL 
does make quite a 
difference.

AOL is very user-unfriendly for people with low vision as it has it's own mail 
client which is 
difficult to configure, even if you set the XP colour options to high contrast 
as Leonie has so 
expertly described, you may well find that when you launch AOL it's colours do 
not change along with 
the computer's general changes.  & You may find that AOL still has a white or 
bitmap graphic 
background, whichever way around you set the computer's display options.  In 
general it is very 
over-graphical & has too many frills and bells...

My better half is in a similar position to yourself re: glare and is a Zoomtext 
user.   Frankly 
AOL - even version 9 - was one of the worst programs I've ever come across for 
low vision 
accessibility.  & If you were totally screen-reader dependent your experience 
of it would be even 
worse!   Apparently it's geared towards dummies, but I can't help wondering if 
it wasn't made by 
them as well in light of this poor accessibility.

In a way I hate to present such a technical option to someone who says they're 
a novice, however 
this is one of the best solutions to AOL mail I know about - a program called 
"email2pop" (formerly 
"AOL2pop") whcih allows one to collect and handle AOL email via a regular Pop3 
email program such as 
outlook express.

I've tried this program when once stuck with AOL and it worked!  & There's a 
free 10 day trial which 
may well cover your "minding the shop" period. More info is at

http://www.email2pop.com/

H T H - Leon Gilbert
Editor, www.vipnews.org.uk
(currently on a break from updates until September 06).

(PS: Your never having had to get to grips with Windoze may mean that you are 
one of the lucky ones, 
smile)

"The wireless telegraph is not difficult to understand. The
ordinary telegraph is like a very long cat. You pull the
tail in New York, and it meows in Los Angeles. The
wireless is the same, only without the cat."
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Léonie Watson" <tink@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: <bcab@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, August 27, 2006 4:29 PM
Subject: [bcab] Re: Big white letters on black


Rosemary,

There are two ways to do this, either one works as well as the
other. Depending on how bothersome the glare is, you may want to get some
sighted assistance, but here you go:
Method 1...

1. Open the Start Menu.
2. Arrow down to Control Panel.
3. Select Display from inside the Control Panel.
4. Press Shift Tab, to move to the Theme Tab.
5. Press the right arrow 3 times, until you reach the Appearance tab.
6. Press the tab key twice, until you reach the Colour Scheme drop down box.
7. Make a note of the current colour scheme, so you can put it back for your
friend later.
8. Use the arrow keys to move up through the list until you reach High
Contrast Black.
89 Press the tab key once again to reach the Font Size drop down box.
10. Make a note of the current setting once again, then select Extra Large
from this box.
11. Tab around to the OK button and press it to save your changes.


Method 2...

1. Open the Start Menu.
2. Arrow down to Control Panel.
3. Select Accessibility Options from inside the Control Panel.
4. Press Shift Tab to reach the Keyboard tab.
5. Press the right arrow key twice, to reach the Display tab.
6. Press tab once and select the High Contrast checkbox.
7. Press tab once again and select the High Contrast Settings button.
8. You'll find information about a shortcut key for toggling High Contrast
Display on/off.
9. Press tab once again to reach the Appearance Scheme drop down box.
10. Use the arrow keys to select High Contrast Black Large.
11. Tab around to the OK button and activate it, then do the same in the
remaining window.

HTH,
Tink.

-----Original Message-----
From: bcab-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:bcab-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Rosemary F. Johnson
Sent: 27 August 2006 15:29
To: bcab@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [bcab] Big white letters on black

Sorry that this is a really, really novice beginner's question.

A friend has left me "minding the shop" for her small business while she's
away on holiday for two weeks.  Part of thi job is to check the office's
emails regularly for anything that needs dealing with (from
clients/subcontractors, about changes in plans, deliveries. etc).

I'm a "hearing and peering" person - my main problems are glare (highly
photophobic) and multiple ghost images.  I'm using very old green-screen kit
here at home, and this office computer is doing my head - and my eyes - in;
to be able to read these emails I have to get so close the glare drives me
crazy.
Fortunately there are not many emails!


Can anyone please tell me:

1. whether I should be able to find a setup with big white letters on black
background somewhere, under the heading of "accessibility options" or
otherwise - or is it highly likely there were never loaded and I'm out of
luck?

2. if there are (or should be) there, how to find them and turn them on?

I've never got to grips with windoze, or anything similar since the days it
was called Gem desktop, so really, really basic instructions assuming no
knowledge at all would be much appreciated.

The PC in question is a Dell desktop with tower unit, and the (garishly
bright!) startup screen proclaims it is Windows XP - though I don't know the
model/flavour/version of either.  She did only buy it a few months ago.  In
case this makes any difference, the emails come in from AOL.

Many thanks in advance.

Rosemary

--
Rosemary F. Johnson


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