4 Assistive technologies #
The GNOME desktop includes assistive technologies to support users with helpful impairments and special needs, and to interact with common assistive devices. This chapter describes several assistive technology applications designed to meet the needs of users with physical disabilities like low vision or impaired motor skills.
4.1 Enabling assistive technologies #
To configure accessibility features, open the
dialog by right-clicking the desktop and choosing . In the navigation pane, select . Each assistive feature can be enabled separately.If you need a more direct access to individual assistive features, turn on
. Now the top bar shows an icon which looks like a person surrounded by a circle.4.2 Visual assistance #
In the
section of the dialog, you can enable features that help people with impaired vision.Turning on
enables high contrast black and white icons in the GNOME desktop.Turning on
enlarges the font used in the user interface.Turning on
enables a screen magnifier. You can set the desired magnification and magnifier behavior, including color effects.By customizing the
you can increase the visibility of the mouse pointer.If the
is turned on, any UI element or text that receives keyboard focus is read aloud.If the Num Lock or Caps Lock are turned on.
are turned on, a sound is played whenever
4.3 Hearing assistance #
In the
section of the dialog, you can enable features helping people with impaired hearing.If the
are turned on, a window title or the entire screen is flashed when an alert sound occurs for the respective application.4.4 Keyboard and mouse #
In the
and sections of the dialog, you can enable features that help people with mobility impairments.If the
is turned on, an on-screen keyboard appears at the bottom of the screen when you next have the opportunity to type.To enter numbers and symbols, press the
button first. More symbols are available if you press the button. To return to the alphabetic keyboard, press the button.To temporarily hide the keyboard, press the button with the arrow down icon. The keyboard is shown again automatically in the next situation where you can use it. To change your keyboard layout or change
settings, press the button with the flag icon.Under
you can configure if and at which speed the cursor blinks in text boxes (for example, in a terminal).Click
to open a dialog where you can enable more features that make typing easier:With
, you can turn accessibility features on or off by using the keyboard.Alt–→| shortcut switches between windows.
allows you to type key combinations one key at a time rather than having to hold down all keys at once. For example, theWith sticky keys turned off, you need to hold down both keys at the same time. With sticky keys turned on, press Alt and then →| to do the same.
Turn on
if you want a delay between pressing a key and the letter being displayed on the screen. This means that you need to hold down each key you want to type for a little while before it appears. Use slow keys if you accidentally press several keys at a time when you type, or if you find it difficult to press the right key on the keyboard first time.Turn on
to ignore key presses that are rapidly repeated. This can help, for example, if you have hand tremors which cause you to press a key multiple times when you only want to press it once.
Turn on
to control the mouse pointer using the numeric keypad on your keyboard.Click
to open a dialog where you can enable more features that make clicking easier: simulated secondary click and hover click.Turn on
to activate the secondary click (usually the right mouse button) by holding down the primary button for a predefined . This is useful if you find it difficult to move your fingers individually on one hand, or if your pointing device only has a single button.Turn on
to trigger a click by hovering your mouse pointer over an object on the screen. This is useful if you find it difficult to move the mouse and click at the same time. If this feature is turned on, a small hover click window opens and stays above all your other windows. You can use this to choose what sort of click should happen when you hover. When you hover your mouse pointer over a button and do not move it, the pointer gradually changes color. When it has fully changed color, the button will be clicked.
Use the slider to adjust the
according to your needs.