Click here for UK government accesskeys system .
We hope that you're not having any difficulty using this page - we’ve used a bigger type size to make it easier to read. However, if you have difficulty viewing the rest of our website, there are things you can do to help.
You can change some of the options in your Internet browser (at the top of this window), and using the latest version of Netscape or Internet Explorer you will be able to:
- alter the size and colour of most text (but not images)
- alter the background colour (black text on a yellow background gives the most contrast)
- alter the line length, by changing the size and shape of your browser window
- override the colour schemes of this website and others with your preferred settings
See below for a step by step guide on changing your browser settings.
All our suggestions to improve the accessibility of web pages will apply to every site you visit. Please note that they won't affect images on the screen.
Microsoft Internet Explorer
To apply permanently the font and colour changes below:
- on the View / Tools menu, click Internet Options
- on the General tab, select Accessibility
- click the three boxes to show ticks.
Changing the font
- Using a sans serif font (such as Arial), rather than a serif font (such as Times New Roman) can make text easier to read.
- on the View / Tools menu, click Internet Options
- on the General tab, click Fonts
- in the Proportional and Fixed-width font lists, select the fonts you would like to use.
Displaying text larger or smaller
- on the View / Tools menu, click Internet Options
- on the General tab, click Fonts
- select the font size you would like.
Changing text and background colour
Website authors and designers often specify particular fonts, typefaces and background colours for their pages, and the combinations can sometimes make the text difficult to read. You can override these settings by choosing your own preferred, clearer colour scheme - black text on a yellow background gives the most contrast:
- on the View / Tools menu, click Internet Options
- on the General tab, click Colors
- click on the tick box labelled Use Windows Colors
- click Text, and select the colour you want. Click OK.
- click Background, and select the colour you want to use. Click OK.
To close images on web pages:
- on the View / Tools menu, click Internet Options
- on the Advanced tab, scroll down to Multimedia
- click on Show pictures to remove the tick
- click on Apply, and then click on OK.
To change the size of the window:
- click Full Screen on the toolbar.
There are more options to make websites easier to read, such as removing animation and expanding text. To look at the other options:
- on the View / Tools menu, click Internet Options
- select the Advanced tab
- choose the options you would like.
Netscape Navigator 4.x
To change the settings on your browser go to the Edit menu, and click on Preferences. From here you can make the following changes:
Changing the font
- click on Appearance
- click Font
- change the Variable Width Font and the Fixed Width Font to the type you prefer.
(To use these fonts when you visit all websites
in future, click on Use my default fonts overriding document specified
fonts.)
Changing the colour of the text and the background
- click on Appearance
- click Colours
- select Text, and choose the colour you would like to use
- click OK
- select Background, and choose a colour
- click OK
- click OK to close Preferences
(To use these settings in future, click on Always use my colours, overriding document.)
To close images on web pages:
- click on Edit
- click Preferences
- select Advanced
- remove the tick from the box marked Automatically load images
- click OK
If you have any problems changing these settings, please click the Help menu on the browser toolbar. Also, if your browser has different options to the above, look at the Help menu for specific instructions.
Please note that your operating system and browser may not support the accesskey system.
Skip Navigation - Press Control S
Return to Home page - Press Control 1
Site Map - Press Control 3
Search - Press Control 4
Contact Us - Press Control 9
Access Key Details - Press Control 0
