Customising the Windows® display
The Options
Charlie Danger
Further information including step by step printable tutorials can be found atThere are a variety of ways in which a computer’s display can be enhanced to suit a person with a visual impairment. This paper looks into options for pupils with functional vision and therefore does not cover specialist text-to-speech and text-to-Braille screenreading software. This document applies to Microsoft Windows 95 and above, i.e. Windows versions 95, 98, 98SE, 2000, ME, XP Home and XP Professional.
Contents
Post-assessment Considerations
The Options
Large desktop screen
Large laptop screen
Screen magnification software
Using Windows’ built-in display options
Dropping the resolution
Increasing the mouse pointer size
How the Display works
How Windows Displays Itself
Post-assessment Considerations
Although the pupil’s vision and consequently the size and colour of the display is the most important factor, there are many other important considerations that need to be taken into account before I recommend equipment. In no particular order these are as follows:
The pupil’s vision
Obviously this is the most important consideration. This involves providing the pupil with a correctly sized interface with appropriate contrast. It is also important to think about whether the pupil’s ongoing vision is static, degenerative or ameliorative.
The pupil’s cognitive ability
Some pupils find the specialist software a little difficult to use. They should be able to focus on what the assistive devices give them access to, rather than the devices themselves.
Type of computer
Laptops and desktops have different options when it comes to displays. Plus flat TFT/LCD screens present colours differently to the bulky CRT screens.
Operating system version
This document deals only with Microsoft Windows, but some schools use other operating system interfaces such as the Mac’s OS and X Windows variations such as GNOME and KDE as well as the Acorn operating system. Different versions of Windows also have varying abilities in augmenting the display.
Finances
Newer versions of Windows come with free built-in screen enhancements but this may not be enough. Specialist devices can do more but are expensive and there are often long delays in procuring them.
School logistics
This ties in with the type of computer that the pupil will be using. If a laptop is not being considered then how many computers will they need to access around the school? Can they easily carry a bulky large-screened laptop around with them or is an ultra-portable model more appropriate?
The pupil’s likes and dislikes
If a pupil absolutely hates a certain device then we may never be able to get them to use it. Aesthetics are worth considering, especially for the older pupils.
Function and frequency
What is the function of the pupil’s ICT? Is this their main access to recording? If it is then I would be concerned about separating them from the peers in the classroom environment.
Classroom support
Unfortunately for some schools it could be detrimental to provide a comprehensive (and consequently potentially complicated) set-up as it could disconcert the pupil’s classroom support and delay implementation.
In theory we should be able to provide any given pupil with the equipment that most suits their visual needs. While this would be true in a perfect world, the other factors should be seriously considered.
The Options
There are two overall areas to consider when customising a computer screen to meet the needs of a person with visual impairment: size and contrast. How I go about getting these correctly set for a pupil can involve a lot of thought.
These are the main options available to the pupils that we are working with. They would usually be combined to create the best solution that suits the issues considered above. If you are not sure exactly how a computer screen works and how Windows’ handles the display then it would be worth reading the theory section before continuing.
Large desktop screen
On the surface this is appears to be the easiest solution and in many ways it is.
For
Many schools have 15” CRT screens and a simple upgrade to a 19” screen would yield an increase in size of around 125%. A 22” screen would give you an increase of around 150%. These increases are across the board – all icons, fonts, graphics and so on are immediately resized by this amount.
Installing a large screen requires no software, drivers or training and it would be extremely unusual for there to be any technical problems with equipment compliance. It is simply matter of plugging the new screen in where the old screen was.
Against
Many - if not most - schools have inappropriate workspaces on which their computersare situated. Because of the bulkiness of the existing CRT, the keyboard and mouse are often very close to the edge of the desk and a larger CRT might require a whole new workspace. A typical 15” screen measures 370mm wide by 400mm deep. A 22” model might measure 490mm wide by 500mm deep.
CRT screens of any size – but especially the larger ones – are not portable. If the pupil stays in a single classroom then this might not be a problem, but if he or she roams around the school then these large screens might need to be set up in every classroom. If the pupil does stay in a single classroom but uses the computer for most of their recording, a desktop CRT would probably separate them from their peers as these are rarely situated on the classroom desk.
Larger CRTs also tend to use significantly more electricity.
Large laptop screen
This issue is a bit more complex. Laptop screens only go as far as 16.1” at present (on a Sony VAIO), although for technical reasons this is roughly the same size as a 17” CRT.
For
As with the large CRTs mentioned above, a larger laptop screen will increase the size of everything on screen in one swoop. A laptop has a typical screen size of 14”. An upgrade to a larger 16.1” screen would give an overall increase of around 115%.
The good thing about the large laptop screens is they are easily portable and because they are flat and built into the computer we don’t have the space issues. They don’t even use much more electricity than their smaller counterparts (at least because bigger laptops tend to have bigger batteries).
Against
While you can easily go out and buy a new CRT screen to fit your desktop computer, you cannot replace or upgrade the screen that is built into an existing laptop. This means that a brand new laptop would have be purchased if a larger screen is required.
Although large laptops are portable, many would not find it easy to lug around a school. Because of the size of the screen, the rest of the laptop is made much larger and as a result can become very heavy. They also do take up a surprising amount of space on a classroom desk and are incredibly conspicuous.
I have a Sony VAIO with a 16.1” screen and I find it heavy and cumbersome. It only just fits in my bag, it leaves a mark on my shoulder when I carry it using the strap, and it is so conspicuous that I would feel a fool using it in a public place or classroom.
The alternative to a big laptop with a big screen is, obviously, a small laptop with a small screen. An ultra-portable laptop is far less cumbersome and noticeable.
The following table compares an ultra-portable to a large-screen laptop.
Screen Size / Dimensions (mm) / Mass (Kg) / Display MagnificationDell X200 / 12.1” / 273x226x19.8 / 1.8 inc PSU / -
Sony GRX / 16.1” / 292 x 255 x 39.8 / 4.5 inc PSU / 133% (aboveX200)
PSU is an abbreviation of Power Supply Unit and basically refers to the plug.
The Sony is 2½times the size and weight of the Dell but the screen is just a third bigger.Both of the above laptops give a battery-life of around 2 hours.
Screen magnification software
For
Screen magnification software such as Zoomtext or Lunar has been around for many years. It has been developed by VI specialists and is constantly being updated and improved. The software is easy to set up and can instantly magnify everything on the screen from 200% to 1600% magnification. It is designed not to clutter your screen, but extend Windows on to a ‘virtual monitor’ that pans around behind the real screen. At 200%, therefore, a small 12” screen becomes equivalent to a 24”.
The software enlarges all components and all programs including web sites. It also lets you easily set high-contrast colour schemes and enlarged pointers. Some versions can be set to screen-read documents and the windows interface for added support. The software can be turned on and off to allow others access to the computer and keyboard combinations can be set up to zoom in and out to allow for different visibility requirements.
Against
Some people find the need to pan around a virtual screen rather difficult. There are alternative magnification options similar to the free magnifier that comes with Windows. The software also has some compatibility issues with certain video cards and software – it is important to trial the software on a computer before investing in the high cost of purchasing it.
Using Windows’ built-in display options
For
Windows lets you customise itself exactly as you might require – almost. You can choose different items in the interface such as the cursor, menus, icons, titles and so on, and set them all individually with different colours and sizes. Once you’ve set a system up exactly as you want it then you can – in theory – take these settings with you to other computers. Also a key-combination can be set to turn these settings on and off, allowing other pupils access to the same computer without having to use logon IDs (typing in your name each time the computer needs to be used).
Against
Unfortunately setting font sizes bigger means that the computer screen becomes cluttered and there can be little area to work in if you’re using a smaller screen or particularly large font sizes. Also not everything can be made bigger – for some reason Windows leaves many short lines of text and buttons at their original sizes. It can also be complex to set up especially since choosing the right font sizes depends on the screen size and the screen resolution for that particular computer.
The font increases do not handle the Internet very well at all although can be set to have no affect on it.
Dropping the resolution
For
Dropping the resolution is a quick and easy way of making everything bigger in one sweep.
Against
As with using Windows built-in display options, because everything is bigger except the screen itself, the display can become very cluttered leaving little room to work. A drop in resolution only works for applications (such as Word) and doesn’t tend to work for edutainment titles.
It can get complex as you may have to adjust refresh rates or risk damaging the screen.
The setting applies to all users on that computer (depending on the Windows version) unless advanced scripting is used. This means that if a pupil forgets to put their resolution back then it will appear like this for all users, even if logon IDs are used. On older versions of Windows the system has to be turned off and on again for it to come into affect.
When you change the resolution on a flat LCD/TFT screen, the display can become a little blurry until it is put back the way it was.
Increasing the mouse pointer size
For
It is easy to do this but can take a little while to set all the cursors. There are some free high-visibility cursors available for download from
Against
The pointer size is dependant on the resolution and size of the screen, so it’s not just a case of choosing a particular cursor for a particular child. There is a maximum size available, although specialist software can be downloaded to remove this restriction.
How the Display works
Cathode Ray Tube /
Liquid CrystalDisplay or Thin Film Transistor
A CRT screen is bulky but cheap. They can handle a variety of ‘resolutions’. They range from 14” to 22” but can go as high as 37”. / An LCD screen (TFT is a type of LCD) is thin but more expensive. They have a native resolution which they work best with, but can usually change if required. They usually range from 14” to 17” as CRT-replacements, or 12” to 16” if built into a laptop.
A computer screen is essentially a grid like a sheet of maths paper. When the computer wants to display something on the screen it sends the co-ordinates of the square in the grid (‘pixel’) and what colour it wants it to be.
In this grid the screen isn't displaying anything - so all the squares (or 'pixels') are black. If the screen isn't sent information for a particular pixel then it will display it as black, as it does when the computer is off. / In this grid the computer has had a half-hearted attempt at drawing a smiley face. It would have done this by sending to the screen the following information:C2 = BROWN; E2 = BROWN; G2 = BROWN; D3 = BROWN; F = BROWN; D5 = WHITE; G5 = WHITE; C7 = WHITE; G7 = WHITE; D8 = WHITE; E8 = WHITE; F8 = WHITE;
The grids above measure 10 pixels by 10 pixels. Because of the amount of information they need to display, computer screens generally use 800 pixels across by 600 pixels down, or often 1024 by 768.
It's the computer that sets the size of the grid (in the Control Panel), not the computer screen. This means that the grid or 'resolution' can be altered.Computer screens will usually change to the following resolutions:
640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x1024, 1600x1200 and higher.
As computers become more powerful the resolutions are getting higher and higher.The computer will not let you set it to an abnormal resolution that it can't handle (e.g. 813x1027).
Dropping the resolution to a lower value creates larger pixels (on the same screen) and therefore the whole display is instantly ‘magnified’. For example, a resolution of 640x480 gives us a display that is 160% magnified over a resolution of 1024x768. However, because we haven’t changed the size of the monitor, Windows can find it difficult to fit the display on the screen. In the example, below, a web page is really suffering from a lower resolution:
15" Screen at 1024 x 768 / 15" screen at 800 x 600 / 15" screen at 640 x 480Because the resolution is set by the computer, plugging in a larger screen without changing the resolution will cause the grid to stretch out – making everything immediately bigger. The contents of a 19” screen are around 125% bigger than the same contents on a 15” screen.
15" Screen at 10 x 10 resolution / 19" Screen at 10 x 10 resolutionWhen an LCD (or TFT) is manufactured is has a native resolution that it is designed to be used at. On most screens the resolution can still be changed but the range is often less and it does tend to cause a slight blurring.
How Windows Displays Itself
The Microsoft Windows display is what you can see when you're using your computer. It's called a Graphical User Interface (GUI) as it is how the user interfaces with their computer. The GUI is modular and made up of separate visible components: windows, icons, menus and pointers - more commonly known as WIMP.
Ever since the early 90s, we've been able to adjust the properties of most of the WIMP components. This means that we can change the colour and size of one component independently of other components.
For example we could have: red menu text at size 24, blue icon text at size 8, icons themselves at 482, green pointers at 322, application windows at yellow, and so on.
Unfortunately to this day there are still parts of the Windows interface that we cannot adjust because of some carelessness when it was designed and strange legal reasons.
Fortunately there is third-party software available that has been specifically designed for the visually impaired. This software magnifies Windows without cluttering up the screen by magnifying only part of it at any one time. It is worth knowing about Zoomtext by Ai Squared and Lunar by Dolphin.