Make your computer easier to see, hear and use

These features are free and already on your computer. You’ll find them under Start → Settings → Accessibility (the wording can vary a little depending on your version of Windows). Here are the ones people find most useful.

Making things easier to see

• Bigger text: Settings → Accessibility → Text size — drag the slider until it’s comfortable, then Apply.
• Magnifier: hold the Windows key and press + to zoom in; Windows and Esc turns it off.
• Larger mouse pointer: Settings → Accessibility → Mouse pointer and touch — make it bigger or change its colour.
• High contrast / colour themes: Settings → Accessibility → Contrast themes — easier on tired eyes. Left Alt + Left Shift + Print Screen turns high contrast on and off.
• Colour filters: Settings → Accessibility → Colour filters — for colour blindness, or a greyscale screen that’s calmer to read. Windows + Ctrl + C turns them on and off (on some PCs you switch that shortcut on in the same page first).

Having things read to you

• Read aloud in Microsoft Edge: open the web page, then press Ctrl + Shift + U, or right-click the page and choose Read aloud. It reads the article and highlights each word as it goes.
• Read Aloud in Word: on the Review tab, choose Read Aloud to hear a letter or document read back to you.
• Narrator (below) reads everything on the screen, menus and buttons included, for anyone who can’t see the screen well.

Making things easier to hear

• Live Captions: turns speech in videos and calls into on-screen text (a newer Windows 11 feature). Settings → Accessibility → Captions.
• Mono audio: sends all sound to both ears equally — handy if you hear better in one ear. Settings → Accessibility → Audio.

Using your computer without a keyboard or mouse

• Narrator: reads aloud what’s on screen. Turn it on with Windows + Ctrl + Enter.
• Voice typing (dictation): click where you want the words, press Windows + H and simply talk — your words appear as text. Say “comma” or “question mark” for punctuation. (Voice access, for controlling the whole PC by voice, is available on newer Windows 11 PCs.)

If pressing two keys at once is hard

• Sticky Keys: lets you press keyboard shortcuts one key at a time — Ctrl, then C, instead of both together. Settings → Accessibility → Keyboard.
• Filter Keys: ignores very quick or repeated key presses, which helps with shaky hands. Same place.

Making the screen calmer

• Reduce animations: Settings → Accessibility → Visual effects — turn off movement that can feel distracting.

Switched one on by accident?

These shortcuts are easy to press without meaning to. To switch each one off again:

• Everything zoomed in (Magnifier): Windows + Esc.
• The computer is talking (Narrator): Windows + Ctrl + Enter.
• Black screen with bright text (high contrast): Left Alt + Left Shift + Print Screen.
• Screen gone black and white, or odd colours (colour filters): Windows + Ctrl + C, or Settings → Accessibility → Colour filters.
• Screen upside down or sideways: Settings → System → Display → Display orientation → Landscape. See screen upside down or sideways.
• Keys behaving strangely, or a box asking about Sticky Keys: pressing Shift five times asks about Sticky Keys, and holding the right Shift key for eight seconds asks about Filter Keys. Choose No, or switch them off in Settings → Accessibility → Keyboard. Our page on how to turn off Sticky Keys has every step, and how to stop it coming back.

Our guides to dyslexia-friendly fonts and settings and assistive technology at home go further.

For more, see Microsoft Accessibility and the charity AbilityNet, which offers free advice. A quick note: we support Windows and Android devices remotely, but not Apple Macs, iPhones or iPads.

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