Access Keys
Access keys let you navigate around JimMcGillis.com without using your mouse. They can be used to jump directly to different sections of JimMcGillis.com or certain areas within a page, without having to move your mouse at all. Below are two tables; the first is a listing of access keys common to all pages in our website, and beneath it are usage instructions for your browser. Please note that some assistive technology tools such as the IBM HomePage Reader© and WindowEyes© already make use of the alt+[access key] combinations. As such, users of these tools may not be able to use these access keys. These access key assignments are based on research into best practice across the web (in an attempt to be consistent with other sites' access keys), and an understanding of the key global navigation requirements of JimMcGillis.com users. If you have any comments on how JimMcGillis.com could make better use of access keys, please use the information provided at our Contact Page.
| Access key | Function or Destination |
|---|---|
| ALT+1 | go to the JimMcGillis.com Home page |
| ALT+2 | go to the JimMcGillis.com Book page |
| ALT+3 | go to the JimMcGillis.com Latest Entry page |
| ALT+4 | go to the JimMcGillis.com Media page |
| ALT+5 | go to the JimMcGillis.com Maps page |
| ALT+6 | go to the JimMcGillis.com Search page |
| ALT+7 | go to the JimMcGillis.com Contact page |
How to use Access Keys in your Browser
| Browser | What to do |
|---|---|
| Internet Explorer 5+ (PC) | Hold down the ALT key, press the number of the access key, release both keys then press ENTER |
| Internet Explorer 4 (PC) | Hold down the ALT key and press the number of the access key |
| Internet Explorer 5+ (Mac) | Hold down the CTRL key and press the number of the access key |
| Internet Explorer 4.5 (Mac) | Access keys are not supported |
| Netscape 6 and earlier (PC/Mac) | Access keys are not supported |
| Netscape 7 (PC) | Hold down the ALT key and press the number of the access key |
| Firefox, Mozilla (PC) | Hold down the ALT key and press the number of the access key |
| Firefox, Mozilla (Mac) | Hold down the CTRL key and press the number of the access key |
| Safari and Omniweb (Mac) | Hold down the CTRL key and press the number of the access key |
| Opera | Hold down the Shift key and press Escape, release both keys, then press the number of the access key |
This is designed to let you change the text size, text and background colors, and other display settings through standard browser settings.
This page shows you how to use some of these browser display settings.
Most Web browsers include functionality to let you increase or decrease the text in a Web page. For example, to increase text size:
Why doesn't this work with some other Web sites?
The browser settings on this page should work when browsers and Web sites meet WAI guidelines and are designed for accessibility, flexibility, and user control. However, some browsers do not provide as much user control, and some Web sites are designed to defeat browser settings. Text resizing does not work well in browsers and Web sites that do not meet accessibility guidelines.
Turning off the style sheet gives a plain layout view, which:
Many browsers provide functionality to set different aspects of font and color. Below are examples of how to access this functionality.
Should all Web sites include instructions like this?
It is not an accessibility requirement that Web sites include information on changing text sizes and colors like this page. We chose to include this information to help people who want to know how to change their browser settings and may not know how.
Web browsers and Web sites should be designed following WAI guidelines so that people can easily change text sizes and colors.
JimMcGillis.com does not endorse specific Web browsers and does not recommend one browser over another. While some common browsers are included in this page, mention of a specific browser does not imply endorsement or recommendation.
Alternative Web Browsing
This is a collection of pointers to information, and where possible, to demonstration versions of alternative browsing methods.
People with disabilities, whether temporary -- such as a slow connection or eyes "disabled" by having to watch traffic -- or permanent -- such as hearing, visual, physical or cognitive impairment -- use a wide range of alternative approaches, different from traditional mouse-and-screen-based browsers.
People with visual impairment or reading difficulties rely on speech output, Braille displays or screen magnification; and in many cases use the keyboard instead of the mouse. People who can't use a keyboard rely either on voice recognition for spoken commands, or on switch devices which can be controlled by head, mouth or eye movements. People whose eyes are busy with another task may need Web access using voice-driven systems. This page is intended to give you background and pointers to solutions for these scenarios.
The purpose of this collection is to reflect the whole range of approaches used for browsing. If you design web pages, then this will allow you to try out a particular browsing method with specific sites as a way of checking how usable they are for a given browser, or combination of browser and screen-reader, voice-recognition, or other adaptive systems. If you are a user who may be interested in finding the most effective method for you, then you should also find useful information here.
The area is divided into five sections:
Disclaimer:
Inclusion of products on this reference list does not mean that they are endorsed by JimMcGillis.com. Products are listed in alphabetical order, with no quality rating. JimMcGillis.com provides the information on this page as a service to the Web community and in good faith. However JimMcGillis.com cannot verify the accuracy of all claims made by developers or users.
Section 1: Browsers specifically designed for people with disabilities
For each of the following browsers, a brief description is given indicating which of the above adaptive features is supported. Browsers are english language versions unless otherwise specified.
A talking interface using the Internet Explorer engine, from the University of Geneva. A talking browser with synchronized magnified text display that can provide audio/haptic feedback on element types and positioning. Speech input available.
A screen-reader is used to allow navigation of the screen presented by the operating system, using speech or Braille output, and should therefore enable use of any mainstream application. In the context of browsing this usually means that they are used in conjunction with Netscape, Microsoft Internet Explorer, or, less often, with one of the other non-disability-specific browsers such as LYNX and Opera, detailed in section 3. Listed below are the home pages of all the major developers of screen-readers for different versions of Windows, and including one for Macintosh. Many of these include support for MS-DOS, either as an integral part of the Windows version, or in conjunction with a stand-alone DOS screen-reader. They all provide demonstration versions.
(most information in German, some also in french, russian and english)
(DOS, Windows 3.x, 95, NT) (May be obsolete)
Section 3: Browsers with adaptive technology
These browsers are all designed for general use, but are of interest because they may give enhanced accessibility in combination with particular adaptive systems, and some have enhanced screen magnification or navigation options.
These are systems which allow voice-driven navigation, some with both voice-in and voice-out, and some allowing telephone-based web access.
Section 5: Other access methods
We will be expanding this section to include links to reference lists of other access technologies such as screen magnifiers and recognition programs which can be used in conjunction with Web browsers.
What is "automatic translation"?
It's translation produced by state-of-the-art technology, without the intervention of human translators. Automatic translation is also often referred to as machine translation.
Has Google developed its own translation software?
Yes. Google's research group has developed its own statistical translation system for the language pairs now available on Google Translate.
What is statistical machine translation?
Most state-of-the-art, commercial machine-translation systems in use today have been developed using a rule-based approach, and require a lot of work to define vocabularies and grammars.
Our system takes a different approach: we feed the computer billions of words of text, both monolingual text in the target language, and aligned text consisting of examples of human translations between the languages. We then apply statistical learning techniques to build a translation model. We've achieved very good results in research evaluations.
The translation quality isn't as good as I'd like it to be. Can you make it more accurate?
We're constantly working on it. Even today's most sophisticated software, however, doesn't approach the fluency of a native speaker or possess the skill of a professional translator. Automatic translation is very difficult, as the meaning of words depends on the context in which they're used. While we are working on the problem, it may be some time before anyone can offer human quality translations. In the interim, we hope you find the service we provide useful for most purposes.
Also, in order to improve quality, we need large amounts of bilingual text. If you have large amounts of bilingual or multilingual texts you'd like to contribute, please let us know.
I still have questions. Where can I go for more information?
Check out the Google Translate discussion group.