Accessibility features in WordPerfect Office

by Laura Acklen
www.wpwriter.com

By providing enhanced accessibility features in WordPerfect® Office, Corel demonstrates its commitment to promoting quality of life, employability, and independence for persons with disabilities.

Section 508 of the United States Rehabilitation Act provides guidelines for eliminating barriers in information technology, to provide new opportunities to people with disabilities, and to encourage the development of technologies that help achieve these goals. The law applies to all Federal agencies when they develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology. Corel is committed to ensuring that its products meet these accessibility guidelines.

Described below are only a few of the features that make it easy for you to access WordPerfect Office commands and increase your efficiency in performing tasks. By exploring the Help system of each application, you can Learn more about enhancing and customizing your WordPerfect Office workspace.

Accessibility features in WordPerfect®

WordPerfect is equipped with built-in accessibility features that let you customize your workspace and perform tasks more efficiently. These features include changing the magnification level of the document, creating custom toolbars, assigning keyboard shortcuts, and using QuickWords™.

Changing the magnification level

You can easily zoom into the document as you work. In addition to preset zoom percentage levels, WordPerfect offers several other presets, as well as user-defined zoom options.

To enlarge or reduce the page display, the document must be in Draft or Page view.

1. Click View > Zoom.
   
   
2. Enable one of the following options:
   
   • Margin width — enlarges the text by displaying it within the complete available window space, with minimal white space to the right and left
   • Page width — enlarges the page, including margins, to occupy most of the window
   • Full page — displays all page margins in the document window (the text gets smaller so that the full page can be displayed)
   • Other — lets you enter a custom zoom percentage

Creating custom toolbars

You can customize your workspace by creating custom toolbars that let you quickly access the features, keystrokes, commands, and macros you use the most.

1. Click Tools > Settings.

2. Click Customize.
   
   
3. In the Customize Settings dialog box, click the Toolbars tab.
   
   
4. Click Create.
   
   
5. In the Create Toolbar dialog box, type a name for the toolbar in the New Toolbar name box.

6. Click OK.
   
   
7. In the Toolbar Editor dialog box, choose a category from the Feature categories list box.
   
   
8. Choose a feature from the Features list.
   
   
9. Click Add.

Assigning shortcut keys

WordPerfect provides default shortcut keys to help you work more efficiently. You can also assign your own shortcut keys to the features and macros you use the most.

1. Click Tools > Settings.
   
   
2. Click Customize.
   
   
3. In the Customize Settings dialog box, click the Keyboards tab.
   
   
4. Choose a keyboard from the Available keyboards list.

5. Click Edit.
   
   
6. In the Keyboard shortcuts dialog box, choose a shortcut key from the Choose a shortcut key list.
   
   
7. On the Features tab, choose a category from the Features categories list box.
   
   
8. Choose a feature from the Assign a feature to the shortcut key list.
   
   
9. Click Assign feature to key.

Using QuickWords™

For those with reduced mobility, the QuickWords feature lets you insert words or strings of text into a document by typing an abbreviation. When you type the abbreviation, QuickWords automatically expands it. For example, you can have "‘cc" represent "Corel Corporation." When you type "cc," "Corel Corporation" appears in the document. When you use QuickWords, the abbreviation or string you type is not case-sensitive. For example, typing "cc" produces the same result as typing "CC."

You can easily customize the QuickWords list by adding your own words and abbreviations:

1. Select a word or phrase.
   
   
2. Click Tools > QuickWords.
   
   
3. Type a word to represent the word or phrase in the Abbreviated form box.
   
   
4. Click Add entry.

Accessibility features in Presentations™

As part of the WordPerfect Office suite, Presentations™ offers many of the same accessibility features available in WordPerfect. One such feature is its compatibility with Microsoft® IntelliMouse®, which provides easy access and intuitive control of your environment. Another convenient feature is zooming to a specific area of a slide.

Using Microsoft® IntelliMouse® to zoom in and out

Hold down Ctrl, and do one of the following:

• Rotate the Microsoft IntelliMouse wheel backward to zoom in.
• Rotate the Microsoft IntelliMouse wheel forward to zoom out.

Using Microsoft® IntelliMouse® to scroll

Double-click a slide, and do one of the following:

• Rotate the Microsoft IntelliMouse wheel forward to scroll horizontally.
• Rotate the Microsoft IntelliMouse wheel backward to scroll vertically.

You can also scroll horizontally by holding down Shift and rotating the IntelliMouse wheel in the direction you want to scroll.

To adjust the Zoom level

1. Choose View > Zoom.
   
   
2. In the Zoom dialog box (see below), enable a magnification option.

3. Click OK.

Accessibility features in Quattro Pro®

Quattro Pro® shares with all the other WordPerfect Office applications multiple built-in features that enhance accessibility and make tasks more efficient. Some of these features let you customize the magnification level of cells, the font size and style within cells, and the font size within a Help topic.

Zooming in on cell data

1. Select a cell or cells.
   
   
2. Choose View > Zoom.
   
   
3. In the Zoom dialog box, enable the Selection option.
   
   
4. Click OK.

Changing the size of toolbar buttons

1. Click Tools > Customize.
   
   
2. In the Options dialog box, click the plus sign (+) beside Customization and select Toolbar.
   
   
3. In the Toolbar area, select a toolbar.
   
   
4. In the Size area, select Small, Medium, or Large from the Button list box.
   
   
5. Click OK.

Changing the font size in a Help topic

1. In the Help window, click Options > Font.
   
   
2. Click one of the following font sizes:

• Small — decreases the font size
• Normal — sets the default font size
• Large — increases the font size

Assigning a shortcut key for easy keyboard access

1. Click Tools > Customize.
   
   
2. Click the plus sign (+) beside Customization and select Commands.
   
   
3. In the Commands area, select All (Show All items) from the drop-down list (see below).

4. Click the Binoculars icon to search for a control.
   
   
5. In the Find Text dialog box, enter Decimal in the Find What box.
   The Change Decimal Place control is now selected.
   
   
6. In the Find Text dialog, click Close.
   
   
7. Click the Shortcut Keys tab.
   
   
8. In the New Shortcut Key box, type the keys you want to use for the shortcut. (For example, Ctrl+Alt+D.)

9. Click Assign.
   The new shortcut key appears in the Current Shortcut Keys list box.
   
   
10. Click OK.

To use your new shortcut key

1. Type a number in a cell and select the cell.
   
   
2. Press Ctrl+Alt+D, or whichever combination of keys you've used in the previous procedure.
   
   
3. The Change Decimal Place control appears by your mouse pointer and lets you enter the number of decimal places without lifting your hands from the keyboard.

4. Enter the number of decimal places.
   
   
5. Click Enter.

Support for assistive technologies in WordPerfect® Office

In addition, the ASCII text version of the online Help makes it easy for assistive technologies, such as text-to-speech readers, to interpret the information.

To access WordPerfect® documentation in ASCII text format

1. Insert the WordPerfect Office CD into the CD drive.
   
   
2. From the Windows® taskbar, choose Start > Settings > Control Panel.
   If your operating system is Windows® XP, click Start > Control Panel.
   
   
3. Double-click the Add/Remove programs icon.
   If your operating system is Windows XP, click the Add or remove programs link.
4. Choose WordPerfect Office from the Currently installed programs list.
   
   
5. Click Change/Remove.
   > If you see two separate buttons, click Change.
   
   
6. In the installation wizard, enable the Modify option.
   
   
7. Click Next.
   
   
8. Double-click WordPerfect Office > Utilities > Accessible Help files.
   
   
9. Select the files, and follow the instructions in the installation wizard.

The files are installed in the following location: Program files\WordPerfect Office 12\Shared\Help.