NewDeal Technical Support Document 274

ACCESSIBILITY OPTIONS

Information about configuring NewDeal software for all computer users

You can customize NewDeal software in several ways to make the software easy to use for everyone, including those who find it difficult to interact with the computer when using the typical or default settings. If you, or someone you know, has difficulty seeing the screen, or using the keyboard, or using a mouse, here are some tips for making adjustments to the software that might help.

Video Display

All Objects on Screen

If the objects on screen appear too small, check to see which video driver is active in Preferences, Video. The lower resolution you choose, the larger all objects will appear. If you are using a 1024 x 768 driver, try an 800 x 600 driver, or a 640 x 480 driver. If you are already using 640 x 480, try the EGA driver, which has a resolution of 640 x 350 and work on most computers that support VGA.

If color display is distracting, try the VGA Mono driver, or the inverse Mono driver. For the largest objects and most close-up view, the CGA drivers provide a wide range of two-color combinations.

Text On Screen

You can adjust the size of the text used in menus, dialog boxes, and below icons throughout the software. Run Preferences, Look and Feel to change the System Font (used in menus and informational dialog boxes) or the Editable Text Size (used in text entry fields throughout the software and in applications like the Text File Editor).

To change the size of the text below the icons on the desktop and in NewManager, run Preferences, Configure UI. Choose the File Manager button and change Font Size.

Using the View Menu

Most NewDeal applications that create documents have a View menu. Use the choices in the View menu to "zoom in" on your document as if you were looking at the document through a magnifying glass.

Keyboard Options

Repeat Speed

If you are able to use a keyboard, you can adjust the speed at which the keys repeat. Run Preferences and choose the Keyboard module. Keyboard Delay sets the amount of time between when you press the key and when it begins to repeat. Keyboard Repeat Rate determines how quickly each duplicate character appears. If you frequently get unwanted duplicate characters when you type, try adjusting these values to Short and Slow.

Floating Keyboard

If you have difficulty using a keyboard, but you can use a mouse or other pointing device, NewDeal provides an on-screen floating keyboard you can use to enter text instead of the regular keyboard. To enable the floating keyboard, you must exit NewDeal and edit the GEOS.INI file by hand. Follow these steps:

  1. Exit NewDeal.
  2. Locate the GEOS.INI file in the directory where you installed NewDeal.
  3. Open the file with the EDIT command at the DOS prompt, or with the Windows Notepad, or use your favorite text editor (be sure your editor saves its files as plain ASCII text).
  4. In the GEOS.INI file, locate the section named [input] and add the line "noKeyboard = true" below it like this:
    [input]
    noKeyboard = true
    Also, locate the [expressMenuControl] section and add the line "floatingKeyboard = true" below it, like this:
    [expressMenuControl]
    floatingKeyboard = true
    Save the file and exit your text editor.

From now on, whenever your NewDeal software is ready to accept text, a floating keyboard will appear on screen. Use your mouse or pointing device to choose characters or to switch among the various keyboard styles available. You can turn the keyboard OFF from the Express menu, or close it like any other window or dialog box.

Mouse Options

Mouse Speed

You can adjust the speed at which your mouse pointer moves around the screen in Preferences, Mouse. If you have difficulty double clicking, you can increase or decrease the length of time between clicks in this same dialog box. You can also switch the left and right mouse buttons.

Keyboard Mouse

If you have difficulty using a mouse, or if your computer has no mouse, run Preferences, Mouse. Click the Change button and choose the "Arrow Key Mouse." Press F4 to enter "mouse mode" and use the ARROW keys to move the mouse pointer. While in mouse mode, press the INSERT key for the normal (left) mouse button and the Delete key for the alternate (right) mouse button.
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Last Modified 15 Feb 1999