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:
- Exit NewDeal.
- Locate the GEOS.INI file in the directory where you installed
NewDeal.
- 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).
- 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.
Last Modified 15 Feb 1999