This new release, in combination with their existing functionality, enables RBdigital to continue to provide the best accessibility support available in the industry.
New Visual Toolkit
The Visual Toolkit replaces the “reader” in the built-in toolbar and provides new functionality to help your patrons with visual or cognitive challenges. It includes the following:
- Big Cursor enlarges the cursor display for ease of tracking and improves usability for low-vision users.
- Reading Guide enhances focus and improves reading comprehension by creating a horizontal line controlled by the cursor position—similar to using your bookmark to underline sentences as you read.
- Emphasize enhances focus and improves reading comprehension by blurring out the majority of the page view as controlled by the cursor position. Users can focus on just one line of text at a time.
- Contrast improves readability—especially for users with color blindness. Users can choose the contrast between the background and text colors.
- Keyboard Focus/Highlights draws a colorful box around and/or highlights buttons and links, making them easier to find and select for visual keyboard users.
- Text Size enlarges web copy for improved readability and usability for low-vision users.
- Text Spacing changes the distance between words and lines of text to improve readability for low-vision users and individuals with cognitive and/or learning disabilities.
- Change Font can change the font of the text on the page in order to make reading easier. This option includes a font intended to assist individuals with dyslexia.
Each of these features can be used individually or in combination so patrons can pick and choose the functions they want to utilize.
Full Suite of Accessibility Functionality
The new Visual Toolkit joins the existing set of capabilities, which provide a wide range of accessibility support. These include:
- Integration with a range of third-party accessibility tools, including JAWS, VoiceOver, and Talkback.
- Accessibility Help Desk enables patrons to report accessibility issues to, and get assistance from, a staff of experts in the field.
- Reader/Player users can listen to web content read aloud via a built-in player and text-to-speech functionality, which is not dependent on third-party accessibility tools.