Accessibility and Assistive Technology

Windows 10 Accessibility Overview

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This article covers settings that help support ease of use for everyone using Windows 10. Learn about accessibility settings for vision, hearing, dexterity, mobility, focus, and more.

How to Open Accessibility Settings

  1. Click on the start menu (Windows icon)
  2. Click on Settings (cogwheel icon)
  3. Choose Ease of Access
    • The left column is a list of different accessibility settings.
    • The right column is where you can make adjustments to settings.
  4. Additionally, you can press Windows Key + U to open Ease of Access settings.
Screenshot of Ease of Access button in Windows 10 settings

Vision Settings

Make Text Bigger

Increase the size of text found in menus, icons, and Microsoft applications. This setting may not affect text in other non-Microsoft applications.


  1. Settings > Ease of Access > Display
  2. Look for the “Make Text Bigger” heading.
  3. Adjust the slider to your desired size.
  4. Click “Apply” to save changes.
Screenshot of make text bigger slider

Make Everything Bigger

A zoom function that increases the size of everything including text, images, icons, and apps.


  1. Settings > Ease of Access > Display
  2. Look for the “Make everything bigger” heading.
  3. Select from the drop-down menu.
  4. Click "Apply" to save changes.
Screenshot of make everything bigger dropdown

Zoom in on Currently Selected Window

  1. Press the Ctrl + “+” (Plus key) at the same time to zoom in.
  2. Press the Ctrl + “-” (Minus key) at the same time to zoom out.

Make Everything Brighter

Adjust the brightness of Windows to make everything more visible.


  1. Settings > System > Display
  2. Adjust the slider under the “Change brightness” heading.
  3. Additionally, you can change the brightness in the Windows Action Center.
Screenshot of brightness slider in the Action Center

Adjust Visual Effects

Reduce the amount of extra visual effects to make Windows easier to see.


  1. Settings > Ease of Access > Display
  2. Look for the “Simplify and personalize Windows” heading.
    • “Show animations in Windows” adjusts various animations. For example, when a window is minimized, an animation shows the window shrinking into the taskbar.
    • “Show transparency in Windows” changes whether application windows and toolbars are transparent.
    • “Automatically hide scroll bars in Windows” makes all scrollbars in applications persistent.
    • “Show notifications for” adjusts the amount of time notifications will appear on your screen.
    • “Show desktop background image” will remove the background and replace it with a blank black background.

Change Mouse Pointer and Size Color

Change the size and color of the mouse pointer for better visibility.


  1. Settings > Ease of Access > Mouse Pointer
  2. Look for the “Change pointer size and color” heading.
  3. To change this size, adjust the pointer size slider.
  4. To change the color, under change pointer color, select an option that is easier to see.
  5. Click "Apply" to save changes.
Screenshot of cursor and pointer settings

Add a Text Cursor Indicator

A text cursor indicator can help with identifying where the text cursor currently is on the screen.


  1. Settings > Ease of Access > Text cursor
  2. Toggle “Use text cursor indicator” to turn on.
  3. You can also adjust the size, color, and thickness of the text cursor.
Screenshot of text cursor indicator settings

Apply Color Filters

Apply a color filter over your screen that helps with low vision or color blindness.


  1. Settings > Ease of Access > Color Filters
  2. Under the Use color filters heading, select “Turn On Color Filters”
  3. Choose an option for color filter:
    • Invert colors with the Inverted option.
    • Grayscale options include Grayscale, Grayscale inverted.
    • Colorblindness options include Red-green (green weak, deuteranopia), Red-green (red weak (protanopia), or Blue-yellow (tritanopia).
  4. You can also set up a keyboard shortcut to turn on color filters by toggling “Keyboard shortcut for color filters” to on (Windows key + Ctrl + C will turn on the color filter).
Screenshot of an activated color filter next to default color settings

Enable Dark Mode

Replace the light background color system display with a darker display. The taskbar, windows, and other display aspects will change to a dark-gray color. This can help reduce eyestrain and fatigue.


  1. Settings > Personalization > Colors
  2. Choose your color theme.
  3. Select from the drop-down menu.
Screenshot of colors settings menu with choose your color dropdown box highlighted

Enable High Contrast

Sets your Windows theme to have a stronger contrast between background and text. You can choose between four different themes and even change individual display colors to best suit your needs.


  1. Settings > Ease of Access > High Contrast
  2. Toggle “Turn on high contrast” from off to on (Your computer will need a few seconds to make the changes)
  3. Select from the “choose a theme” drop-down menu to adjust theme.
  4. Customize high contrast colors by selecting the different options in the box.
  5. Click Apply to make changes to theme and colors.
  6. Additionally, you can press Left Alt Key + Left Shift Key + Print Screen to turn high contrast mode on or off.
Screenshot of Windows high contrast settings

Night Light

Night Light reduces the blue light emitted from the computer screen. Reducing blue light may reduce eye strain when used in dimly lit or dark environments.


  1. Settings > System > Display
  2. Under the Brightness and Color header, toggle “Night Light" to turn on.
  3. Additionally, you can set a night light schedule.
Screenshot of night light settings turned off and on

Use Windows Magnifier

Magnifier makes part or all of your screen bigger so you can see words and images better.


  1. Settings > Ease of Access > Magnifier
  2. Toggle “Turn on magnifier” to turn on.
  3. Additionally, you can press the Windows Key + “+ (Plus Key)” to turn on. To close magnifier, press the Windows Key + Esc.
  4. Other settings can be changed to customize magnifier:
    • Change Zoom level will adjust the size of the screen, and you can customize zoom increments.
    • Change the Magnifier view between full screen, docked, and lens styles under the “Choose a view” dropdown.
    • Choose between whether the Magnifier follows the mouse pointer, keyboard focus, text cursor, or Narrator cursor under the “Have Magnifier follow” setting.
    • Keep the mouse or text pointer within the edges of the screen or centered in the screen.
Screenshot of Windows Magnifier in use

Narrator Screen Reader

Narrator is the built-in Windows screen reader that is designed to support individuals who are blind or who have limited vision to use your PC without the use of a mouse. It reads and interacts with things on the screen, like text, buttons, and images.


  1. Settings > Accessibility > Narrator
  2. Toggle “Narrator” to turn on.
  3. Other settings can be changed to customize magnifier:
    • You can set up a keyboard shortcut for Narrator (Windows key + Ctrl + Enter).
    • You can configure how the Narrator tool behaves during start-up under the “Start up options” header.
    • You can personalize the voice of the Narrator tool along with its pitch, speed, volume, and what device the narrator’s voice plays from under the “Personalize Narrator’s voice” header.
    • You can adjust the level of detail the Narrator tool will describe your actions as well as what is displayed on the screen under the “Change what you hear when reading and interacting,” and “Change what you hear when typing” headers.
    • You can adjust keyboard settings under the “Choose keyboard settings” header.
    • The “Use Narrator cursor” settings let you add a cursor to where the Narrator is focused on the screen.
    • If you have a braille display, the “Use braille” settings guides you to download the necessary software to have Narrator interact with your braille display.


Microsoft Support offers an extensive overview of Narrator: Complete Guide to Narrator

Windows Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts are keys or combinations of keys that provide an alternative way to do something that you’d typically do with a mouse. 

Please see the following articles from Microsoft Support to get an overview of keyboard shortcuts:

Hearing Settings

Use Mono Audio

Mono audio combines the left and right audio channels and plays them in both ears. This is useful for individuals who have better hearing in one ear.


  1. Settings > Ease of Access > Audio
  2. Toggle “Turn on mono audio” to turn on.

Show Alerts Visually

You can choose receive visual alerts when a notification is received.


  1. Settings > Ease of Access > Audio
  2. Use the dropdown to choose how the screen will flash when a notification is received.

Adjust How Captions are Displayed

Closed captioning provides text for spoken words and sounds in videos. Closed captioning in useful for those who are Deaf or hard of hearing, or even if you are in a noisy environment and cannot hear audio.


  1. Settings > Ease of Access > Closed Captions
  2. You can adjust the appearance of the caption font and that font’s color, transparency, style, size, and effects in each corresponding dropdown menu.
  3. You can adjust the appearance of the caption's background and the background’s color and transparency in each corresponding dropdown menu.
Screenshot of captions settings

Dexterity and Mobility Settings

Talk Instead of Type with Dictation

Dictation allows you to speak what you want to type rather than using the keyboard. You must be connected to the internet to use Dictation.


  1. Press the Windows key + H key at any time.

For more information, please see the following article from Microsoft Support: Use voice typing to talk instead of type on your PC

Screenshot of Dictation tool listening to the user

Turn on Speech Recognition

Operate your computer by using your voice.


  1. Settings > Ease of Access > Speech
  2. Adjust the Turn on speech recognition toggle.
  3. Additionally, you can press the Windows key + Ctrl + S at any time.

For more information, see the following article from Microsoft Support: Windows Speech Recognition commands

Use On-Screen Keyboard

Displays a visual keyboard with all the standard keys, so you can use your mouse or another pointing device to select keys.


  1. Settings > Ease of Access > Keyboard
  2. Toggle “Use the on-screen keyboard” to turn on.
  3. Additionally, press Windows Key and CTRL and O (the letter O) to toggle the feature on or off.

Use Sticky Keys

Sticky keys enable one handed activation of multi-key combinations such as CTRL+ P (print) or Alt + Tab (switch windows).


  1. Settings > Ease of Access > Keyboard
  2. Toggle “Use sticky keys” to turn on.
  3. Additionally, you can press the Shift key five times to toggle the feature on or off.

Use Toggle Keys

Toggle keys plays a sound each time the Caps Lock or Num Lock keys are pressed.


  1. Settings > Ease of Access > Keyboard
  2. Toggle “Use toggle keys” to turn on.
  3. Additionally, press and hold the Num Lock key for five seconds to toggle the feature on or off.

Use Filter Keys

Filter Keys ignores brief or repeated keystrokes and may be useful for people who have difficulty targeting keys or who have a tremor in their hands.


  1. Settings > Ease of Access > Keyboard
  2. Toggle “Use Filter Keys” to turn on.
  3. Additionally, press and hold the right Shift key for eight seconds to toggle Filter Keys
  4. There are further settings that can be adjusted for Filter Keys:
    • Bounce Keys: tells the keyboard to wait before accepting more keystrokes when the same key is pressed more than once.
    • Slow Keys: tells the keyboard to wait before accepting more keystrokes.
    • Repeat Keys: delays the keyboard repeat key function when holding down a key.

Control the Mouse Cursor with the Keypad

Control the mouse cursor on the screen with the keyboard’s keypad.


  1. Settings > Ease of Access > Mouse
  2. Adjust the Control your mouse with a keypad toggle.

Cognitive and Focus Settings

Focus Assist

Focus Assist silences some or all notification sounds and pop-up alerts. This can help you focus on reading and tasks.


  1. Settings > System > Focus Assist
  2. Select between Priority Only and Alarms Only
    • Priority only allows you to see notifications from specific apps in your priority list, which can be configured by clicking on “Customize your priority list.”
    • Alarms only silences all notifications, except for any alarms you have set.
  3. Additionally, you can toggle Focus Assist from the Windows Action Center.
Screenshot of the Action Center Focus Assist button

Turn on Typing Suggestions

Text suggestions are provided whenever you type.


  1. Settings > Devices > Typing
  2. Toggle “Show suggestions as I type” to turn on.
  3. Additionally, you can “Autocorrect misspelled words as I type” to have Windows use the autocorrect function.

Immersive Reader

Immersive Reader provides options for a comfortable and easy to process experience by allowing you to listen to the text read aloud or adjust how text appears by modifying spacing, color and more. This helps with focus and dyslexia.


  1. In Windows applications (Word, OneNote, etc.): Click on the view tab, then select Immersive Reader in the top ribbon.
  2. You can change different settings for Immersive Reader:
    • Column width
    • Page color
    • Line focus
    • Text spacing
    • Syllable spacing
    • You can also have the text Read Aloud with the built-in text to speech function using the “Read Aloud” button.
Screenshot of immersive reader in use

Additional Resources

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