The box below contains information on the accessibility features provided by VLE, who provide some of the library licence ebooks available at Middlesex University. You will find these books via Library Search or your module Reading Lists.
Other pages cover:
For information about accessibility features in your Kortext personal etextbooks, please see the Kortext Accessibility web page.
The standard screen reader at Middlesex University is Read and Write Gold. This is currently available on Windows PCs, laptops and through Apps Anywhere (go to MyMDX > IT Services > Software, or search for 'Apps'). It is not available for Macs.
If you have any feedback on this page please email Jo Wilson j.r.wilson@mdx.ac.uk
You may find the VLeBooks accessibility statement helpful.
Some accessibility features are available through Adobe Reader (freely available and installed on all Library PCs, laptops and via Apps Anywhere).
Read & Write Gold software (installed on all Library PCs, laptops and via Apps Anywhere) provides accessibility tools. For more information, go to MyMDX > IT Services > Software, or search for 'Apps' using the MyMDX search.
The accessibility options available will depend whether you are reading the eBook online or if you have downloaded it to your computer.
Go to the page that you want read aloud and click on the ReadALoud icon in the top right hand corner. The text will automatically be read aloud. The ReadAloud box will open on the page which allows you to adjust the speed, tone, rewind, forward and pause.
Please follow these instructions: How can I have unselectable text read aloud to me using Read & Write Gold software?
You can also use Sensus Access to convert text in many formats to audio (go to MyMDX and search for 'Sensus Access').
Click on the settings icon in the top right hand corner. Select 'Colours' and both the font and hyperlink colour can be changed. Select the colour you want and click Apply. You may also be able to change font colours using your web browser or operating system settings.
There is no inbuilt option to change the font colour. You may be able to change font colours using your web browser or operating system settings.
In addition to the specific instructions below, you may also be able to change background colours using your web browser or operating system
You can select from a range of background colours by clicking the Settings icon in the top right hand corner and then Colours. Select the page colour you want and click Apply. Alternatively, select Accessibility in the settings menu, and you can choose from a range of preset background colours.
There is no inbuilt option to change the background colour. You may be able to change background colours using your web browser or operating system settings..
In addition to the specific instructions below, you may also be able to make text on your screen appear larger using inbuilt features of your operating system.
You can increase and decrease the text size using the little plus and minus symbols in the top right hand corner. In EPUB format books, when you zoom the text reflows (automatically adjusts to fit on the page at the new zoom level).
You can also change the zoom level of the whole web page using your browser. To zoom in, press Ctrl (Windows) or command (Mac) and the + key. To zoom out, press Ctrl/command and the - key, and press Ctrl/command and 0 to set the zoom level back to default. In EPUB format books, when you zoom the text reflows (automatically adjusts to fit on the page at the new zoom level).
There are 6 different zoom levels available. You can access these under the Reading menu > PDF view > Zoom In / Zoom Out. You can also use the keyboard shortcuts CTRL + + and CTRL + - to zoom in and out. When the zoom level is changed text does not reflow (automatically adjust to fit on the page at the new zoom level).
To change the zoom level, click on the AA button in the top right hand corner. Alternatively you can click on the Reading button and then click on EPUB Text size, or use the keyboard shortcuts CTRL + + and CTRL + - to zoom in and out. All options allow you to choose from a range of 5 zoom levels: Small, Medium, Large, Extra large, and Ultra large. When you zoom the text reflows (automatically adjusts to fit on the page at the new zoom level).
You can change the line, character and word spacing and turn on reading tools including High Contrast Mode, Dyslexic Font and a Reading Ruler. Click the Accessibility icon in the top right to select these settings, then click Apply.
The information on this page has been reused with permission from Leeds Beckett University. We are very grateful to the Library at Leeds Beckett for sharing these pages with Middlesex University.