GovHK takes into account the needs of users of assistive tools such as screen readers or screen magnifying software. Here you can learn about these tools and what features GovHK has built in to help them browse GovHK.

A screen reader is an audio computer program that reads out the content displayed on a computer screen for visually impaired people. The reader can also output the content to Braille. In Hong Kong, two of the common screen readers are:

• JAWS for Windows
  
• Windows Light

JAWS is a commercial software, while Windows Light is available to the visually impaired free of charge. Visually impaired people and non-profit-making organisations can register with the Retina Hong Kong to get free CDs for the latest version of Windows Light. Earlier versions of the software and patches for the latest version can be downloaded free of charge from the website of the Retina Hong Kong. Aside from reading text, as long as a website has a consistent structure, visually impaired users can easily navigate it with the short-cut keys on the screen reader.

• Download a free copy of screen reader: Windows Light (November 2006 version)
  http://www.retina.org.hk/wlight.htm
• More information on Retina Hong Kong
  http://www.retina.org.hk/hkrpse.htm

Although different readers have different functions and built-in features, there are some common practices in GovHK to make it more accessible for most screen readers.

Use of Style Sheets

GovHK uses Cascading Style Sheets to separate the text content from the visual presentation and layout so that your screen reader can easily read out the content in a correct and easy-to-understand order. GovHK also uses standardised templates that ensure all pages have a consistent format, layout and use of headings. This will allow screen reader users to identify each page more easily.

Use of Hidden Text

GovHK has built in a  hidden link 'skip main content' right on top of every webpage, which allows screen reader users to skip over standard parts of the website that are basically the same for every page, such as the logo, search buttons and language option buttons. In this way, users of screen readers do not need to hear repeated information.

Hyperlinks that are visible to people with normal vision may be confusing to screen reader users. To make such hyperlinks meaningful when they are read out, hidden texts are used throughout GovHK. These hidden texts are not visible on screen, but can be read out by screen readers. For example, there are hidden text after every item in the screen below.By introducing hidden texts, visually impaired users can more easily access related information on the hyperlinked page.

Extract of a GovHK Webpage – what general users with normal vision can see

Extract of a GovHK webpage – what the screen reader will read (the text in bracket is hidden and is readable by screen readers only)

Use of Alternate Text

All graphical elements such as photos, logos and banners are supplemented by alternate text descriptions for screen readers. In this way, users can still know what these graphical elements represent.

Alternate text is provided to describe graphical elements

Presentation of Hyperlinks

Special consideration has been given to the presentation of hyperlinks on GovHK to make them easily accessible by both users with normal vision and those using screen readers. When hyperlinks are embedded in a paragraph, screen readers have to read them out with the main content, which can be very confusing for users. That is why most hyperlinks on GovHK are presented on separate lines after the related paragraphs. This not only makes it easier for general users to spot which link they need, but also for screen readers to read out the underlying website address (URL) of the hyperlinks.

The wording of each link on GovHK has also been carefully chosen to aid screen reader users. Hyperlinks that use phrases such as 'click here' or 'here' describe nothing of the content that the link leads to. In GovHK, the hyperlinks are usually descriptive, providing a brief summary of the content to follow.

Hyperlinks on separate lines with specific descriptions

Screen magnifying software such as Zoomtext and Lunar Plus enlarges the content displayed on a computer screen up to a few thousand times. Users can choose the magnification level that best suits their personal needs. This kind of software can also display webpage content in black and white or in monochrome. In this way, content can be displayed in high colour contrast.

Users with low vision can use screen magnifying software to enlarge an area of the screen for easier reading, but this can make it difficult to understand a website with a complicated layout. That is why GovHK has a feature that allows these users to view content on the left side of the page in list form, making browsing with screen magnifying software much easier. This feature can be accessed via the 'Linear Version' button on the right upper corner of every page in GovHK.

• More on linear presentation on GovHK
  http://www.gov.hk/en/about/accessibility/accessibilityfeatures.htm#Linear