Changing colours, fonts and text size in your browser

You can change features on your browser and control the way in which web pages appear. This is particularly useful if you have low vision, need larger fonts, or need high-contrast or different colours from the ones set. Using options available in your browser, you can change:

• the size, style and colour of fonts
• the background colours of web pages
• the colour used to indicate hyperlinks, active web links and visited web links

How you do this depends on what browser you use. Below are the steps for making these features change in Internet Explorer and Netscape.

• PC, Internet Explorer 5.x and 6
  To edit colours (PC IE5 and 6)
  To edit font (PC IE5 and 6)
  To change text size (PC IE5 and 6)
  To over-ride the design settings of a web page (PC IE5 and 6)
• PC, Internet Explorer 4
  View options (PC IE4)

• Apple Mac, Internet Explorer 5.x and 6
  To change text size (Apple Mac IE 5 and 6)
• Netscape (Apple Mac)
  To edit colours (Apple Mac, Netscape)
  To edit fonts & font size (Apple Mac, Netscape)

PC, Internet Explorer 5.x and 6
To edit colours

1. Select Tools from the browser menu options
2. Select Internet options
3. In the General tab, select the Colours button at the bottom of the pop-up screen
4. Choose the colour options that you find best, then select OK to save the changes

To edit fonts

1. Select Tools from the browser menu options
2. Select Internet options
3. In the General tab, select the Fonts button at the bottom of the pop-up screen
4. Choose the font options that you find best, then select OK to save the changes

To change text size

1. Select View from the browser menu options
2. Select Text size, and choose the option that is best for you

To over-ride the design settings of a web page

1. Select Tools from the browser menu options
2. Select Internet options
3. In the General tab, select the Accessibility button at the bottom of the pop-up screen
4. Tick any of the options that you want to over-ride and select OK to save the changes

PC, Internet Explorer 4

• The options can be accessed by selecting View from the browser menu options

Apple Mac, Internet Explorer 5.x and 6
To change text size

1. Select Edit from the browser menu options
2. From the options menu which appears, select Preferences
3. Select Web content
4. Deselect the button marked Show style sheets
5. Return to the list of preferences
6. Select Web browser
7. Select Language/fonts
8. Select the font size you require

Netscape

1. Select Edit from the browser menu options
2. Select Preferences
3. Open the Appearance group of options

To edit colours

1. Select Colours
2. Choose the colours that you want for text, background, visited and unvisited links
3. To override the colours used by the designer of the web page, select Always use my colours, overriding document'
4. Select OK to save changes

To edit fonts & font size

1. Select Fonts
2. Next to For the encoding should read ‘Western', to tell the computer which types of letters and symbols to use
3. From Size select the size of font that suits you (for example, 18)
4. From the drop-down box next to the Variable Width Font field, select Ariel
5. The Fixed Width Font box should already read 'Courier New'. From 'Size' select 18
6. To override the fonts used by the designer of the web page, select Use my default fonts overriding document specified fonts
7. Select OK to save changes