ZoomText, a Favorite Assistive Technology

Text on websites and other computerized documents can vary greatly in size, depending on original version and screen resolution and setup. This can be a real problem for visually impaired computer users, especially in a library, where the screen setup cannot be adjusted. That’s what makes ZoomText a favorite assistive technology. ZoomText Magnifier/Reader is a fully integrated magnification and screen reading program that enlarges, enhances and reads aloud everything on the computer screen. It automatically speaks all program controls, including menus, dialogs, list views and messages. Navigation keys make it easy to read while creating and editing documents. With simple commands you can read by character, word, line, sentence and paragraph, even while selecting text. Also, each key or word that you type is automatically spoken. You can choose to have all keys spoken or only selected groups of keys. Mouse echo automatically reads text that you point to. Single words or complete lines of text are spoken instantly or after hovering briefly. And the SpeakIt tool allows you to read selected areas of the screen by clicking or dragging the mouse. Software solutions such as ZoomText installed in libraries would assist visually impaired patrons and make them more independent in the library, making the library more attractive as a viable usable resource to them.