Skip to main content

Accessibility Options - Windows XP StickyKeys

 -This tutorial assumes that you have set the Control panel to Classic View in Windows XP. To see how to do this, click this link (opens in a new window): Set the Control Panel to Classic View

The StickyKeys Option is for people who have problems holding down two or more keys on the keyboard at the same time. If you want to bring up the Task Manager, for example, you'd hold down the CTRL and ALT keys on your keyboard, and then press the Delete key. If, for whatever reason, you're not able to do this, then StickyKeys can come in handy.
To bring up the StickyKeys dialogue box, click the Start button in the bottom left of your screen, then click Control Panel on the Start menu. From the Control Panel, double click "Accessibility Options". You'll see the following dialogue box:
The Accessibility Options dialogue box
Put a tick in the box where it says "Use StickyKeys". Then click the Settings button. You'll see this dialogue box:
Settings for StickyKeys
There are only five settings, grouped into three categories. If your keyboard is making srtange, high-pitched noises, then you might have a tick in the box at the top "Use Shortcut". This switches StickyKeys on or off when you hit the Shift Key 5 times in a row (the Shift key is the one with the up-pointing arrow, usually just below the Caps Lock key).
The first Option, Press modifier key twice to lock, is probably the most useful one. When this is ticked, it locks the CTRL, Shift, ALT, or Windows logo key. Then you just need to press the shortcut key on the keyboard. You wouldn't need to hold two keys down at the same time. For example, the keyboard shortcut to copy things to the Windows clipboard is CTRL + C. To paste, it's CTRL + V. With the "Press modifier key twice to lock" option ticked, press the CTRL key twice. This locks it. Now you don't have to keep holding down the CTRL key when you want to copy and paste. Just press C then V.
Unfortunately, activating this option means you can't switch between programmes! You're stuck to using one programme at a time until you turn it off.
The Notification area is if you want Windows to make that awful high-pitched noise when the modifier keys are pressed. (The modifier keys are CTRL, Shift, Alt, or the Windows logo key.)
If you want some visual notification that StickyKeys is on, tick the final option: Show StickyKeys status on screen. Selecting this option will make an icon appear near the clock, as in the following image:
The StickyKeys icon
The StickyKeys icon is the one on the far left - the one with the black rectangles.
If you really do have problems holding down two or more keys at the same time, then StickyKeys can come in useful. But you may need the Valium handy to cope with that nerve-jangling, high-pitched noise that Windows make!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Beginners PHP  -This is a complete and free PHP programming course for beginners. It's assumed that you already have some HTML skills. But you don't need to be a guru, by any means. If you need a refresher on HTML, then click the link for the Web Design course on the left of this page. Everything you need to get started with this PHP course is set out in section one below. Good luck! Home Page > PHP Section One - An Introduction to PHP 1. What is PHP and Why do I need it? 2. What you need to get started 3. Installing and testing Wampserver 4. Troubleshooting > PHP Two - Getting Started With Variables 1. What is a Variable? 2. Putting text into variables 3. Variables - some practice 4. More variable practice 5. Joining direct text and variable data 6. Adding up in PHP 7. Subtraction 8. Multiplication 9. Division 10. Floating point numbers > PHP Three - Conditional Logic 1. If Statements 2. Using If Statements 3....
Post a Comment
Read more
Visual Basic .NET Contents Page   -This computer course is an introduction to Visual Basic.NET programming for beginners. This course assumes that you have no programming experience whatsoever. It's a lot easier than you think, and can be a very rewarding hobby! You don't need to buy any software for this course! You can use the new FREE Visual Basic Express Edition from Microsoft. To see which version you need, click below: Getting the free Visual Studio Express - Which version do I need? > VB .NET One - Getting Started   1. Getting started with VB.NET 2. Visual Basic .NET Forms 3. Adding Controls using the Toolbox Home Page 4. Adding a Textbox to the Form 5. Visual Basic .NET and Properties 6. The Text Property 7. Adding a splash of colour 8. Saving your work 9. Create a New Project >   VB .NET Two - Write your first .NET code   1. What is a Variable? 2. Add a coding button to the Form 3. Writing y...
Post a Comment
Read more
The Excel SumIF Function  - Another useful Excel function is SumIF. This function is like CountIf, except it adds one more argument: SUMIF( range ,  criteria ,  sum_range ) Range and criteria are the same as with  CountIF  - the range of cells to search, and what you want Excel to look for. The Sum_Range is like range, but it searches a new range of cells. To clarify all that, here's what we'll use SumIF for. (Start a new spreadsheet for this.) Five people have ordered goods from us. Some have paid us, but some haven't. The five people are Elisa, Kelly, Steven, Euan, and Holly. We'll use SumIF to calculate how much in total has been paid to us, and how much is still owed. So in Column A, enter the names: In Column B enter how much each person owes: In Column C, enter TRUE or FALSE values. TRUE means they have paid up, and FALSE means they haven't: Add two more labels: Total Paid, and Still Owed. Your spreadsheet should look something li...
Post a Comment
Read more