The majority of visually impaired people require large screens so that the text appears larger. Text can made even larger by setting the screen at a low resolution. Letters and pictures are enlarged when screen has fewer pixels. Visually impaired users normally use a resolution of 600 to 800 pixels or even 480 to 640 pixels. The settings can be changed in the operating system.
Severely visually impaired internet users require special programs for enlargement. An area can be selected using a magnifier. Only this area is more clearly visible to the user. With certain programs, enlargement of up to 36 times is possible. A person who has weak sight needs certain settings for colour and contrast. Colours are often reversed. A light background is seen as a dark colour and dark text becomes light. This means that a weak sighted person can read the text more easily.
If only a few letters on the screen can be read after the enlargement, reading can be difficult. Therefore for those who have more extreme sight impairment, an enlargement program can be combined with an audio output.
For many visually impaired people, it is important that the text size in the browser is changeable. In older versions of internet explorer, the text cannot be enlarged if the web designer has predefined a size. Only certain details (for example %) are flexible and allow the user to change the text to their personal requirements.
In Internet Explorer 6 text cannot be enlarged when it is built into graphics. The browsers Opera or Firefox allow enlargement of graphics. The text, however, appears blurred after enlargement. Scale drawings can only be read with a great deal of effort.
For severely disabled users, items can go missing when they select their own settings on a computer. Some internet sites superimpose text and other elements after enlargement of text. The text can then only be partially read. This problem occurs especially with low resolution sites. Some navigation points may not be displayed if the scrollbar is not made available by the web designer, the site is then not fully useable.
Reading the text becomes difficult if the contrast between text and background is too low or if the text is in front of a background picture. For example, light grey text on a white background can hardly be seen. Many visually impaired users are light sensitive - very light, white surfaces can glare and strain the eyes. Colour blind people can lose information which is made up of colours. The colour red can sometimes be used to mark important areas. People with partial red-green colour blindness are not in a position to identify the colours red and green.
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