Accessing Assistive Technologies

In Oracle Linux, GNOME settings are displayed and configured using a graphical application called the GNOME Control Center. The GNOME Control Center displays the accessibility settings on the Accessibility panel of the Settings window. The following image shows an example of the Accessibility panel:

Figure 1-1 Accessibility panel in the GNOME Control Center Settings Window


The image shows a screenshot of the Accessibility panel in the GNOME Contol Center Settings window.

Accessing the panel differs slightly between GNOME and GNOME Classic desktops. However, the feature descriptions and the available configurations are the same for both. Unless otherwise stated, this document assumes that you're using the default (GNOME) desktop on the system.

The following sections show different ways of accessing the Accessibility panel of the Settings window.

Using the GNOME Desktop

Choose one of the following methods:

  • Accessing through the System Tools group icon

    The System Tools group icon consists of 3 icons at the right side of the top bar of the screen. The following image shows an example of a System tools group icon highlighted in a yellow box:

    Image of top bar of the GNOME desktop with the System Tools group icon in the top right highlighted in a yellow box.

    1. On the right side of the top bar, select the System Tools group icon.

      A panel of options appears.

    2. Select the Settings option.

      The GNOME control center appears.

    3. From the list of options on the left panel, select Accessibility.

      The accessibility options appear in the right panel.

  • Accessing through the Activities workspace indicator

    The Activities workspace indicator is at the left side of the top bar of the screen. The following image shows an Activities workspace indicator highlighted in a yellow box:

    Image of top bar of the GNOME desktop with the Activities workspace indicator, on the left side, highlighted in a yellow box.

    1. On the top bar, select the Activities workspace indicator.

      A search field appears.

    2. In the search field, type accessibility.

      An option to display the Accessibility settings appears.

    3. Select the option to display the Accessibility settings.

      The GNOME control centre opens displaying the Accessibility options.

  • Accessing through the command line

    1. On the top bar, select the Activities workspace indicator.

      A bar of application icons (called the dash) appears.

    2. From the dash, select the terminal icon.

    3. In the terminal window, type:

      gnome-control-center universal-access

      The GNOME control centre opens displaying the Accessibility options.

Using the GNOME Classic Desktop

Choose one of the following methods:

  • Accessing through the System Tools group icon

    The System Tools group icon consists of the 3 icons at the right side of the top bar of the screen. The following image shows an example of a System tools group icon highlighted in a red box:

    Image of top bar of the GNOME Classic desktop with the System Tools group icon in the top right highlighted in a red box.

    1. On the right side of the top bar, select the System Tools group icon.

      A panel of options appears.

    2. Select Settings option.

      The GNOME control center appears.

    3. From the list of options on the left panel, select Accessibility.

      The accessibility options appear in the right panel.

  • Accessing through the Apps menu option

    1. On the top bar, select Apps.

      A menu with a list of options appears.

    2. From the menu, select System Tools.

      A list of System Tools options appears.

    3. From the options of System Tools , select Settings.

      The GNOME control center appears.

    4. From the list of options on the left panel, select Accessibility.

      The accessibility options appear in the right panel.

  • Accessing through the command line

    1. On the top bar, select Apps.

      A menu with a list of options appears.

    2. From the options, select Favorites, and then select Terminal.

    3. Type the following command:
      gnome-control-center universal-access

      The GNOME control centre opens displaying the Accessibility options.

Configuring Quick Access

Oracle Linux provides an Accessibility Menu, which enables you to access and configure accessibility features without the need to open the Accessibility panel. This menu is disabled by default. To make the menu available, open the Accessibility panel and set the Always Show Accessibility Menu switch to On. Toggling this switch to the On position makes the Accessibility Menu icon become permanently visible on the top bar of the desktop.

Selecting the icon opens a list of accessibility features, as shown in the following figure:

Figure 1-2 Desktop Accessibility Features


The image shows the accessibility features that are displayed as menu options when you select the Accessibility Menu icon on the desktop's top bar.

Note:

Enabling selected features in the Accessibility panel also automatically enables quick access, even if the Always Show Accessibility Menu switch is disabled. However, in this case, if you switch off all of the enabled features through quick access, then the quick access icon disappears from the top bar.

Toggling the Always Show Accessibility Menu switch to the On position ensures that quick access is available permanently, regardless of whether assistive features are enabled or not.

Viewing GNOME Help

You can get more information on configuring accessibility options in GNOME desktops by viewing the GNOME Help pages.

Note:

Viewing GNOME help pages requires a web browser to be installed on the system.

To view the GNOME Help pages, perform the following steps:

  1. Access the GNOME control centre by following one of the procedures described in Using the GNOME Desktop or Using the GNOME Classic Desktop

  2. From the list of options on the left panel, select Accessibility.

  3. Do one of the following:

    • Press the F1 key.

    • Alternatively, if you prefer using the UI, select the Menu

      icon and then select Help.

    The GNOME Accessibility help pages are displayed in a web browser.