Adjust text font, including size and spacing (leading and kerning)
Adjust the size and style of font on a page, along with the spacing between the letters, words, or between lines (leading and kerning).
Discussion by Disabilities
Adjustable fonts and spacing allow the user to customize text to the size and shape that is easiest to see and understand.
Adjusting spacing between letters, words, or lines may make text easier to read and understand for people with cognitive impairments.
Existing Products
Please note that these products are not necessarily endorsed by RtF, but represent the range of available options.
Open Source and free
These products are free and their source code may be modified with few restrictions.
- AccessiBar Extension – Mozdev, Edan Kemelman
- Amaya – W3C
- ATbar – ATbar, University of Southampton
- CLC Star – CLC (Charles Chen)
- AInspector Sidebar – Firefox Accessibility Extension by Illinois Center for IT Accessibility
- Web Access Gateway – U.of Cambridge, Silas Brown
Free, not necessarily open source
These products are free to use, but may have strict restrictions on viewing and modifying source code.
- LowBrowse – Lighthouse International
- Surf Right Toolbar – Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB)
- Web Accessibility Toolbar – Vision Australia
- WebVisum – WebVisum
- IDEAL Group Reader (word spacing, line spacing) – IDEAL Group Inc.
Commercial, no free trial
These products must be purchased to be used, and did not offer free trials at the time of posting.
- WebAdapt2Me – IBM
Related Research and Papers
- Visual profiles: a critical component of universal access – University of Miami – Jacko, J.A., Dixon, M.A., Rosa, R.J., Scott, I.U., and Pappas, C.J. (1999)
- Improving GUI accessibility for people with low vision – RPI – Kline, R.L. and Gilnert, E.P. (1995)
- Dyslexia, eLearning and eSkills, (Pgs 84-90) ‘Supporting Dyslexic Adults in Higher Education’ – University of Southampton – Draffan, E.A. (2012)
- Southampton Accessibility Tools presented at 8th International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility – University of Southampton – Wald, M., Draffan, E.A., Skuse, S., Newman, R. and Phethean, C. (2011)