Doncaster Council

Shortcuts - Fast Tracks

Our website provides you with a lot information about a whole host of subjects and services we provide. Sometimes it can be difficult to find the subject you want, as quickly as you would like, because of the size of our website. So along with our navigation, A-Z of Council Services Keywords Index and search facility we have added a number of shortcuts, sometimes known a Fast Tracks, to enable you to find some of the subjects you may be looking for. Go to the links below.

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M

N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

Accessibility and Access keys

Accessibility is important to us. We aim for all visitors to our website to be able to see and navigate our web pages with ease. In order to do this we are working towards including Access Keys to the site. The general access keys are in line with the UK Government Access Keys Standard and these are listed below (1-9 and s) along with some additional keys which will enable you to navigate through our menus.

How to use Access Keys

PC, Internet Explorer 5+:

1. Press and hold down the ALT key.
2. Then press the number or letter (see the access keys as listed above) and press Enter/Return key 
   

PC, Internet Explorer 4:

1. Press and hold down the ALT key 
2. Then press the number or letter (see the access keys as listed above) 
   

PC, Netscape 6+:

1. Press and hold down the ALT key. 
2. Then press the number or letter (see the access keys as listed above)            

Windows users will find that access keys take precedence over application commands, which can still be accessed from the keyboard by first typing the menu shortcut key (usually ALT) followed by the letter corresponding to the desired menu item.

Apple Mac, Internet Explorer 5+:

1. Press and hold down the Control key
2. Then press the appropriate number or letter (see the access keys as listed above) and press Enter/Return key 
   

Apple Mac, Internet Explorer 4.5:

• Access keys are not supported            

Apple Mac, Netscape 6+:

1. Press and hold down the Control key
2. Then press the appropriate number or letter (see the access keys as listed above) 
   

Apple Mac, Netscape, earlier versions:

• Access keys are not supported.           

On the Mac, you would use CTRL+Access key (not COMMAND+Access key, which can produce undesired effects).

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)

This site was designed for browsers which support Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). The site, at present, views and works best in Internet Explorer 5.5 and above. 

The site is best viewed on a screen setting of 800 x 600 pixels and currently in Internet Explorer 5.5 and above. If you have difficulty with the clarity of the site we have modified the structure of the layouts in order for you to change the site's basic appearance. This can be done by altering your browser defaults so that you can change the appearance of the background colour, the size and font setting. 

Please note;  We are currently experiencing technical problems in some browsers. The upper navigation bar which is generated through the Content Management System is not being displayed correctly, we are currently working towards correcting this problem. 

It is recommended that you use the most up to date version of a browser (the program you use to view web pages) which supports CSS.

Browsers that support CSS:

 Internet Explorer | Netscape Navigator  | Netscape  | Opera  | Mozilla | Firefox

We are in no way affiliated with any of the above. 

Change your browser appearance

Setting the screen resolution 
Screen resolution, measured in pixels, refers to the resolution of the computer monitor. The screen area setting is an important factor in how much information your monitor can display. A common setting is 800 by 600 pixels. By increasing the number of pixels your monitor displays, you can view more on your screen regardless of its actual dimension.

The Doncaster Council website has been designed to work well on a screen resolution of 800 by 600 pixels. This means you should not have to scroll from side to side, but you may have to scroll down or up depending on the length of a page.

If you wish to change your screen resolution follow the instructions below, appropriate to your computer system.

Instructions for Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP

1. Select the Start button (bottom left corner of screen)
2. From the Settings menu, select Control Panel 
3. If you are using Windows XP, select Switch to Classic View in the left hand pane 
4. Open the Display section by either double-clicking on the Display icon or by highlighting the icon and pressing the Return/Enter key 
5. Select the Settings tab 
6. Move the screen area slider to the right until it reads 1024 by 768 or larger. If this resolution is not available on the computer you are using, choose 800 by 600. [Note that you will need to scroll more on web pages when using this lower resolution]
7. Select OK to save changes
8. After the screen resizes, select OK button again to confirm the new screen size           

Or

1. Minimize all open windows 
2. Right click anywhere on the desktop as long as it is not on an icon 
3. Select Properties from the pop-up menu
4. From the window that appears select the Settings tab
5. Move the screen area slider to the right until it reads 1024 by 768 or larger. If this resolution is not available on the computer you are using, choose 800 by 600. [Note that you will need to scroll more on web pages when using this lower resolution] 
6. Select OK to save changes 
7. After the screen resizes, select OK button again to confirm the new screen size            

Instructions for Apple Mac OS X

1. Exit all applications and choose System Preferences from the Apple menu
2. Select the Displays icon 
3. Under the Resolution option, select the 800 by 600 setting, or the closest one to that 
4. Close the Monitors window [Note: Some Apple Mac monitors will NOT allow a setting above 640 by 480]           

Changing colours, fonts and text size in your browser
You can change features on your browser and control the way in which web pages appear. This is particularly useful if you have low vision, need larger fonts, or need high-contrast or different colours from the ones set. Using options available in your browser, you can change:

• the size, style and colour of fonts
• the background colours of web pages 
• the colour used to indicate hyperlinks, active web links and visited web links           

How you do this depends on what browser you use. Below are the steps for making these features change in Internet Explorer and Netscape.

PC, Internet Explorer 5.x and 6
To edit colours

1. Select Tools from the browser menu options 
2. Select Internet options 
3. In the General tab, select the Colours button at the bottom of the pop-up screen 
4. Choose the colour options that you find best, then select OK to save the changes            

To edit fonts

1. Select Tools from the browser menu options 
2. Select Internet options 
3. In the General tab, select the Fonts button at the bottom of the pop-up screen 
4. Choose the font options that you find best, then select OK to save the changes            

To change text size

1. Select View from the browser menu options
2. Select Text size, and choose the option that is best for you            

To over-ride the design settings of a web page

1. Select Tools from the browser menu options
2. Select Internet options
3. In the General tab, select the Accessibility button at the bottom of the pop-up screen 
4. Tick any of the options that you want to over-ride and select OK to save the changes            

PC, Internet Explorer 4

1. The options can be accessed by selecting View from the browser menu options            

Apple Mac, Internet Explorer 5.x
To change text size

1. Select Edit from the browser menu options 
2. From the options menu which appears, select Preferences
3. Select Web content 
4. Deselect the button marked Show style sheets 
5. Return to the list of preferences 
6. Select Web browser 
7. Select Language/fonts 
8. Select the font size you require            

Netscape

1. Select Edit from the browser menu options 
2. Select Preferences 
3. Open the Appearance group of options            

To edit colours

1. Select Colours
2. Choose the colours that you want for text, background, visited and unvisited links 
3. To override the colours used by the designer of the web page, select Always use my colours, overriding document' 
4. Select OK to save changes            

To edit fonts & font size

1. Select Fonts 
2. Next to For the encoding should read 'Western', to tell the computer which types of letters and symbols to use
3. From Size select the size of font that suits you (for example, 18) 
4. From the drop-down box next to the Variable Width Font field, select Ariel 
5. The Fixed Width Font box should already read 'Courier New'. From 'Size' select 18 
6. To override the fonts used by the designer of the web page, select Use my default fonts overriding document specified fonts 
7. Select OK to save change           

Changing the colour scheme for Windows or Apple Mac-OS

Windows

1. Select Start (bottom left corner of screen) 
2. Select Settings, and then Control Panel 
3. If you are using Windows XP, select Switch to Classic View in the left pane 
4. Open the Display section either by double left clicking on the icon, or by highlighting the icon and pressing the Return/Enter key 
5. Select Appearance tab to see the options available in this section 
   

Then either

1. Select the arrow in the Colour scheme box to display the colour scheme options available 
2. Scroll down the list to see each one previewed above and, when you find one that is suitable, press Enter to select it. (Some of these colour schemes have large font versions)           

Or

1. Select the arrow in the Item box to display all the objects whose colour you can change 
2. Select the item that you want to change, then open up the colour options by selecting the Colour button. (Selecting Other inside the Colour box will give you the full range of colours available on the system) 
3. Choose the colour you want for that item 
4. Repeat this for every item whose colour you want to change, then select OK to save you're the changes to your system 
   

Apple Mac OS 8.5, 9.x, 10.x
The main way to change your Apple Mac's appearance is by using the Appearance section within the Appearance control panel, System Preferences in Mac OS 10. It lets you choose a variation colour for windows and a highlight colour for text. (The highlight colour is the colour you see when you select text in a program or click on an icon and press return/enter to rename it. The variation colour is as it says below the pull-down menu, the colour that is used when you select an item in a menu.)

1. Select Appearance Control Panel from the options along the top of the window 
2. Select Appearance 
3. Select Highlight colour drop-down menu to display the colour options 
4. Select the Variation colour drop-down menu to display the colour options            

To change the fonts on the system 

1. Select Appearance Control Panel from the options along the top of the window 
2. Select the Fonts tab 
3. Select your options from the drop-down menus for Large system font, Small system font and the Views font [Note: The Large System Font is used in the title bar of windows, the menu bar and menus, and tabs. The Small System Font is for "explanatory text and labels." The Views Font is used for filenames.] 
   When you have made all the selections, select 'Save theme' to save your changes.           

Mac OS 10

• See Universal Access in System Preferences> System> Universal Access           

Mouse settings

Windows
You can change three settings of the mouse settings. To start:

1. Select the Start button in the bottom left corner of the screen 
2. Select Settings, and then Control Panel 
3. If you are using Windows XP, select Switch to Classic View in the left pane 
4. Open the Mouse section either by double left clicking on the icon, or by highlighting the icon and pressing Enter/Return key 
   

To change the click speed, and whether for right or left-handed use:

1. Select the Buttons tab 
2. Select right- or left-handed
3. Select single or double click for opening items
4. Move the slider along to choose the speed for double-clicking 
5. Select Apply to save your changes 
   

To change the visibility and size of the mouse 'pointers':

1. Select the Pointers tab
2. Choose the scheme of pointers from the drop-down menu (previewed in the box to the right) 
3. Select Apply to save your changes 
   

To change the motion of the mouse:

1. Select the Motion tab
2. Move the slider along to choose the speed you want for the mouse 
3. Select the acceleration that you prefer 
4. Select Apply to save your changes. 
   

Apple Mac OS
The Apple Mac has various accessibility features which include: an adjustable keyboard, an ergonomic mouse, CloseView screen magnification software, display adaptation, Easy Access system software (Sticky Keys, Slow Keys, Mouse Keys), electronic documentation, key-repeat disable, text-to-speech synthesis and voice recognition (PlainTalk), sticky mouse, and visual alert cues. All of these features are included as part of the Apple Mac's system software (system 7.x, 8.x and 9.x, 10.x), details of which can be found at: www.apple.com/accessibility/

Mac OS 10

• See Universal Access in System Preferences> System> Universal Access            

Keyboard settings

Windows
You can change

• the time that elapses before a held down key starts repeating 
• how quickly characters are repeated when you hold down a key 
• the rate at which the cursor blinks.            

To change any of these:

1. Select the Start button in the bottom left corner of the screen
2. Select Settings, and then Control Panel 
3. Open the Keyboard section either by double left clicking on the icon, or by highlighting the icon and pressing the Enter/Return key 
4. Select your speeds using the three sliders 
5. Select Apply, then OK to save your changes           

Apple Mac OS
See above: Apple Mac Accessibility

Mac OS 10

• See Universal Access in System Preferences> System> Universal Access            

Useful Links

• World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) - develops interoperability technologies (specifications, guidelines, software and tools) to lead the Web to its full potential 
• Web Accessibility Initiative - W3C's Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) creates web standards for making web pages accessible to all
• www.microsoft.com/enable/training/default.aspx - for details about the Microsoft accessibility wizard and how to use it 
• www.apple.com/accessibility/- for details about the Apple Macintosh accessibility features 
• www.opera.com/features/access/ - for details about the Opera browser's accessibility features           

Can I download from the site?

Any Doncaster Council page displayed in a browser can be saved to a local drive. We do not technically prevent our pages from being downloaded. See Copyright 

Can I print out pages?

Pages displayed on this web site are designed to be printed out from a web browser.

Feedback

If you have any suggestions that will improve the all or any of these, email the Web team (webteam@doncaster.gov.uk), and we will consider them.