Use accessibility features in Chromebook
You can find several accessibility features to help improve your experience in Chromebook.
Table of contents
Overview of accessibility features on ChromeOS
Your Chromebook runs ChromeOS, an operating system with cloud storage, built-in Google features, and multiple layers of security.
With Chromebook, you can access various built-in accessibility features. These features can help you to adapt and improve your experience.
To turn on accessibility features:
- Open Settings.
- Select Accessibility.
Cognitive
- If you or someone you care for experiences limited cognition, focus disorders, or learning differences, you can choose accessibility features to meet your cognitive needs:
- Dictation: You can use your voice to type and communicate. Learn how to type text with your voice.
- Focus mode: You can reduce distractions and adjust your focus time with focus mode. Learn how to enable Focus mode.
- Notification management: If you need notifications to be shown for more time, you can manage them from different websites. You can find them in the notification center. Learn how to use notifications to get alerts.
- Reading mode in the Chrome browser: This feature helps you focus more easily on text. It reduces distractions from images and videos on screen to simplify content and can be read aloud. Learn how to use Reading mode and Read aloud on your Chromebook.
- Select to speak: You can hear on-screen text spoken aloud to help with learning differences, dyslexia or low vision. Learn how to hear text read aloud.
- If you or someone you care for experiences photosensitivity or seizure triggers, you can reduce sensory screen stimuli with built in ChromeOS accessibility features:
- Dark mode: To help your eyes, you can change the colors of your Chromebook screen using Dark mode. Learn how to change your Chromebook’s screen color.
- Reduced animations: You can limit on-screen movement in the Accessibility settings under "Display and magnification." Learn how to turn on Chromebook accessibility features.
- Text cursor blink rate: In the Accessibility settings, under "Keyboard and text input," you can reduce the cursor blink rate. Learn how to turn on Chromebook accessibility features.
Hearing
- If you or someone you care for is deaf or hard of hearing, explore these accessibility features for support:
- Custom caption styles: Choose which kind of captions you use on your Chromebook.Learn how to use captions on your Chromebook.
- Flash notifications: To make your Chromebook's screen flash when you get a notification, you can enable flash notifications.Learn how to use notifications to get alerts.
- Live caption: To automatically create real-time captions for any audio or video you play on your Chrome browser, turn on Live caption. Learn how to use captions on your Chromebook.
- Mono audio: In the Accessibility settings, under "Audio and captions," you can set your Chromebook to play the same sound through all speakers. Learn how to turn on Chromebook accessibility features.
- Volume adjustment: You can change the volume on your Chromebook with the volume hardware keys and in settings. Learn how to adjust the volume on your Chromebook.
Mobility & dexterity
- If you or someone you care for has limited reach, manipulation, or strength, you can adjust your Accessibility settings to make it easier to navigate and interact with your Chromebook:
- Automatic clicks: You can set the cursor to automatically "click" when it stops and customize the actions the cursor takes. Learn how to automatically click objects on your Chromebook.
- Bounce keys: To decrease accidental keystrokes, you can delay time between repeated keystrokes. You can adjust this setting in the Accessibility settings, under "Keyboard and text input." Learn how to turn on Chromebook accessibility features.
- Customize keyboard shortcuts: You can add, edit, delete, reset, or fix your keyboard shortcuts through the Shortcuts app . Learn how to customize your keyboard shortcuts.
- Caret browsing: In the Accessibility settings, under "Keyboard and text input," you can set the arrow keys to move through items letter by letter. Learn how to turn on Chromebook accessibility features.
- Face control: You can use face control as an alternate input method for your Chromebook. To control the cursor with facial gestures and head movements, use AI-powered face control. Learn how to use facial gestures and head movements to control your Chromebook.
- Mouse keys: You can control your mouse with the keyboard. Learn how to use Mouse keys to control your cursor.
- On-screen keyboard: You can use your Chromebook’s on-screen keyboard to type, handwrite text, or add images to files, documents, and emails. Learn how to use your on-screen keyboard.
- Repeat keys: In the Device settings, under the "Keyboard and text input," you can turn off repeat keys or change how keys repeat. You can adjust the delay and how fast they repeat.
- Slow keys: You can set your Chromebook to reduce accidental keystrokes, including due to issues like tremors. To introduce a delay, it requires keys to be held down for a set amount of time before they are registered. Learn how to turn on Chromebook accessibility features.
- Sticky keys: To press one key at a time instead of holding multiple keys for shortcuts, turn on Sticky keys. Learn how to use keyboard shortcuts one at a time.
- Swipe to navigate between pages: You can turn off the swipe gesture to navigate between pages.Learn how to turn off the swipe to navigate gesture.
- Switch Access: You can use Switch Access as an alternate input method for your Chromebook. When you use Switch Access, it scans the items on your screen until you use a switch to make a selection. It can be used with the built-in keyboard or an external device that you connect through Bluetooth or USB. Learn how to use Switch Access.
- Touchpad setting: If you often interact with the touchpad accidentally, you can turn off the built-in touchpad on a Chromebook. Learn how to turn off your Chromebook touchpad.
Tip: Learn how to update your Chromebook’s operating system.
Vision
- If you or someone you care for is visually impaired, explore these accessibility features:
- Braille display support: You can use most refreshable braille displays with your Chromebook. Learn how to use a braille device with your Chromebook.
- Chromevox screen reader: To use the ChromeOS operating system, Chromebooks have a built-in screen reader called ChromeVox, which assists people with visual impairments. Learn how to use the built-in screen reader.
- If you or someone you care for is has low vision or light sensitivity, you can make it easier to finds what’s on your screen or hear on-screen text spoken aloud:
- Color inversion: If you have issues with photosensitivity, you can change the screen from light to dark and vice versa. Learn how to turn on Chromebook accessibility features.
- Dark mode: If you have issues with photosensitivity, you can turn on dark mode. Learn how to change your Chromebook’s screen color.
- Display size controls: You can increase the size of your display settings. Learn how to turn on Chromebook accessibility features.
- Full screen magnifier: To find items on your Chromebook screen better, you can use either the docked magnifier or full screen magnifier. To change your screen resolution, zoom in, or magnify your screen.Learn how to zoom in or magnify your Chromebook screen.
- Large mouse cursors: In the Accessibility settings, under"Cursor and touchpad," you can increase the size of your mouse cursor to make it more prominent. Learn how to turn on Chromebook accessibility features.
- Highlight text cursor, mouse cursor, and keyboard focus: To make them easier to find, you can highlight the text cursor, mouse cursor, and keyboard focus. Learn how to turn on Chromebook accessibility features.
- Screen color: You can change your Chromebook’s screen color. Learn how to change your Chromebook’s screen color.
- Select to speak: You can hear on-screen text spoken aloud to help with learning differences, dyslexia or low vision. Learn how to hear text read aloud.
- If you’re color blind:
- Color correction: For people with color blindness, color correction adjusts how colors display on your screen. Learn how to turn on Chromebook accessibility features.
Speech
To use your Chromebook without vocal capability:
- Built-in keyboard or on-screen keyboard: To type, you can use the built-in keyboard. To type with a mouse or other pointing device, you can use the operating system's built-in on-screen keyboard. Learn how to use the on-screen keyboard.
- Select to speak: You can hear on-screen text that you have written spoken aloud. Learn how to hear text read aloud.