Recently, we shared an article about ReachDeck — a helpful accessibility and translation tool available on the TCH website. ReachDeck can make our website easier to use if English is not your first language, if you find online text difficult to read, or if you prefer listening to information instead. It can translate content into more than 100 languages and includes tools such as read aloud, screen masks and text magnifiers. You can read the first part here: Making our website easier to use with ReachDeck.

In this second part, we will look at how to customise the settings and adjust ReachDeck to suit your own reading and accessibility preferences.

Customising ReachDeck settings 

The Settings section allows you to personalise ReachDeck and adjust the tools to suit your reading and accessibility needs. 

The settings are divided into three main sections: General, Screen Mask, Themes.

General settings 

In the General section, you can change how ReachDeck reads and displays text. 

Options include: 

• Voice speed – Adjust how fast or slow the text is read aloud. You can also test the voice speed before saving your settings.  
• Speech mode – Choose whether text is read aloud when you:  click on the text, or hover over the text with your mouse.  
• Announce links when speaking – ReachDeck can let you know when text contains a website link while reading aloud.  
• Announce links with a word – You can choose which word is used to identify links during playback.  
• Text magnifier size – Change how large the highlighted text appears while it is being read aloud.  

Screen Mask settings 

The Screen Mask tool can help users focus on text by dimming the rest of the screen and highlighting the line being read. 

In this section, you can adjust: 

• Background colour – Change the colour behind the text.  
• Reading light colour – Choose the highlight colour used for the reading area.  
• Background opacity – Make the background darker or lighter.  
• Reading light opacity – Adjust how strong or soft the highlighted reading area appears.  
• Reading light height – Change the size of the highlighted reading section.  
• Reset to defaults – Quickly return all settings to the original defaults if needed.  

Themes settings 

The Themes section allows you to personalise the appearance of the ReachDeck toolbar and text highlights. 

Options include: 

• Choose toolbar theme – Switch between different toolbar colour styles, such as dark or light mode.  
• Text highlight colours – Select different highlight colours for text while it is being read aloud. 

If you have not tried ReachDeck yet, it is worth looking at it. It is quick to use and could make reading information online a little easier and more comfortable.