accessibility
cahoot accessibility
At cahoot, we are committed to continually upgrading our site to make it more accessible and usable for everyone. We have recently invested in research and consultancy with specialist companies to understand how best to do this.
The resulting changes we have made mean that most users with special needs should have a much better experience, and we have tested the site with screen readers such as JAWS, Window-Eyes and IBM Home Page Reader. In addition, if you wish, you can now change the size of text using the View menu in Internet Explorer for a more comfortable reading experience.
If you require paperwork in Braille or large print please click on 'contact us' to make your request.
As we strive towards making our site simple to use for all, we would welcome any feedback on further improvements. Please click on 'contact us' to send us an email.
You may find it useful to read our hints and tips below to help you get the best out of cahoot.
general hints and tips
adjusting the size of text in Internet Explorer
To make reading on screen more comfortable, you can change the size of the text in your browser. In Internet Explorer, choose View > Text Size and then Larger or Largest to make the text bigger. Choose View > Text Size > Medium to reset it to the default size. Changing this setting may also affect any other web sites that you view.
Our secure banking site uses frames to display a separate navigation menu, and the available space for this is a fixed size. In order that the options remain in view and do not overflow the visible space when you make the text size larger, the size of the cahoot navigation menu text will not change when you do this in Internet Explorer.
If you use the Accessibility options in Internet Explorer to Ignore Font Sizes Specified on Web Pages (Tools > Internet Options > Accessibility), the navigation menu text may overflow the space available when the font size is set larger than default. If you think you may be missing items from the menu and you have used this option, try making the text size smaller using the View menu, or turn off the option.
navigating the site using the keyboard only
In our testing we have ensured that all site functions can be accessed using the keyboard only, with the exception of 'any questions?', our online help system. Plans are in place to make 'any questions?' fully accessible with the keyboard as soon as possible.
On our marketing site we offer additional shortcut keys that allow rapid navigation to important pages. We are following the UK Government recommendations for accesskey assignments which is emerging as a worldwide standard:
1 - Home
3 - Site map
6 - Help
8 - Terms and conditions
9 - Contact us
0 - Accessibility
S - Skip navigation
Please note; these access keys have not yet been implemented in our application process pages. We are working to add these as soon as possible. Also, for Netscape browser users using the secure banking site, to activate accesskeys please click on the purple area at the top of the page or tab to one of the links at the top of the page.
javascript and popup windows
JavaScripts are small programs built into web pages to add extra features, such as the ability for a web page to open popup windows or check that you have completed a form completely. Not all browsers support JavaScript, so where we have used these small programs to add features to the site, we have done our best to ensure that the same content and functionality is available to you whether JavaScript is turned on or not. If your browser does not support JavaScript, you should be able to access all areas of the site except for the 'any questions?' feature and webcard, which we plan to make fully accessible in the future. In some cases you may need to use your browser back button to return to the previous page. Also, you may not be able to use the loans repayment calculators.
Popup windows are used throughout the site for help windows and for displaying printable versions of certain pages. Even if your browser supports JavaScript, you may have activated a feature, which suppresses popup windows. If you click certain links and nothing seems to happen, it may be that you need to deactivate this functionality. Some browsers such as Opera and Mozilla have built in features to do this, or you may have installed a third party toolbar or other browser component which is preventing the popup window from opening.
screen reader hints and tips
The following information is intended to help users of screen reader software such as JAWS, Window-Eyes, HAL or IBM Home Page Reader to get the most from the site. We have suggested helpful techniques for navigating the site more easily, and provided example shortcut keys for JAWS. Most screen reader applications have similar commands that you can use; check your screen reader documentation to find out the corresponding keyboard shortcuts in your software.
navigating the site frames (secure banking site)
The cahoot secure banking site uses frames, which means that the navigation always stays in view for users with visual browsers. In a screen reader, this means you can always skip quickly to the main content within the window or to the main navigation links by using your frame navigation keys. For example, JAWS users can press M or Shift-M to easily move forward and backward through the frames.
navigating using headings
All pages use HTML headings where appropriate, and the main content always starts with a level 1 main heading. This provides a useful way to skip directly to the content in most screen readers by pressing the shortcut key for headings. You may find it useful to go to the top of the page first, to ensure that the next heading read will always be the main heading for the page. For example, JAWS users can press H or Shift+H to move to the next heading, 1 or Shift+1 to move to the next level one heading, and Insert+F6 to display a list of all headings on the page.
navigating tables
We use tables for general layout within our web pages, and also for laying out rows and columns of information (data tables). We have done our best to ensure that content will always read in a logical manner, but in some data tables you may find it hard to understand the meaning of each item when the table is read in a linear fashion. In this event, you can use your table navigation keys to have the screen reader announce the relevant headers for each data cell. For example, JAWS users can press Ctrl+Alt+arrow keys to move around the table and read the headers for each cell, or press Ctrl+Alt+NumPad 5 to read the headers for the current cell.
Data tables will always have a summary that you can hear in your screen reader. Data tables are always separate from layout tables, so you can find them easily using your table navigation keys. For example, JAWS users can press T or Shift+T to move to the next table and read its summary.
reading special symbols in JAWS
On certain pages we have footnote symbols such as the dagger †, double dagger ‡ and one or more than one asterisk * on the page to indicate further information available at the bottom of the page. These may not be read in the JAWS screen reader unless the option below is set to 'all':
To read all special characters in JAWS, choose Options > Voices > Global Adjustment and set Punctuation to 'All'.
Window-Eyes refresh issue while applying for a cahoot product or account
If you are using the Window-Eyes screen reader from GW Micro on its default settings to apply for a cahoot product, you may have trouble completing our application process. There is a point where Window-Eyes prevents the browser from moving on to the next page once your details have been verified. This is because a browser refresh command is used within the page to periodically check whether the verification is complete, and this cannot be done by any other means. In order to avoid any problems, we recommend that you set your preferences in Window-Eyes to allow browser refresh until you have completed the application process.
To do this in Window-Eyes 4.5,
- Open Window-Eyes.
- Choose Global > Verbosity > MSAA...
- Select Miscellaneous from the elements list.
- Choose the radio button Do Not Suspend Refresh.
- Click OK.
Once you have finished, you can follow the steps again and set the option back to its previous setting.
