Ease of Access Center, formerly Utility Manager, is a component of the

Windows NT Windows NT is a Proprietary software, proprietary Graphical user interface, graphical operating system produced by Microsoft as part of its Windows product line, the first version of which, Windows NT 3.1, was released on July 27, 1993. Original ...

family of operating systems that enables use of assistive technologies. Utility Manager is included with

Windows 2000 Windows 2000 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft, targeting the server and business markets. It is the direct successor to Windows NT 4.0, and was Software release life cycle#Release to manufacturing (RT ...

and

Windows XP Windows XP is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It was released to manufacturing on August 24, 2001, and later to retail on October 25, 2001. It is a direct successor to Windows 2000 for high-end and business users a ...

. In

Windows Vista Windows Vista is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was the direct successor to Windows XP, released five years earlier, which was then the longest time span between successive releases of Microsoft W ...

, Utility Manager was replaced with the Ease of Access Center control panel applet, which is still included in

Windows 10 Windows 10 is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. The successor to Windows 8.1, it was Software release cycle#Release to manufacturing (RTM), released to manufacturing on July 15, 2015, and later to retail on July 2 ...

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

's latest

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources, and provides common daemon (computing), services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems scheduler (computing), schedule tasks for ...

. The keyboard shortcut for invoking Utility Manager or the Ease of Access Center is . The

command-line A command-line interface (CLI) is a means of interacting with software via commands each formatted as a line of text. Command-line interfaces emerged in the mid-1960s, on computer terminals, as an interactive and more user-friendly alternativ ...

shortcut (used in

Windows Command Prompt cmd.exe, a.k.a. Command Prompt, is a shell (computing), shell computer program, program on later versions of Windows (Windows NT, NT and Windows CE, CE families), OS/2,, eComStation, ArcaOS, and ReactOS. In some versions of Windows (Windows C ...

Run command The Run command on an operating system such as Microsoft Windows and Unix-like systems is used to directly open an application or document whose Path (computing), path is known. Overview The command functions more or less like a single-line com ...

) is utilman.

Features

Here are a few of the current features of Ease of Access center:

Narrator

Narrator is a screen reading application. It reads aloud text on the screen, notifications (such as calendar events), etc. The shortcut for Narrator is .

Magnifier

Magnifier is a screen magnifier for

visually impaired Visual or vision impairment (VI or VIP) is the partial or total inability of visual perception. In the absence of treatment such as corrective eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment, visual impairment may cause the individual difficul ...

people that creates a bar at the top of the screen which magnifies the text which the mouse is hovering over. The shortcut for Magnifier is .

Sticky keys

Sticky keys is a feature for physically disabled people which allows them to type in capital letters without holding down , to prevent

repetitive strain injury A repetitive strain injury (RSI) is an injury to part of the musculoskeletal or nervous system caused by repetitive use, vibrations, compression or long periods in a fixed position. Other common names include repetitive stress injury, repetitiv ...

. The shortcut for sticky keys is to repeatedly press a key 5 times.

On-screen Keyboard

The On-screen Keyboard is a

virtual keyboard A virtual keyboard is a software component that allows the Input device, input of characters without the need for physical keys. Interaction with a virtual Computer keyboard, keyboard happens mostly via a touchscreen interface, but can also take p ...

for people who do not have a physical keyboard.

References

{{reflist Windows components Accessibility