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Improve accessibility

Studio and the underlying IntelliJ IDEA have various functions to improve accessibility.

Set up a screen reader

Currently IntelliJ IDEA supports screen readers for Windows.

Info

macOS can switch on the VoiceOver then install and set up the IDE.

  1. Download and enable your preferred screen reader. Check the following recommended screen readers:

    • NVDA: use NVDA 2015 or later. To use the 32-bit version, you must install 32-bit JRE on your machine, as this version of NVDA requires C:\Windows\SysWOW64\WindowsAccessBridge-32.DLL to work with IntelliJ IDEA. If NVDA cannot locate this file, the NVDA Event Log window displays a message.
    • JAWS: restart your computer after installation to enable the screen reader.

  2. Ensure you have installed Java Access Bridge and the proper Java version for your screen reader as follows:

    • To enable Java Access Bridge, open the command prompt and type [JRE_HOME]\bin\jabswitch -enable, where [JRE_HOME] is the JRE home directory on your machine. For Java version 1.8, Java Access Bridge is part of JDK and you don't need to download it separately. Use the control panel to enable the Java Access Bridge.

    • If your screen reader is 32-bit, install the 32-bit JRE version 1.7 or later. If your screen reader is 64-bit, install the 64-bit JRE version 1.7 or later.

    Your computer may have multiple versions of some important components of Java Access Bridge and they may not be compatible across versions. You need to verify that your Java Access Bridge configuration is correct.

    If your screen reader is 32-bit, ensure that C:\Windows\SysWOW64\WindowsAccessBridge-32.DLL is present and has a version number of 7.x.x.x or later. The file's description should read "Java(TM) Platform SE 7".

Adjust colors for red-green color vision deficiency

  1. Select File > Settings > Appearance & Behavior > Appearance on the main menu.
  2. In the Accessibility section select Adjust colors for red-green vision deficiency (protanopia, deuteranopia).

Add scrollbar contrast color

  1. Select File > Settings > Appearance & Behavior > Appearance on the main menu.
  2. In the Accessibility section select Use contrast scrollbars.

Set a high contrast color theme

  1. Select File > Settings > Appearance & Behavior > Appearance on the main menu.
  2. In the Theme list choose High Contrast.

Set a high contrast color scheme

  1. Select File > Settings > Editor > Color Scheme > General on the main menu.
  2. In the Scheme list choose High Contrast.