Mobility Impairments and Opera

Mobility impairments can make using standard keyboards and mouse devices difficult. Whatever your mobile impairment, Opera provides a host of features to fit your accessibility needs.

Keyboard shortcuts

One of Opera's greatest strengths is the host of keyboard shortcuts it provides. You can browse a lot faster using the keyboard for things you do often. Only Opera makes it possible to navigate entirely with the keyboard for even more speed.

Popular keyboard shortcuts

  • Press Z and X to move backward and forward in history
  • Press F8 to give focus to the address field
  • Press F12 to access the most frequently changed preferences

If you are running Opera now, press Ctrl+B to see the full list of keyboard shortcuts. If you are a first time Opera user, learn about the uniqueness of the keyboard shortcuts in full detail in our keyboard shortcuts tutorial.

Mouse gestures

Mouse gestures let the user perform all the relevant and useful actions the keyboard shortcuts do without having to move the hand from the mouse. Actions such as going backward and forward in history, reloading a page, closing a page, and opening a new window can easily be done with a simple slide of the mouse.

If you are unable to constantly move your hand from the mouse to the keyboard, or move the mouse around the entire displayed page to perform an action, mouse gestures provide the perfect solution.

Using a magnifying glass

Mouse gestures are extremely useful if you use a magnifying utility from the operating system. Magnifying utilities only let users see a limited part of the active program or window at a time. Therefore, certain actions may require you to make substantial movements around the screen with the "magnifying glass" in order to reload or close a page. Opera's mouse gestures makes it much easier to perform browser functions and manage windows without having to move the mouse around the screen.

Activate mouse gestures

This feature is activated by pressing, and holding, your secondary mouse button (right by default, unless your computer is set up for a left-handed person) and moving the mouse pointer in a particular direction or pattern.

Some useful mouse gestures

Previous document in history
Slide left
Next document in history
Slide right
Reload
Slide up then down
Open new document
Slide down (if done over a link, opens link document in new window)
Close document
Slide right-left-right OR down, then right

Auto-completion

In the preferences menu, you can enter your personal information such as name, address, e-mail address, etc., which is commonly used to fill out forms on the Web. This information is only stored in your computer, and no one can access this confidential information. If you have a difficult time using the keyboard and typing, simply right-click in the individual form fields and select "Insert" to access your personal information.

  1. Go to File > Preferences > Personal information and fill in your information

This auto-completion feature is also useful in the URL field. The auto-completion dropdown option in the URL field suggests previously visited pages so you don't have to retype the entire address. This accessibility feature lets you navigate the Web without depending too much on keyboard functionality. You can activate this by enabling it in the Preferences menu:

  1. Go to File > Preferences > Accessibility
  2. In the Keyboard section, check the box that reads "Enable auto-completion dropdown"