How to turn on Orca

Important Note: Not all labs computers have speakers so you may need to bring headphones to plug into them in order to hear the screen reader.

To turn on Orca screen reader:

1. Click on the accessibility menu in the top right corner of your screen and toggle the screen reader switch
   
   
   
   If you do not immediately hear the screen reader start talking check that the speakers or your headphones are working. If you still cannot hear the screen reader try hitting the key combination: super + alt + s 

How To Access Orca Setup Options

1. Open a terminal window. In most instructional Linux labs and fastx you will find the terminal under applications
   
   
   
   
2. In your terminal windows type the command: orca --setup and hit enter
   
   
   
   
3. This should bring up the Orca setup menu
   
   
   
   From here you can adjust the screen reader to suit your needs. 

How To Change The Speed Of The Screen Reader

1. Open the Orca setup menu as shown in the How To Access Orca Setup Options above. 
2. Click on the voice tab and adjust the rate setting, lower numbers are slower and higher numbers will speed up the screen reader
   
   

All preferences you change in Orca on an instructional (EWS) computer or fastx.ews.illinois.edu will save to your profile and adjust the next instructional computer you log into. If you need more information on how to use Orca you can reference Gnome Orca documentation at Welcome to Orca or request help from the Engineering IT Instructional Services Team using this form: https://go.illinois.edu/ewshelp