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# Accessibility Properties

Java Accessibility Guide > Java Accessibility API (JAAPI) Programmer's Guide > Accessibility Properties

## Available Properties

The `javax.accessibility` package provides the following properties:

- `assistive_technologies`
- `screen_magnifier_present`
- `screen_reader_present`

Loading Assistive Technologies

The `assistive_technologies` property specifies the assistive technologies to load into the JVM. It takes a comma-delimited list as input. For example, if you set this property to `com.sun.java.accessibility.AccessBridge`, then Java Access Bridge is enabled.

Indicating the Presence of a Screen Magnifier

When the `screen_magnifier_present` property is set to `true`, it lets the Java platform libraries know that a screen magnifier is present on the system. Application developers can check this property, and if a screen magnifier is present, developers should make sure their applications are compatible with screen magnification. For example, on Microsoft Windows operating systems, the reference implementation of the Java 2D API checks this property and if `true`, turns off Microsoft DirectDraw to avoid problems with the screen magnifier. (Some screen magnifiers may not be able to magnify DirectDraw graphics.)

Indicating the Presence of a Screen Reader

When the `screen_reader_present` property is set to `true`, it lets the Java platform libraries know that a screen reader is present on the system. Application developers can check this property. If an application is self-voicing and a screen reader is present, developers can turn off the self-voicing.

## Setting Properties

You can set a property at run time or in a properties file. To set a property at run time, enter a command such as the following:

    java -Djavax.accessibility.screen_magnifier_present=true foo.class

The reference implementation includes an `accessibility.properties` file in the `jre/lib` directory. To set a property in the `accessibility.properties` file, add a line or lines such as the following:

    assistive_technologies=com.sun.java.accessibility.AccessBridge
    screen_magnifier_present=true
    screen_reader_present=true

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