Help & advice

Here are a few guidelines to getting the most out of the website, accessing content and customising the site to suit your own computer and requirements.

We also want people to be safe online. London 2012 is very much in the public eye, which unfortunately means there is a danger of others misusing our emblem and name through fraudulent emails or websites. Please view our online safety guidelines, Stay safe online, too.

Help using this site

People who use our website access it using different browsers, devices and levels of ability or IT knowledge.

We want everyone to be able to access information and get involved with London 2012 using our site. View our accessibility policy.

Our site has a number of different features to help users of all abilities to access information and get involved with the London 2012 Games.

Known browser support

This website operates on a wide range of browsers and operating systems. It has been tested specifically against:

Microsoft Windows XP
IE7.0
IE6.0
Firefox 1.5 (Mozilla 1.7)

Windows 2000
IE6.0
IE5.5
Firefox 2.0 (Mozilla 1.7)

Mac operating system
Safari 1.4
Safari 2.0
Firefox 1.5 + 2.0

Enlarging text
 

If you find it easier to view information in a larger font than the standard font on these pages, you can adjust your browser to provide a larger text size.
 
The BBC website provides useful information on how to enlarge text in specific Internet browsers. View the BBC My Web My Way guidelines.

Changing colours

The colours used on this site have been chosen to provide maximum contrast and to minimise difficulty for those with different kinds of colour blindness.
 
Changing a website’s background colour can be useful for people who rely on magnification technology, as white can produce an uncomfortable glare. It is also possible to change the colour of body text on the site.

Both can be achieved by changing preferences in your browser. The BBC website provides detailed guidance on how to do this in each browser and operating system. View the BBC My Web My Way guidelines. 

You can also use the 'A A A' buttons in the top right of each page to adapt the colours to suit your preferences. The first 'A' is the standard view. The second 'A' is for readers with dyslexia. The third 'A' is a high visual colour view.
 

Visual design

This site uses cascading style sheets (CSS) for visual layout. If your browser or browsing device does not support stylesheets at all, the content of each page is still readable.

JavaScript

This site uses JavaScript in a number of features. Following accessibility guidelines, we have provided alternative versions of these features which work without JavaScript installed, as follows:

• Image galleries which display rotating images when JavaScript is enabled display images as a list on the page without JavaScript.
• Without JavaScript, the blog calendar refreshes the page when a month is selected.
• Without JavaScript, the blog tag cloud refreshes the page when switching between the tag cloud and the tag list.
• With JavaScript enabled, the boxes which display associated content on the right hand side of the page move to the bottom of the page if the browser size is made smaller. Without JavaScript, the boxes are always at the bottom of the screen.
• Email addresses without JavaScript enabled are displayed as text rather than active links.
• Feature boxes which can be expanded or contracted with JavaScript enabled instead automatically display all text without JavaScript enabled.

Multimedia

We provide an increasing number of video clips on the site, to bring our project to life and to make our content available to people who find it easier to view rather than read information.

Video clips are provided in Flash and you need Flash version 8.0 or above in order to view them. Download free Flash Player.
 
As we add video content to the site, we aim to provide captions and transcripts for individuals with hearing impairment or who find text versions helpful. Where we can we will also use audio descriptions to enhance the experience of those with vision impairment.

PDFs and attachments

Our pages feature a number of PDF (Portable Document Format) attachments.

The PDF file format is a common Internet file format. It is used for electronic distribution where it is important to keep the layout and feel of the original document, including fonts, colours and images. It is also useful because it can be used across many different types of computers and browsers.

We generally use PDFs on this site for official publications, leaflets and forms.
 
In order to view PDF attachments, you can download a PDF document reader. There are various types available, of which Acrobat is a well-known type. Many PDF readers can be downloaded free of charge from the internet.  Download Acrobat Reader

The second option is to use an online PDF conversion tool. You can visit the Adobe Acrobat website, type in the address of a PDF file and get it to translate the file into a more readable format while you wait. Or you can email the address of the file (or the file itself) to Adobe, and they will email a translation back. These translations of the files may not be as clearly formatted as the original PDF file. Use the Acrobat online conversion tool.

PDFs have become more accessible through technologies like screen readers, navigation through the keyboard and enhanced screen viewing. You can find advice on how to use these features through the Adobe website.

Non-English language use

The official languages of the Olympic movement are English and French, and the majority of this site is available in French as well as English. Where French is not yet available, French users are taken to the English sections.
 
Pages relating specifically to Wales are also available in Welsh.

Documents published by the Olympic Delivery Authority and available in pdf format on this site are available in the following alternative languages on request:
Albanian
Arabic
Bengali
Bosnian/Croatian/Serbia
Chinese
French
Greek
Gujarati
Hindi
Kurdish
Lithuanian
Malayalam
Polish
Portuguese
Punjabi
Russian
Spanish
Somali
Tamil
Turkish
Vietnamese
Urdu

View the ODA alternative language scheme (PDF, 14kB)

Further help using the World Wide Web

There is lots of advice available online to help users with varying abilities customise their screen to suit them.

The BBC have worked with accessibility charity AbilityNet to develop an extensive guide to help people find the best way to use the Web, and this guide may be helpful to you in customising your browser to suit you best. View the BBC My Web My Way guidelines.

Feedback

Maintaining an accessible site is an ongoing process and we still have work to do to meet the standards we have set ourselves. However, if you have any problems using this website, or comments you would like to make, please contact us by email at enquiries@london2012.com.