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Website Accessibility

In an effort to make the Your Money’s Best Friend website accessible to all users, this page has been created to explain how the website works. This page includes information on how the pages of the site are structured, how the navigational system works, and descriptions of some of the most useful features found on the site.

A link to this page is provided on all pages of the website. The link is specifically designed to be accessible by screen readers and other assistive technologies and is not visible to other site users. The link is located at the beginning of the page. The link is named: Website Accessibility Information.

The topics covered on this page are listed in the following menu. Each menu item is a link to jump directly to the topic. At the end of each topic is a link to return to this menu.

Topic Menu

Site Structure
All pages of the site are divided into five sections. This format remains consistent throughout the entire site.

The first section contains links to Educator Resources, News, profile and contact information for the Office of Financial Education, and the keyword search form. This section also includes a “Skip to main content” link that permits you to skip the navigation links and jump directly to the content of the page. These remain constant throughout the site.

The second section includes the primary navigation for the site, where you can access areas of content. The way that the navigation works is explained in the next section: Site Navigation

The third section contains the content of the page.

The fourth section contains a form that allows you to search for programs and links to sign up for our newsletter and to e-mail the page to a friend.

The fifth section contains the footer navigation links, where you can access administrative and informational pages such as a site map, site policies, and legal information.

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Site Navigation
The Office of Financial Education logo image located at the beginning of every page is a link back to the site home page.

The main navigation links (in section two) are grouped into three categories: Money, Life, and Tools. This navigation remains consistent throughout the site. However, not all of the navigational links are displayed at all times. The navigation within each section expands to show addtional pages as you move through the section.

The footer navigation links, which are found in the fifth section, remain constant throughout the site.

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Site Map
The site map provides a direct link to all of the pages on the Your Money’s Best Friend website.

A link to the site map, named "Site Map", can be found in the footer navigation on each page of the site.

Browser Plug-ins and Settings
To successfully use all of the features of the website, the following browser plug-ins and settings are required. The site is usable without these, but access to information and features will be limited.

Adobe Acrobat Reader - Free plug-in for viewing documents in PDF format.

The search forms on the site require JavaScript. You will be able to perform searches without JavaScript, but you will be able to view only the first page of results and unable to navigate through multiple pages of results or to filter results. A message on the page will notify you if you are using a browser that does not support JavaScript or you have disabled it.

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Offsite links

On regular site pages, hyperlinks to offsite resources such as other websites and specific documents will open in a new browser window. To return to the website, close the new browser window.

Offsite links that appear on keyword search results pages will not open in a new window.

Link Policy

The Commonwealth provides links to other governmental agencies in the Commonwealth and the federal government. We also provide links to web sites of other organizations in order to provide visitors with certain information. A link does not constitute an endorsement of content, viewpoint, policies, products or services of that web site. Once you link to another web site not maintained by the Commonwealth, you are subject to the terms and conditions of that website, including but not limited to its privacy policy.

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Links to Files

A note for Mozilla and Safari browser users attempting to open links to files:

Each link is a direct link to a file. After clicking each link, a dialog box will appear in your browser, prompting you to open the file in your browser or to save the file to your computer. Select the option to save the file to your computer. Attempting to open the file directly in your browser is not compatible with some browsers such as FireFox and Mozilla. If you wish to open the file directly from the website in these browsers, you will need to select an appropriate graphics program.

If you are using the Safari browser on a Mac, after downloading the file, you will need to remove the ".html" extension that the browser appends to the file. To perform this action, right click on the file icon and select "Get Info". In the dialog that appears, the filename will be listed in an editable text field under "Name & Extensions". Delete ".html" from the filename and close the dialog. After removing the extension, you will be able to open and view the file.

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How Forms Work
The forms that you will encounter on this site have several things in common. Understanding how these things work will better enable you to interact with, and successfully complete and submit, the forms.

Required Form Fields: The forms on this site include fields that must completed in order for the form to be submitted. A star (*) is used to indicate which form fields are required. In addition, the required fields for each form are listed for each form that is covered on this page.

Error Messages: Most of the forms are validated when you click the submit button. That is, the form "checks" to make sure that the information that you have entered is formatted correctly and that you have entered information into all of the required form fields. If you complete a form and hit the Submit button but do not receive a message that submission was successful, return to the beginning of the form. Error messages detailing what needs to be corrected will appear at the beginning of the form, right before the first form field.

Resetting the Form: Most of the forms include a "Clear" or "Reset" button that allows you to clear all of the fields of a form. When hitting this button, the form page will reload and you will need to navigate back to the form.

Confirmation Messages: If you have successfully submitted a form, you will receive a message confirming your submission.

Keyword Search
The keyword search form, located on all pages of the site, searches the entire site for pages and documents that contain the keyword or keywords entered into the form. You will get more results if you search on more than one keyword because the search will return pages that have at least one instance of either keyword.

Immediately before the list of results, there is a form that allows you to perform another keyword search, but to filter the search to return all matches, articles, events, or collateral (PDF documents, Word documents, etc.).

Your browser will need to have JavaScript enabled to navigate through multiple pages of results. Without JavaScript enabled, you will be able to access only the first page of results.

Program Search Form
This form searches for programs and events offered by Office of Financial Education member organizations within a radius of a particular zip code. The form consists of two combo-boxes. To use this form, select a  radius and a zip code.

The results will be ordered by proximity, starting with the results that are closest to the zip code you entered into the form.

Your browser will need to have JavaScript enabled to navigate through multiple pages of results. Without JavaScript enabled, you will be able to access only the first page of results.

Send to a Friend Form
This form allows you to email links to pages on the site. To complete the form, you need to provide your name and e-mail address, and your friend’s name and e-mail address. You can also customize the subject of the e-mail you are sending and to include a personal message. If the form is not completed correctly, error messages will be displayed Please note that all messages must be entered as plain text. HTML and special characters are not supported.

Newsletter Signup Form
This form allows you to signup to receive an e-mail newsletter. To complete the form, you need to provide you first and last name and your e-mail address.

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Screen Magnification
To preserve the consistent layout of the site, a specific size has been used for the site's text.

Users having difficulty reading the text are encouraged to take one or more of the following actions to increase the size of the text.

Windows Users

Internet Explorer Browser

Enable the accessibility feature within the "Internet Options" menu that permits text size to be increased. Follow these instructions to access this menu:

1. From the "Tools" option in the menubar at the top of the browser window, select "Internet Options"
2. The Internet Options menu will open. Select the "Accessibility" button near the bottom.
The Accessibility menu will open. Check the checkbox labeled "Ignore font sizes specified on Web pages."
3. Select the "OK" button. The Accessibility menu will close. The Internet Options menu will remain.
4. Select the "OK" button. The Internet Options menu will close.

Now that the accessibility feature has been enabled, follow these instructions to increase the text size:

1. Select "View" from the menubar at the top of the browser window. A menu will appear. Select "Text Size."
2.Choose the text size that best enables you to view the site.

Please also note that Microsoft Windows does include a screen magnification tool that will magnify the screen. Please consult the
Microsoft website for further information.

Firefox, Mozilla, and Netscape Navigator Browsers
1. From the menubar at the top of the browser window, select "View."
2. A menu will appear. Select "Text Zoom" or "Text Size." 
3. Choose the text size that best enables you to view the site.


Mac Users

Firefox and Mozilla Browsers
1. From the File menu, select "View."
2. A menu will appear. Select "Text Size" and then "Increase".
3. Repeat these steps to continue to increase the font size.

Safari Browser
1. From the File menu, select "View."
2. A menu will appear. Select the "Make Text Bigger" option to increase the text size.         
3. Repeat these steps to continue to increase the font size.

Internet Explorer and Netscape Browsers
1. From the File menu, select "View."
2. A menu will appear. Select "Text Zoom."
3. A menu will appear. Select a zoom percentage or "Larger" to increase the text size.

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