Help
Our help guide for H&F Homes website
Viewing our site
Our site has been designed and tested in a variety of browsers. It's been comprehensively tested with Netscape 6 and upwards, Internet Explorer 5 and upwards, Opera 5 and upwards, and Mozilla 1.3 and upwards, Safari (Apple's browser) and also on mobile devices such as the iPhone.
Install Browsealoud to Speech Enable this site (Browsealoud FAQs)
To use Browsealoud, you will need Internet Explorer 4 upwards, or Netscape Navigator.
Once the software is installed, you will see a small blue icon in your system tray (bottom right of the screen). When this has a red tick over the top, it means the site you are accessing is speech enabled. Roll the cursor over the site content and the text will be read aloud to you.
You can customise Browsealoud by right clicking on the blue Browsealoud icon in the system tray, and choose 'open Browsealoud settings' from the menu. For a detailed description of customization options see the FAQs on the Browsealoud website
Larger Text
You can change the text size of this site by holding down your "Ctrl" button on your keyboard and scrolling with your mousewheel.
Alternatively you can adjust your browser's settings;
-
Microsoft Internet Explorer
Go to the View menu, select Text Size and then either Larger or Largest. -
Netscape Navigator
Go to the View menu and choose Increase Font until the text is the size you require.
Homepage
The homepage is the gateway to our website. Whilst all our pages have a consistent look and feel, the homepage shows the items you are most likely to be looking on our site for.
Main features include:
- Language icon - A list of languages spoken within the borough appears on the home page only. Clicking on this will take the user to a page explaining how to get the site translated into their own language
- Useful links – a list of the most popular pages.
- Getting Involved - diffeernt ways you, our tenants & residents, can help in the shaping of our services
- Contact us - ways to get in touch and an online form to contact us electronically
- Events - a searchable calendar of events in the borough
Page layout
All H&F Homes web pages have four main parts:
1. The top header
The top of our pages displays a logo banner to inform you of the website that you are using. Within the banner is a search box, powered by Google, which allows you to do a keyword search.
Just above the banner are three links:
- Help – the area you are using right now
- LBHF Website – direct link to the Councils website
- Contact us – useful contact numbers, links to maps, cashier opening hours and an online form to help you contact the council
- Browsealoud - direct link to the site whihc provides free software to allow people with viewing difficulties to surf the site with content being read aloud.
- Search - function to allow you to serach our site for any document or relevant page based on keywords entered
- Text Size A A A - changes the size of text to larger as required
To help you identify in which part of the website you are in, we have included a line below the banner (breadcrumb path) of your visited links. If you click on any of these, you will return to a previously viewed page.
2. The left hand menu
This menu is named acts as a gateway to hundreds of services. The 10 main categories are grouped as follows:
- Home - our starting page
- About us – includes Our Board, Management team, Working for Us and Office contacts.
- Getting Involved – includes anumber of ways to get involved in the shaping on how we provide services.
- Your Tenancy – includes Tenant's handboo, paying your rent and moving options
- Your Leasehold – includes FAQs on service charges, major works consultation and ways to pay.
- Decent Homes - includes Government definition of a Decent Home and how it affects you
- Estate Services – includes applications for garages, recycling, Estate wardens, graffiti & Rubbish disposal.
- Equality & Diversity – includes Legislation Standards, Domestic Violence & Racial Harassment.
- News & Press - includes The Insider magazine
- Contact Us
When you click on one of the 10 top-level sections, it moves to the top of the list and the menu opens up to show relevant subsections and pages. The sections you have clicked on to reach the current page remain visible in the left menu to help you find your way back to previous pages.
Alternatively, you can use the back button on your browser to return to the page you last visited.
At any time you may click on the H&F Homes Logo (top right circle) to return to the homepage.
If there are related pages, forms, documents or external links associated with the page you are viewing these will be accessible from the body of the page or from the right hand side of the screen.
3. The content area
The content area (in the middle of the page) differs from page to page, depending on the subject.
When a service requires a more lengthy explanation, we have provided links to ‘more information’ links, which lead to web pages or downloadable PDF files.
The bottom banner (grey area):
- Privacy Policy - explains how we will use any information you provide
- Help – the area you are using right now
- Feedback - Opens up a feedback form which can be completed anonymously, and we use this feedback to improve the site or service
- Contact us – useful contact numbers, links to maps, cashier opening hours and an online form to help you contact the council
