There are various ways of finding information on this website - some of them are features with links on each page, others are general techniques which you can use on other websites.
A – Z
If you know what you are looking for you can try the A-Z.
This includes all the key services that the Council provides and will take you to a page that has:
- a brief description of the service
- links to supporting information
- contact details
- useful related information on our site
- useful related external sites
Searching
If you know what you are looking for please type the term in the quick search box and press enter, this will give you a set of search results, the top one being the page which most closely matches.
How do I perform advanced searches ?
The search provides a number of advanced search options to help you find exactly what you're looking for.
Match ANY search word (Boolean OR)
Search for pages which contain AT LEAST ONE of the given search terms. The results will be sorted in order of the number of terms matched, and the determined relevancy score. Click the "match any search word" radio button to enable this search option.
Match ALL search word (Boolean AND)
Search for pages which contain ALL of the given search terms. The results will be sorted in order of the number of terms matched, and the determined relevancy score. Click the "match all search word" radio button to enable this search option.
Wildcard searches
You can use wildcard characters '*' and '?' in your search terms to search for multiple words and return larger set of results. An asterisk character ('*') in a search term represents any number of characters, while a question mark ('?') represents any single character.
This allows you to perform advanced searches such as "zoom*" which would return all pages containing words beginning with "zoom". Similarly, "z??m" would return all pages containing four letter words beginning with 'z' and ending with 'm'. Also, "*car*" would be a search for any words containing the word "car".
Exact phrase searches
An exact phrase search returns results where the phrase of words are found, in the same order that they are specified. For example, an exact phrase search for the words "green tea" would only return results where the phrase 'green tea' appears. It would not return pages where the words 'green' and 'tea' are found separately, or in a different order such as, 'tea green'.
To specify an exact phrase search term, you need to enclose the words that form the phrase using double quotation marks. You can also combine the use of exact phrase searches with normal search terms and wildcard search terms within a single search query (eg. "green tea" japan*). Note however, that wildcards within exact phrases (eg. "green te*") are not supported.
Exclusion/negative searches
You can precede a search term with a hyphen character to exclude that search term from being included in your search results. For example, a search for "cat -dog" would return all pages containing the word "cat" but not the word "dog".
Skip words
Note that some common words such as "the", "and", "or" may be deemed to be skip words and ignored by the search. This is configured by the web site administrator.
Browsing
If you are not sure exactly what you are looking for or would like to see the scope of the website in broad subject areas use our main menu on the left of each page. You can browse for items of interest and there is a breadcrumb trail at the top of each page which will show you where you are in the site at all times.
Using the mouse
As you move the mouse around - the cursor - an arrow - will also move around the page. When it rests on text that links to more information it will turn into a pointing hand. When it does you can left click on the mouse and the link will open.
Using the keyboard
If you have difficulty with, or prefer not to use, the mouse, or are using a laptop, you can move around the site with the enter and tab keys. The tab key will take you to each link on the page in turn starting from the top left to the bottom right. When you reach the link you want to open press enter. If you get to the last one and want to start again keep pressing tab. If you want to go back press shift and tab.
Scrolling
Some pages will have information off the screen than can be viewed by scrolling down - this page is a good example. The vertical bar on the right is the scroll bar. You can move the page by holding the cursor on the bar and moving it up and down or by clicking on the top or bottom arrow and holding it until you reach the right place.
Controlling text and colours in your web browser
If you are experiencing problems with our font size, You can switch to the high contrast text only version ( see link at bottom of each page) and change your settings according to the following instructions:
Increasing the font size on your PC |
Internet Explorer 6 and 5 - View > Text Size and choose from Smallest to Largest. |
Internet Explorer 4 - View > Fonts and choose from Smallest to Largest. |
Netscape 6 - View >Text Size and choose Smaller or Larger or a percentage. |
Netscape 4.7 - View > Increase Font |
Netscape 4.6 or 4.5 - Edit > Preferences, then choose Fonts and change the setting accordingly. |
Increasing the font size on your MAC |
Internet Explorer 5 - Edit >Preferences > Web Browser > Language/Fonts and choose the size you want. |
Internet Explorer 4.5 - Edit > Preferences > Web Browser > Browser Display and choose from Smallest to Largest. |
Netscape 4.75 - Edit > Preferences> Appearances > Fonts and change the font size. |
Changing the Font Colour on your PC |
Internet Explorer 6 or 5 - Click on Tools > Internet Options > General > Fonts and choose a different font (e.g. Times New Roman), as the web page font. To make sure that other people's web pages display in your chosen font, you then need to click the Accessibility button and check the 'Ignore font styles specified on Web pages' box. |
Internet Explorer 4 - Click on View > Internet Options > General > Fonts > Proportional Font and choose a different font (e.g. Times New Roman), as the web page font. To make sure that other people's web pages display in your chosen font, you then need to click the Accessibility button and check the 'Ignore font styles specified on Web pages' box. |
Netscape browsers - Click on Edit > Preferences > Appearance > Fonts and choose Arial as the Variable Width Font, then check the 'Use my default fonts, overriding document-specified fonts' box to ensure that other people's pages will display in the font you have chosen. |
Changing the Font Colour on your MAC |
Internet Explorer 5 - Edit > Preferences > Web Browser > Web Content and choose the colour you want for background, text and hyperlinks. |
Internet Explorer 4.5 - Edit > Preferences > Web Browser > Browser Display and choose the colour you want for background, text and hyperlinks. |
Netscape 4.75 - Edit > Preferences > Appearances > Fonts and choose the colours you want. |
Changing the Font from Verdana on your PC |
Internet Explorer 6 or 5 - Click on Tools > Internet Options > General > Fonts and choose a different font (e.g. Times New Roman) as the web page font. To make sure that other people's web pages display in your chosen font, you then need to click the Accessibility button and check the 'Ignore font styles specified on Web pages' box. |
Internet Explorer 4 - Click on View > Internet Options > General > Fonts > Proportional Font and choose a different font (e.g. Times New Roman), as the web page font. To make sure that other people's web pages display in your chosen font, you then need to click the Accessibility button and check the 'Ignore font styles specified on Web pages' box. |
Internet Explorer 4 - Click on View > Internet Options > General > Fonts > Proportional Font and choose a different font (e.g. Times New Roman), as the web page font. To make sure that other people's web pages display in your chosen font, you then need to click the Accessibility button and check the 'Ignore font styles specified on Web pages' box. |
Netscape browsers - Click on Edit > Preferences > Appearance > Fonts and choose Arial as the Variable Width Font, then check the 'Use my default fonts, overriding document-specified fonts' box to ensure that other people's pages will display in the font you have chosen. |
Changing the Font from Verdana on your MAC |
Internet Explorer 5 or 4.5 - Edit > Preferences > Web Browser > Language/Fonts and choose the font you want from the Proportional box. |
Netscape 4.75 - Edit > Preferences > Appearances > Fonts and change the font. |
Help with PDF files
Some information on our website is contained in a separate file. You will have to read this using specific software.
Where this happens you will see the following symbol 
These files are in PDF (Portable Document Format) form, which can be viewed using the Adobe Acrobat Reader software. This software is provided free by Adobe Systems. Please use the link to the free software below.
You should be aware that documents held in this format are typically much larger than simple text files. If you are connected via a slow modem over a telephone line, you should consider the likely download time before attempting to retrieve such documents. In order to help you decide, the size of the PDF file is stated alongside its description.
The PDF file format is a common internet file format. (PDF stands for Portable Document Format.) It's used for electronic distribution because it faithfully preserves the look and feel of the original document complete with fonts, colours, images, and layout. It also can be used across many different types of computers and browsers. It is commonly used for government publications, leaflets and forms.
How do I open a PDF file?
To open a PDF file you need a pdf reader. You can download a program called Acrobat Reader and install it onto your computer. The program is available free of charge from the Adobe Acrobat site. Because the download is large typically between 8MB and 16MB you may find easier to find a copy of the program on one of the CDs distributed by computer magazines.
Documents in pdf format need the Acrobat Reader software to be installed on your computer
Please click on the logos below to obtain this Free software if you don't already have it |
How do PDF files work with my browser?
You can configure your web browser to open PDF files either within the browser window or in a separate Adobe Acrobat window. There are detailed instructions on the Acrobat website on how to do so for different browsers.
Are PDF files accessible?
PDF file standards have improved over the years and have become more accessible through technologies like screen readers, navigation through the keyboard and enhanced screen viewing. The Adobe site provides information on how best to use these features. You may come across earlier versions of PDF files which are not so accessible.
How do I search a PDF file?
When you open a PDF file an Acrobat toolbar will appear, featuring a number of tools to help you view and search the document. Running your mouse over the icons, without clicking, will tell you what each of them does. The Search tool will search the document for a word or phrase.
Are there alternatives to Acrobat Reader?
Adobe Acrobat Reader is by far the most popular PDF viewer but there are several other viewers available for download that will allow you to view and print PDF documents on a variety of platforms and systems. The following sites may help:
