A2A...accessible to all.

Accessibility in popular applications

This document describes how accessible popular applications are to the blind and partially sighted. It includes information about what should be avoided, what works well and how overall accessibility can be enhanced.

Target audience

The target audience for this document is sighted colleagues who strive to make their documentation A2A...accessible to all.

Accessibility in popular applications

Target audience

Adobe Acrobat reader

Excel

Internet explorer

Outlook

Powerpoint

Adobe Acrobat reader

Adobe Acrobat reader is used to read information that has been compiled from information input into the Adobe Acrobat writer programme. The writer programme can compile many different types of information together text, graphics images, tables, charts etc, from many different sources, programmes like Word and PowerPoint, plain text, scanned images, web pages etc, producing a single output file that small in size. Because of this versatility it is a popular way of publishing large amounts of data that contain text and graphics.

Adobe recently worked with designers of screen reading and screen magnification software to open-up accessibility to the compiled image. Special “tags” are generated during compilation supplying extra information to accessibility software. Special accessibility checks can be run on the compiled image and areas of a document that may cause problems to accessibility software highlighted. Corrective action can then be taken before the document is finalised. A document that is well laid out with all the accessibility errors corrected can be fully accessible to users of screen readers and screen magnifiers, often negating the need for a separate “V.I.” version.

Excel

A Spreadsheet is a very visual object. Conveying information to accessibility software users is very difficult.

Consider the following when creating spreadsheets:

  • Don’t place data in isolated “pockets” away from the left hand side; they may be missed. Having data areas always starting at the left hand side doesn’t look as good visually but will be much easier to follow for accessibility software users
  • Provide a supporting “roadmap” document that describes the spreadsheets layout, i.e. “d3 to d19 is income 2006”, “cell b5 is where the rental total is”.
  • Be aware of how the layout will change when the data is converted to large print format
  • Charts and graphs can be read by screen reading software but if they are complex they will be difficult to understand
  • Only very small spreadsheets can be successfully translated into Braille

  • If your audience isJaws users you can use Excel's Naming function to specify which rows and columns contain cell titles. Once named the title is announced as the cell is moved to making it much easier for screen reader users to understand what the data relates to. To use names to define row and column titles, do the following:
  • move to the first cell in the column or row containing the titles. If the spreadsheet contains both row and column titles, move to the cell where these two intersect.
  1. From the Insert menu, select Name and pressright arrow. Select Define and press enter. If the column contains row titles, type "RowTitle" and pressenter. If the row contains column titles, type "ColumnTitle" and pressenter. If the cell is the intersection of both row and column titles, type "Title" and press enter.
  2. If you are defining column/row titles for any worksheet other than worksheet 1, you must add the number of the worksheet after "RowTitle," "ColumnTitle," or "Title." For example, if you are defining a row containing column titles in worksheet 4, you would type "ColumnTitle4

Modern screen reading software can help the user in ways like:

  • setting a column title row, so that the column title is read each time a column is traversed
  • giving access to cell comments
  • allowing “summary” areas to be defined and easily navigated to

Internet explorer

Internet explorer is used to browse information that has been compiled from information input into a web page creation programme. This programme can compile many different types of information together such as; text, graphics images, tables, charts etc, from many different sources. Compiled pages are then published to the Internet or Intranet. Because of the popularity of the Internet internationally recognised standards exist for producing accessible web pages. Pages written to these standards can be fully accessible to users of screen readers and screen magnifiers, often negating the need for a separate “V.I.” version.

Outlook

Accessibility software works well with email systems. Consider the following when using email:

  • only use plain text within the message body
  • don’t use “stationery”
  • If attachments are present, say so in the message text giving details of the number and type i.e. “attached are 2 Word documents and one PDF”
  • Voting buttons can be used as long as instructionsare included informing non-mouse users how they can access them. This would usually be in the form of a statement such as “non-mouse users can access the voting buttons from the Action menu on the menu bar”
  • Meeting invitations can be sent long as:
  1. the details of the meeting are included in the body text of the invitation. This helps when diaries are kept on separate devices
  2. instructions are included informing non-mouse users how they can reply to them. This would usually be in the form of a statement such as “please reply by selecting your response from the Action menu on the menu bar”

Powerpoint

Modern accessibility software can work with PowerPoint presentations. Consider the following when using PowerPoint:

  • don’t place too much data on one slide (4-5 points max)
  • keep to simple text entry effects
  • always label graphics. Graphics can be labelled by typing a description into the Alternative text box, to access the Alternative text box:
  1. select the graphic
  2. right click or press the Applications key
  3. open the Format Picture menu item,
  4. open the Web tab,
  5. type the description,
  6. select OK when done.
  • If a Braille transcript of the presentation is needed, cut and paste the text into a word document, provide textual descriptions of charts and graphs and translate it from there.

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Version1 Roger Whitton Jan 2007