About Accessibility

Archive for July, 2010

Adobe PDF usage is popular as it is a free and open source tool. Accessible Microsoft Word documents can be converted to Accessible Adobe PDF documents. This process of conversion is easy and does not take much time.

To learn to build accessible word Documents, visit Accessible Microsoft Word Documents.

Acrobat PDF ribbon in word

Download the Adobe plug-in

This conversion requires the Adobe conversion Plug-in that directly gets integrated to work with Microsoft Word. If you do not have this plug-in download it from the link

DOWNLOAD THE ADOBE PDF PLUG-IN

• After you press the download button, you are redirected to a new page where you have to select start download.
• This downloads and saves a file on your system.
• This file asks you to save it.
• Open to file to start installation.

Install the Adobe Plug-in

• After the download, install the plug-in so that it can be used.
• To install click on the downloaded file.
• Select the RUN option from the window that appears.
• After you select the Run option, you have to check the terms and conditions option.
• Installation starts after that.
• The wizard will prompt you that the installation is complete.

Converting into PDF

You can create a PDF for a single word file or even for multiple documents together.

• Open Microsoft Word from the start menu.
• Create an accessible word document or open an already created document.
• To convert to PDF select the Acrobat tab to open a new dialog box called Acrobat PDF maker.
• Select Preferences.
• Check the Enable Accessibility and Reflow (Enable Accessibility and Reading) with tagged Adobe PDF feature.
• Click OK when done to close the dialog.
• The conversion starts and PDF’s are created with the same name.

Acrobat PDF Creation using the SAVE AS option

For detailed information on how to build accessible Microsoft word documents, Accessible Microsoft Word Documents.

How to make Accessible Microsoft Word documents

Objective:

Access – ability is the boom of the industry. With its newest inventions and researches, it is one of the upcoming criteria that is to be taken care of when deploying documents on the web. For sure, the use of accessible documents is more popular and easy. To be a part of the accessible world all the documents be it PDF or MS s care is taken all the way. To convert accessible Microsoft word documents to PDF please refer to Microsoft Word to PDF conversion.

This article deals with complete training on successfully building accessible Microsoft s.

The simplest way to build accessibility into documents is to make a list of checkpoints and follow it. To start with we make a list for our MS s. The points in the checklist are the objectives of the article. After reading the article you should be able to know and use

1. Style sheets – to have a similar look of the documents.
2. Images – to have the alternate text present for all images
3. Tables – to have proper labeling of the tables, row and column headers.
4. Hyperlinks – to navigate smoothly throughout the document.

STYLE SHEETS:

Style sheets as the name suggests are used to create documents that have a similar structure. In addition to providing a similar structure throughout the document these are also used to help making of documents easier. Structural formatting is an essential element when it comes to building of accessible digital content that is available on the web for the general people. This is a way to reach out to the people with disabilities. The formatting that provides a structure to the entire document allows readers to read, recognize and identify content.

Accessibility is usually designed into documents in a sense to help spread the content to the people using assistive technology devices at different levels. Having a solid structure in the document helps smooth navigation, while also recognizing the different heading levels and page layout making an image altogether. Structured s are also the favorites of the search engines. These documents are easier and less error prone while converting them to other formats for the web usage.

The Styles features offered within Word allows users to be creative and at the same time reduce their efforts for selecting, highlighting and formatting each element separately. Surely, these styles can be customized and used according to the type of article you have in mind, thus providing a different feel to every article that you write. Users discover that using Styles has additional benefits. A document’s font, size, bold and/or other characteristics of the document’s body text and headings can be changed quickly by modifying the style.

Applying styles

The structured of any accessible document should be hierarchical. The different levels of headings found should be nested and should follow the universal law that the highest is used first. For example, Lower label headings should be a part of the higher label headings. So the heading 1 text can contain of many headings of label 2. Styles are prioritized for the ease of navigation that follows good presentation and formatting of documents. There are other elements in the style sheet which you will learn while using the style sheets.

Applying Styles

• Start your document with the title or the Heading of the page.
• Click the HOME tab.
• Once in the HOME tab, click on the icon below the Change styles section.
• A style sheet opens.
• Highlight the text you want to style.
• Select the appropriate style from the style sheet.
• The text gets formatted to the style settings previously stored.

Customize Styles

When it comes to building new styles or modifying the ones already present in the style sheets, the process is rather simple.  When you make changes to an element in your document and want to update the existing style follow these steps. You can modify the default styles in every aspect that you want. From fonts to the spacing all can be tailored to your interests.

Customize Styles

• Make changes and Save as a new style by clicking on the drop down button which opens asave as a new style window.
• Highlight the text that you want to change or have changed.
• As you highlight the text, the style that pertains to that text gets selected in the style sheet.
• Go to the style and right click on it.
• The modify styles window opens with several options.
• You can select the option that says update to match selection (if you have already made changes) or you can select the modify option that opens another window to help you modify the highlighted text.
• You can also use the paragraph option to manage spacing options.

Also you can (Look Images Below)

modify-style-word



paragraph-edit-word

IMAGES:

Visual content is an essential component of accessible web pages. But it is only useful if the images are accessible. A simple process produces accessible images that can be read by assistive technology for people with disabilities and thus contribute in understanding the content of the web page. These images should also be accessible because they are used when a web page fails to load an image.

Creating images with alt text

Alternate text or commonly known as “ALT text” is used to make an image recognizable by th

e different assistive technology devices used today.

To create Images with Alt text and videos with proper captioning is the standard in the world of the web.

• Select the Insert tab and then click on the picture icon.
• A new dialog box is opened that lets you select the picture you want to insert.
• Once the picture is inserted, right click on it.
• This opens a window with many options.
• For Microsoft Word 2003 click on the format picture option.
• For Microsoft Word 2007 click on the size or size and position option.
• This opens a size dialog box that has a separate tab for alt text.
• Click this alt text tab to open a window to enter the alt text.
• Enter the appropriate alt text and select ok to close the dialog box.
• This alt text however, will not be visible in the word document.

How to add an alternate text to an image

Creating images with a caption

• Select the Insert tab and then click on the picture icon.
• A new dialog box is opened that lets you select the picture you want to insert.
• Next right click the image to open the window again.
• This opens a window with many options.
• Select the Insert caption option which opens a new window.
• Enter the caption most appropriately suited to the image.
• Select ok to close the dialog box.
• The caption is inserted.

TABLES:

Till date tables are the best approach applied when large amounts of data have to be presented. Viewing data in table format reduces its complexity and looks appealing. These tables however, have to be made accessible so that they can be viewed and navigated.

How to insert table into a word document

Creating Tables with headers

• Select the Insert tab and then click on the table icon to insert a table into your word document.
• You have multiple options to follow.
• You can insert, draw a new table or use any of the sample tables.

How to repeat table headers for a table

• If you select the insert option, the dialog window opens which lets you select the number of rows and columns for your table.
• Enter the text headings of the columns of the tables.
• Select the layout tab and select repeat headers options.
• This helps when tables are divided into different pages.

HYPERLINKS:

Hyperlinks are the best possible navigation means that are used all round the industry to create smooth navigational flow. These links can be within the document, or another document in the same web site or to a different web site altogether.

Creating Links

Some people think that including hyperlinks within a document, makes the document ugly. However, the hyperlinks should always be replaced with text. Doing this helps to identify and defines the nature of the link thus increasing the knowledge the user has about the link. It is always a better approach to replace the long URL.

How to insert a link into a word document

• Include the text that you want the users to read inside your text document
• Highlight this text to be hyperlinked.
• Click on the Insert Tab.
• Click on Hyperlink. The Insert Hyperlink dialog window will open.
• The highlighted text is displayed within the Text to display text box. By default the hyperlink function for Existing File or Web Page button is selected in the left column.
• Select the location of the electronic document to be linked; Existing File or Web Page, Place in This Document, Create New Document, E-mail Address.
• If the link is to an Internet resource, type / paste the URL in the Address text box.
• Click OK to close the dialog box.

To convert this accessible Microsoft word document into PDF please refer to Microsoft Word to PDF conversion.

The Web developer extension tool places a menu and a toolbar on your browser. This tool is a help assistant that provides a helping hand to increase the accessibility of the web sites or even to accelerate their knowledge. This toolbar deals with enabling – disabling styles, images and other such features that when used can change the look of the web site.

Download

A screen shot for downloading the Extension

Google Chrome – A new toolbar

Download the Toolbar here Web developer extension – CHROME

Firefox

Download the Toolbar here for Firefox Web developer Extension

Installation

A screen shot after downloading the extension

To complete the installation of the downloaded extension restart the browser.

The WAVE limitation of using Firefox as the default browser, no more exists. WAVE can now be accessed from anywhere in the world. To be accessible in the true sense and get a completely accessible document is now the simplest way to check for accessibility.

The WAVE tool can also be used through any web browser. Taking advantage of this tool through any browser does not even require a download.

Just follow the simple steps to your way towards accessibility.

1. Type / Navigate to the following URL: http://wave.webaim.org/
2. The following options are available:

• Enter a web site address –

Enter Site Address

1. If the user has a website that is ready this option can be used. You will have to enter the URL of the website.
2. This allows a user to enter in a URL to a public web page to be checked by WAVE.

• Upload a file –

Upload A File

1. All user desktop publishing documents can be checked for accessibility here.
2. This allows a user to upload files that are not publicly available for the internet.

• Copy/Paste HTML Code –
  

  HTML CODE

1. This allows a user to paste the HTML code of a web page to be checked by WAVE.
2. Simply copy the code from your Web Development Editor and paste it on the space provided.

However, this online tool cannot fully access the images, styles and any other media that has been used in the documents that user uploads. To check for full accessibility or for information read about the WAVE Toolbar.

Accessibility Questions

Questions about accessibility testing, standards and best methodologies are still in the air as more and more people are getting to know about accessibility and its related discussion topics. The simplest of these questions could be the art of testing for accessibility. But, how do we test accessibility? Who does it? What tools are required and in the end are the results optimal?

An eye witnessed so called accessibility test was carried out in a manner neither you nor I would approve. I knew a guy in my university called Joe. He was visually impaired and thus used a lot of assistive technologies to help him navigate the web world. Due to his immense dedication and urge of learning how to make his own way out, he was always experimenting with the new inventions that came up day after day to assist people facing problems similar to his. He managed to have a known arena of his own where he had the best known practices at his service to make him competent with the outside world. His was a struggle that he thought was over. People new or old to the concept of accessibility, were always seeking his advice and awaiting his knowledgeable suggestions to move ahead in their tasks in the related matter. He was a guru – who talked about accessibility and made aware a lot of unknown hidden facts that were not known to the workers dealing directly or in-directly with accessibility in that university.

One of the most common ways to test documents and web pages was using the results of the tests carried out by him. He was always given a preference when it came to talk about the issues that kept popping up with any person that has accessibility issues. It soon became a dictatorship as far as the testing for accessible content was taken into account.

However, no one realized the he uses the assistive technology as he is visually impaired and cannot perceive the

Accessible Web surfer

actual document. What he visions in his thoughts is just what the technology produces as an output. He least understood that the technology could be producing a document that is not similar to the original one, when one sees it. Thus what went wrong in his case was the blind faith that any assistance that he uses to read through his documents and web pages were creating and translating a page 100 percent correctly and thus he had a true translation of the original content.

The actual assessment of the documents, were never fully managed and obtained. The illusion that Joe was doing a perfect job was questioned by a number of people working with the accessibility departments. However, it was a little difficult to make people understand the disadvantages of these testing experiments that were conducted and implemented. It was such an obvious fact that a person who requires assistance for his navigation of web pages can tell people who have sound senses about the errors that the web page might have, though they forgot that they have a better command over their senses.

Accessibility assessment is a huge task and you are responsible for what people hear and interpret. This translation from the visual content to the audible mode has to be precise, as it would involve educational institutions that are using these technologies available to support their distinguished users. Thus, accessibility testing can never be complete and at this point of time is never 100 percent. But we have to strive hard to achieve the highest amount possible with the limitations and advances that we have today.

The WAVE working wonders!

Wave Toolbar

About WAVE

Talking about the accessibility issues, WAVE is not the panacea but for sure it serves perfectly the range of experienced and laymen web developers to a good extent. This toolbar is a simple tool that extends a hand of help to create documents that are fully accessible for the people having even the slightest of difficulty in reading or recognizing text and images. It also supports groups of people having color blindness or any visual disorder.

Under the guidelines of section 508 compliance, the wave toolbar is used for evaluation of Web Pages. It is used for both – for checking the functional aspects of the web page and the order of the page. It provides a list of error checkers that in some way help deliver a better product.

This tool works with Mozilla Firefox and works as an add-on to it. It has a mechanism that works to provide reports generated directly within the Firefox browser. Thus, reducing the amount of work you would otherwise require copying the URL of your web page to the WAVE web site. It behaves as a secure method to check your web site against issues resulting due to inaccessible elements.

Download WAVE

The free wave toolbar can be downloaded and installed from Download WAVE Toolbar

Install WAVE

To install WAVE toolbar just check whether the pop-ups have been allowed. If they are not, then please select allow when the pop-up shows. This will automatically install the plug-in for Firefox. Once installed the WAVE toolbar will look similar to

WAVE Features

The WAVE toolbar has been divided as individual units for the preciseness of the results produced or rather has a focused area to ponder on. This includes the

The result of the Error, structure and features tab

The result of the Error, structure and features tab

Text Only Wave Toolbar

1. Errors, Features and Alerts – checks for any issues with the functionality.

2. Structure/Order – checks for the order of a web page to see the order in which it will be read.

3. Text-only – omits the style sheets to give only the text content of the web page.

4. Outline – provides all the headings in your web page. These have their individual contributions in making an accessible webpage.

The path to accessibility has to be achieved in bits and pieces for it is not yet a fully developed and researched area.