Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Will Huthnance
Senior Web Specialist
"the inclusive practice of making websites usable by people of all abilities and disabilities... ...all users can have equal access to information and functionality" - Wikipedia
1994
2003
In 2003 a cabinet paper was published that made it mandatory for government agencies to adopt web standards... and perform self-assessments of their websites against the web standards to measure their level of compliance.
"Discriminating against people online is the same as doing so anywhere else. Government websites are public property - all New Zealanders using the Internet should be able to access them as of right..."
Ministry
Agriculture and Forestry Culture and Heritage Defense Economic Development Social Development Women's Affairs Education Environment Fisheries Foreign Affairs and Trade Transport Health Justice Mori Development Pacific Island Affairs Research, Science and Technology
Department
Building and Housing Conservation Corrections Labour Prime Minister and Cabinet Internal Affairs Inland Revenue
Agencies
Archives New Zealand Crown Law Office New Zealand Defence Force Land Information New Zealand Serious Fraud Office State Services Commission Education Review Office The Treasury New Zealand Police New Zealand Security Intelligence Service National Library of New Zealand Statistics New Zealand Government Communications Security Bureau Parliamentary Counsel Office New Zealand Customs Service
These public service agencies were mandated to comply with the web standards.
Then in 2008 the NZ government ratified a major UN Convention. The NZ govt were one of the original authors of the convention.
2008
Parties should take appropriate measures to ensure that persons with disabilities have access to information and communications technology...
Aside from legal obligations, what other considerations do we need to consider when it comes to website and document accessibility?
Accessibility also leads to the openness of information, stronger democracy, and it demonstrates social good.
Web and document accessibility also directly affects the disabled community by allowing increased access to information. Accessible information delivered through the Internet,could be the most liberating force this community has benefited from in recent history.
To shop online...
660,300
This is the number of New Zealanders who have identified themselves as disabled - 2006 Statistics New Zealand Disability Survey People were not considered to have a disability if an assistive device (such as glasses) completely eliminated their limitation. The disability must have lasted or be expected to last for six months or more. It represents approx 17% of the NZ population.
So in terms of documents, if we do not publish accessible web documents it directly affects people who are blind and who have vision impairments...
It allows for people who do not have access to broadband It helps agencies prepare for future technologies
There are 65 standards that comprise the New Zealand Government web standards.
WEB STANDARDS
NZ 4.2.2:
Content in document formats other than HTML
This standard directly affects the publication of documents on websites.
We strongly suggest that all documents are published in HTML as this is the most accessible format.
The web standards were amended in 2010 as the pressure on web teams to publish everything in HTML became nonpragmatic. This was largely due to the high volume of documents being created.
WEB STANDARDS
The web standards now allow for the publication non HTML documents, as long as they have been designed to be accessible. So in this case we are referring to MS Word and PDF.
Structured Content
Creating structure in a MS Word file is the integral factor that makes it accessible.
When creating a PDF from MS Word, it is the structured content in the Word document that is converted to tags in the PDF file. These tags allow screen readers to navigate and read the PDF file.
structured content
tags
This document shows the tags generated in a PDF that allow readers to navigate and read the document.
Don't create random font sizes and effects. Use the default syles in MS Word as they will create structure in the document.
The image cannot be displayed. Your computer may not have enough memory to open the image, or the image may have been corrupted. Restart your computer, and then open the le again. If the red x still appears, you may have to delete the image and then insert it again.
A useful way to write alternative text is to imagine you are describing the image/non-text content to an elderly relative over the telephone.
provide a description for complex tables construct so it reads from left to right
Don't use different heading with similar colours close to each other as they may not offer sufficient colour contrast.
The graph above would be difficult for some colour blind users to interpret. Provide symbols or labels in addition to colour to help readers.
If the MS Word document is constructed with Styles, it is very easy to create a table of contents.
If you use foreign text, you need to specify the language as this helps screen readers pronounce the text correctly.
The graphics lack white space between the text and them - this can cause the graphics to not get recognised in the conversion process
Bullets added
H2 style added
There is a variety of software that can create PDF's from MS Word. Most will not take the structure from MS Word and convert it into tags in the PDF file. Not doing so will make the PDF file inaccessible.
Use Adobe Acrobat Pro. To date, this software is the most effective in creating accessible PDF files from structured MS Word files. Adobe Acrobat Pro also provides an advanced accessibility checker that is very important when checking the accessibly of the PDF. Adobe Acrobat Pro also provides advanced accessibility functionality that allows the user to correct problem areas associated with document inaccessibility.
So assuming you have Adobe Acrobat installed on your pc, you need to set up the conversion settings so that the structure from the MS Word document will be added to the PDF document. You do this by adjusting the preferences (MS Word 2008) or conversion setting (MS Word 2003).
Please remember...
100% accessibility is not guaranteed best practice techniques will improve the accessibility
Summary
create accessible documents to: o limit legal risk o demonstrate social responsibility o promote openness and ultimately democracy 17% of New Zealanders identify with some kind of disability
Summary
structure determines accessibility add accessibility at the start - more efficient
Summary
when publishing documents on the web: o HTML is the preferred format o alternatively publish in two different accessible formats
Summary
To create an accessible MS Word file: o use styles o write alternative text for non text content o keep tables simple or provide a caption o use bullets and numbering
Summary
To create an accessible MS Word file: o use a minimum 12 point font size o careful with colour contrast, don't rely on colour to convey meaning o use a table of contents for long documents o mark foreign text
Summary
To create an accessible MS Word file: o use simple language o avoid dense paragraphs o don't use text boxes o spell check
Summary
To create an accessible MS Word file: o ensure sufficient white space around graphics o Use Adobe Acrobat Pro o don't scan your document or "print to PDF"
On some occasions, the structured content from the MS Word document will not have been successfully transferred to the PDF file. So once you have created your PDF file, you will need to run a full accessibility check using Adobe Acrobat Pro to check for possible problems.
Adobe Acrobat Pro also offers functionality to correct accessibility errors found from the check. The error correction process can be complex and time consuming and is it not the focus of this presentation. The following slides provide a general overview of the accessibility correction process but a separate presentation that covers the process in more detail will be released in the coming months.
Open your PDF document in Adobe Acrobat Pro and run a Full Check...
You can select the level of accessibility the check will conduct. We recommend selecting all options to ensure a thorough check
Sometimes the accessibility checker will fail to recognise alternative text from the MS Word document so use the TouchUp reading order tool in Acrobat Pro to add the alternative text.
Tags
determine the hierarchy of information in the document they influence the way information is presented to screen readers you may need to move tags around to ensure the document is read correctly by a screen reader
For more information about document accessibility and the New Zealand Government Web Standards contact:
Web Enablement Team, Government Information Services, Knowledge, Information, Research and Technology Department of Internal Affairs Te Tari Taiwhenua http://www.webstandards.govt.nz web.standards@dia.govt.nz