Dear AccessWorld Editor,
I wish someone would write a book, or design an online course for the sufferers of inaccessible documents.
I work for a college and know of many courses for designers to learn to craft accessible pages, and for authors to create accessible PDFs. Academia is full of conferences, seminars and training materials on accessibility.
But it's like saying that churches sponsor Bible study sessions, or that gyms offer aerobics classes. People who want to create accessible documents can readily find the information. In academia, they find it more fruitful to preach to the choir.
Little is available for the poor consumer who has to deal with the inaccessible PDF or webpage. And I think there are many training possibilities here.
Take a PDF file. In my job I review hundreds of them. If you save it as text you might get a file where each word is on its own line so the document is simply a single column of words. Another PDF might be an image only and result in no exported text. A third PDF will have all the words run together without spaces, a text file consisting of an amorphous mass of characters. A forth PDF might contain all the text, but no paragraphs. And a fifth PDF could be beautifully structured with paragraphs, headings and links. And some PDFS are protected, which sometimes, but not always, interferes with access.
The savvy consumer could analyze these document characteristics and learn something about what system created the document. There might be other properties the consumer could also investigate to learn more about it. And if we knew what system created that document, we would then know which PDF-creation facilities were and were not accessible. And with a bit more knowledge, we could write to the document's author and propose some changes – for example perhaps there's a check box they forgot to uncheck or a menu they never visited which could have fixed some access glitches.
I'm a fairly advanced Windows user, but I have no idea how many software packages can create PDF files and how many variations on this theme actually exist. I was, for example, quite surprised when my $100 Epson printer could not only create PDFs, but could create reasonably accessible ones with the simple push of a button. Yet our history professors regularly turn out completely inaccessible handouts, possibly using their camera-phones as impromptu copy machines.
And even if I did know more about a particular PDF, and have found a receptive document author, how will I guide this author to the appropriate resources?
For a webpage, it's not so simple. The consumer first needs to know if their lack of knowledge is contributing to the problem. Do they need to master more of their screen reader's features? With the complexities of both web pages and screen reader commands these days, that possibility is very real. Or perhaps they need to update their browser and/or screen reader. Maybe version 20 is required!
Next, the consumer needs to know how to query the screen reader to give it information about the page. They might need some rudimentary HTML knowledge to examine the page's code. They would also need more information on how to test for accessibility, but less information than a real web designer should be trained to utilize.
The user would need some way of communicating to the web designer exactly what does and does not work with their screen reader, and we consumers currently have no language in which to express this dialog. The web designer doesn't know what a screen reader is and the consumer doesn't know much about web design. Do I have to understand CGI, PHP and how a CMS (content management system) works to diagnose what's wrong with a particular page? Should I learn more about the different tools used today for web page creation? Does the site designer need to be encouraged to run NVDA, or read some specific online help to solve their site's problems? What are the best resources to send them to for quick solutions? These are questions whose answers I do not know.
The ideal book or course would teach enough of PDF and web design that the consumer could intelligently analyze the document or page and know what doesn't work and why. But more importantly, the ideal book or course would teach the consumer how to advocate effectively for change.
For example, my public library's audio book delivery system recently drastically changed its website so that it became less accessible. I complained and was sent to the site maintainer's national tech support center. Though the library administrators are greatly concerned about access, they contract to have this national center design that portion of their site. I e-mailed back and forth with a tech support agent who obviously didn't understand my issue, because they only responded with canned scripts. They asked me to detail the steps I took to cause the problem, so they could repeat those steps in-house. There was no way I could find to even explain the access concerns, much less advocate for change.
And part of the problem was that I myself only vaguely knew why the site had become less accessible. I remember explaining that all the ARIA regions were labeled "region" except that the support rep e-mailing me back didn't know what ARIA was. I could explain that my screen reader couldn't find the checkout button, but the rep didn't know what a screen reader was. I noticed that large numbers of links were labeled "click here" and that no headings were available for easy navigation, but those were words that wouldn't help me reach someone who could fix the site. And since the website did have keyboard shortcuts, labeled graphics, and links to skip to the main content, it might be passing those automated accessibility checkers—as a consumer I have no idea if those things are any good.
The ideal book or course would help me bypass the canned support track and communicate with a human who actually understood the issues involved. For example, our college has a web team that fully gets the importance of accessibility. However if the average student complained to the admissions department that his class was inaccessible, the bookstore might issue a refund and not pass his complaint on. If the student had taken my imaginary course, they would know to contact the college's legally mandated disability services. They would determine if the student needed more access technology training or [if] the site, in fact[,] had a bug. For the libraries, restaurant chains, medical services, online retailers and every other business or organization who puts up a site, there might be an appropriate contact, but we ordinary folk don't know how to find that expert. There might even be a procedure to follow, but we have to know which path to take first and that will vary with different organizations.
The ideal book or course would then consist of two broad sections. First, the consumer would learn how to analyze a document or page to get the where, what, and why of its lack of access. Second the training would show the consumer how to effectively communicate this information.
Sincerely,
Deborah Armstrong
Dear AccessWorld Editor,
I am the owner of Triumph Technology, an adaptive technology company located in Columbia Heights, Minnesota. My company has been in business for over nine years and in this time, to my frustration, I have tried a variety of bookkeeping/screen reader configurations including all of the major screen readers with QuickBooks and QuickBooks online included.
Reading An Introduction to Accessible QuickBooks by Intuit and My Blind Spot by Aaron Preece, I am happy to see the progress that the Intuit and My Blind Spot collaboration has made[—]it sounds like complete access to the Intuit program is still a ways off and that this work will continue to be dependent on both a specific screen reader and the bookkeeping software version. The question in the forefront of my mind is how long will it be until complete access to the same QuickBooks software [is] made available to professionals such as myself regardless of the screen reader they use. In other words, when will Intuit make the commitment to universal design[…]?.
When sighted consumers purchase a product, they don't do so on the basis that some of the most frequently used features are accessible to them and call it "good enough." They make their decision based on the product capabilities as a whole. Do you think any of them say to themselves, "Well I can do some of the things I want to do but I'm probably going to need to get a blind person to help me with the things I'm not able to do?" Probably not.
As a blind business owner who is 100 percent responsible for managing cash flow and maintaining tax compliance, it is clear in my mind that CashManager from Accomplish Global of New Zealand is far and away the most accessible business finance software in existence. This is because the folks at Accomplish Global recognize that in order for their product to truly be accessible, it must not be dependent on custom scripts developed for a specific screen reader for use with a particular version of the bookkeeping software. CashManager works out of the box with JAWS. The need to refresh the screen once in a while or use the JAWS cursor on certain screens are minor inconveniences, but the fact is that aside from setting up some templates, I have complete access to every other aspect of the CashManager program. Those templates I mentioned fall under the heading of set them and forget them and the Accomplish support team are only too happy to remote into my computer and adjust those visual things on the as needed basis. As I recall this assistance has been necessary only twice in my four years of using CashManager.
GW Micro has developed a Window-Eyes app that really enhances the use of CashManager making it an absolute joy to use.
As the US distributor of CashManager, many will say that my motives for writing this response [are] financially motivated, and perhaps this is partially true, but I can guarantee that I'm not relaxing on the beach sipping little umbrella drinks because I sell so much of it.
At the end of the day, when suppliers need to be paid, collection efforts need to be made for past due invoices, and taxes need to be filed, I want a tried and true, dependable business finance software program that won't keep me wondering how long it will be until I can use some features and support for other features fall by the wayside due to a version mis-match.
CashManager gives me reliable and consistent access to all of my business's finances. I have been through three tax seasons as the person who does everything from generating quotes, converting them to invoices, reconciling at the end of each month, generating those end of year reports and both corporate and personal taxes have always been filed without a single question from my CPA.
Sincerely,
Earle Harrison
Dear AccessWorld Editor,
Great article and product on An Introduction to Accessible QuickBooks by Intuit and My Blind Spot, by Aaron Preece!
This is the first I heard about My Blind Spot.
I use QuickBooks every day in my business and have been struggling with it since [the] 2012 version especially when accessing it remotely through GoToMyPC where my JAWS does not read!
I have lots of stories about 2014, unfortunately, from a viewing standpoint most are sad. 2014 views better in some computers and worse in others all using Windows 7. I have a client that uses a Microsoft Back Office server and in those connection 2014 views the best on a workstation with Windows 7 but GoToMyPC in all cases seems to denigrate the viewing on 2014. I have had remote support with the Citrix techs that are very knowledgeable and helpful but very little can be done.
I would love to see testing in Windows 7/8 as to which settings give the best ability in 2014, [e.g.]: Classic vs. other views, matrix settings, etc.
Thank you,
George A Martinez CPA, PC
Dear AccessWorld Editor,
iOS for ALL.
Thank you so much for this article: A Review of iOS Access for All: Your Comprehensive Guide to Accessibility for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch, by Bill Holton.
It answered many of my questions and made me want to read the recommended book for more information. But most particularly, it helped me make the decision to get an iPhone. I have been hauling my audio player around with me for years and at the same time, have been lusting after an iPhone. My husband has questioned my need for an iPhone and this is yet another (major) reason the iPhone will be of use to me. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!
Thanks,
Debbie Hecht
Dear AccessWorld Editor,
I enjoyed your article The Perkins SMART Brailler Does More than Make Dots, by Janet Ingber. It was very well written, informative, and interesting. When I was a student at the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind in the early 60s where I learned to use a Perkins Braille writer, I never would have dreamed they would come up with something so wonderful! Thank you very much for your review of this exciting product!
Kindest regards,
Gary Olson
