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Re: Screen readers, math symbols, and Word

for

From: Donald Evans
Date: Nov 17, 2010 11:51AM


I've run into a similiar situation using Jaws 11 and an online algebra
course. Here are a few changes I have made to make it more readable. You
can change or set the mapping of symbols to words by using:

JAWS > Utilities > Dictionary Manager > Add

- Actual Word = * Replacement word = times
- Actual Word = - Replacement word = minus
- Actual Word = ≠ Replacement word = not equal to. (requires a UTF-8
content type declaration on page: <meta http-equiv="Content-Type"
content="text/html;charset=utf-8" >
- Actual Word = Replacement Word = divided by


2010/11/17 Birkir Rúnar Gunnarsson < <EMAIL REMOVED> >

> I know there are mapping files, between symbols and spoken words, in
> most screen readers.
> I can't recall specifically what the Jaws one is called, or if it is
> editable, I believe it is, the braille mapping one has been (at least
> until v12.0).
> I would recommend contacting FS specifically and have them confirm
> what the mapping is in this file for Jaws 9, and if this has been
> corrected in subsequent versions of Jaws.
>
> Thanks
> -Birkir
>
>
> On 11/17/10, Terrill Bennett < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:
> > Would this be that which ye seek:
> >
> > http://www.w3.org/Math/characters/mathml/mmlalias.html
> > http://www.w3.org/Math/characters/mathml/mmlextra.html
> >
> > -- tb --
> >
> > At 01:20 PM 11/17/2010, you wrote:
> >>Steve,
> >>Even with MathML the assistive technologies are going to need to
> >>know what Unicode characters to support. I have no idea if there is
> >>a listing of important Unicode characters and their proper names,
> >>but I imagine that a listing for Math (and music, and other
> >>disciplines) would be helpful - I wonder if that exists.
> >>
> >>Thanks,
> >>AWK
> >>
> >>Andrew Kirkpatrick
> >>Group Product Manager, Accessibility
> >>Adobe Systems
> >>
> >> <EMAIL REMOVED>
> >>http://twitter.com/awkawk
> >>http://blogs.adobe.com/accessibility
> >>
> >>
> >>-----Original Message-----
> >>From: <EMAIL REMOVED>
> >>[mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> ] On Behalf Of Stephen L
> Noble
> >>Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2010 12:50 PM
> >>To: <EMAIL REMOVED>
> >>Subject: Re: [WebAIM] Screen readers, math symbols, and Word
> >>
> >>The preferred solution is to use web documents using MathML (i.e.,
> >>XHTML+MathML). At this juncture, native accessibility to mathematical
> >>content within a Word document has not been solved.
> >>
> >>For a broader discussion, see NCAM's Accessible Digital Media
> >>Guidelines:
> >>
> http://ncam.wgbh.org/invent_build/web_multimedia/accessible-digital-media-guide/guideline-g-math
> >>Technique G2.1 / Use MathML to provide access to scientific and
> >>mathematical expressions
> >>"MathML is the best choice for a markup language for expressing math.
> >>The advantage of MathML is it provides mathematical information in an
> >>open, standard format that can be exploited by a wide range of assistive
> >>technologies."
> >>
> >>Best regards,
> >>--Steve Noble
> >>
> >>------------------------------------
> >>-- Steve Noble
> >>Chair, National Technology Task Force
> >>Learning Disabilities Association of America
> >> <EMAIL REMOVED>
> >>502-969-3088
> >>
> >>--------------
> >>Disclaimer: The opinions and comments made in email are those of the
> >>author, and do not necessarily represent the official position of any
> >>organization unless explicitly stated.
> >>
> >>
> >> >>> Cliff Tyllick < <EMAIL REMOVED> > 11/17/2010 11:55 AM >>>
> >>One of our authors who has tested Word documents in JAWS 9 has
> >>doscovered that the "greater than or equal to" symbol (Unicode character
> >>2265) is announced as "greater than."
> >>
> >>In some cases this might be a minor annoyance, but the difference is
> >>important in documents that tell people how to comply with environmental
> >>regulations. Is there a good solution to this problem?
> >>
> >>If not, we're thinking of just replacing the character with an inline
> >>graphic of the same size with appropriate alt text. Thoughts?
> >>
> >>And is this just a JAWS thing, or do other screen readers do the same?
> >>
> >>Cliff
> >>
> >>
> >>Cliff Tyllick
> >>Usability assessment coordinator
> >>Agency Communications Division
> >>Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
> >>512-239-4516
> >> <EMAIL REMOVED>
> >>