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RE: An Accessibility validation workstation product suite.

for

From: John Foliot - bytown internet
Date: Feb 28, 2002 10:44AM

Mark,

A few other "on-the-fly" tools I have found useful:

The Web Design Group: www.htmlhelp.com;
http://www.htmlhelp.com/tools/widgets/

I like their on-line validator over the W3C simply for it's output. Even
better though is a series of small shell script tools they refer to as
WiDGets. These little apps add right click functionality to IE 4 and up
browser (IE only), whereby you can strip a document of a) it's images, b)
it's style sheet, c) automaticly send the page contents to the WDG on-line
validator. As an added bonus, my weapon of choice (HomeSite) uses the IE
rendering agent in it's preview mode, which allows me to extend this right
click functionality into the authoring environment. There are other WiDGets
available for download, but these 3 are IMHO the most useful

Microsoft: Web Accessories for Internet Explorer 5:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/previous/webaccess/ie5wa.asp

More right-click functionality for IE. While they claim it does not work in
IE 6, some of the features in fact do. I like and use the following: "Open
Frame in New Window", "Links List", "Image List". Again, integrates into
HomeSite's preview pane as well.

Microsoft: Web Developer Accessories:
http://www.microsoft.com/Windows/ie/previous/webaccess/webdevaccess.asp

My right click button gets as much of a workout as my left click button.
The DOM tree tool lets you view all the Document Object Model properties in
tree form via right click or the tools menu. There is also the ability to
"spot check" source code by highlighting the code in the browser,
rightlclick and view partial source code. Very cool.


JF


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mark Rew [mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> ]
> Sent: February 28, 2002 11:15 AM
> To: <EMAIL REMOVED>
> Subject: An Accessibility validation workstation product suite.
>
>
> Folks,
>
> I have been asked to generate a list of products to have available on a
> workstation so software and web developers can test and correct their
> aplications for accessibility. More than likely this will be a Microsoft
> windows based machine.
>
> I have put together a list of urls for products, but I want to
> try to include
> as many disability types as possible. Please send me any ideas
> or suggestions
> that you may have for what to include on this workstation.
>
> List:
> Evaluation and Repair Tools
>
> Note: There are a number of tools that can assist with diagnosing and
> repairing accessibility problems, but they cannot do the job on
> their own. It
> takes
> a well-informed Web developer to interpret and act on the
> messages these tools
> generate. Making a site accessible requires human judgment and informed
> decisions. It is a process that cannot be automated.
>
> A-Prompt: This accessibility validator currently has an option for Section
> 508-checking. Go to
> http://aprompt.snow.utoronto.ca/.
> A-Prompt is a tool that assists with the design of web pages with
> a wide range
> of users in mind. Authors may also include HTML access features
> that optimize
> access to users with disabilities. It was developed by a joint
> collaboration
> between the Adaptive Technology Resource Centre at the University
> of Toronto,
> and the Trace Centre at the University of Wisconsin.
>
> Lynx (
> for Windows, Unix, etc.) and
> MacLynx (
> for Macintosh)
> http://lynx.browser.org
> Free text-only browser, very useful for testing how well pages
> will work on
> screen readers, Personal Digital Assistants, phones, braille printers, and
> other
> non-graphical devices.
> Download the
> Windows/DOS version (
> choose "2-8-3rel") or
> Mac version (
> choose La Sierra's server). For other operating systems, see the
> Lynx download page.
> Delorie Lynx Viewer
> http://www.delorie.com/web/lynxview.html
> Free web-based service that shows approximately what your pages
> will look like
> when viewed in Lynx.
>
> Opera
> http://www.opera.com
> A free, fast, highly standards-compliant Web browser.
> Allows you to toggle images, style sheets, scripting, and tables
> on and off
> with a single mouse click. These features allow site managers to check
> alt-text,
> see how tables linearize, and ensure that pages work with style
> sheets turned
> off.
> Windows version offers a preview of what pages will look like
> when printed.
> Versions available for Mac, Windows, Linux, etc.
>
> Macromedia Accessibility Suite
> http://www.usablenet.com/macromedia/index.htm
> Downloadable extension for the Dreamweaver 4.0 Web-editing application.
> Allows Web pages to be "accessibility-checked" much in the same way as you
> "spell-check" a Word document.
> The extension covers Section 508 and level 1 W3C guidelines.
> A 30-day trial download of
> Dreamweaver
> is also available.
>
> NIST WebMetrics Tool Suite
> http://zing.ncsl.nist.gov/webmet
> Provides a set of tools used to test the usability and accessibility of a
> site.
>
> HTML Validation Service
> http://validator.w3.org
> HTML syntax errors can have dire consequences for accessibility. The World
> Wide Web Consortium's free online validation service can help you
> ensure that
> your pages are error-free and cross-platform compatible.
>
> access.adobe.com
> Online tools for converting PDF files to HTML or ASCII, resources
> for visually
> impaired users, and more.
>
> Bobby
> http://www.cast.org/bobby
> Web-based tool for checking Web page accessibility.
> Not designed to check specifically for 508 issues. Bobby
> "approval" does not
> guarantee 508-compliance.
>
> Wave
> http://www.temple.edu/inst_disabilities/piat/wave/
> Helps you check if your page is accessible to people with disabilities.
>
> Corda Technologies
> http://www.corda.com
> Software for creating accessible, dynamically generated graphs and charts.
>
> Vischeck Color Blindness Simulator
> http://vischeck.com/index.php3
> Available as online tool, Photoshop plug-in (Windows), and Java version.
>
> Colorfield Insight
> http://www.colorfield.com
> Commercial tool for designers of web graphics. Simulates color blindness.
> Photoshop plug-in (Macintosh).
>
> SSB Technologies
> http://www.ssbtechnologies.com
> Commercial accessibility-verification and repair software, training and
> consulting to government IT organizations.
>
> HiSoftware
> http://www.hisoftware.com/access/
> AccVerify software package reviews sites for conformance with Section 508.
>
> Crunchy Technologies
> http://www.crunchy.com
> Commercial accessibility-verification and repair software.
>
> W3C's List of Evaluation and Repair Tools
> http://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/existingtools.html
> Descriptions and links to over 30 different kinds of tools that
> can help with
> evaluation, retrofitting, and transformation of Web content.
>
> Assistive Technologies
>
> See the W3C's
> Alternative Browsing section
> for an overview and links to assistive technologies. Commonly
> used commercial
> products include:
>
> ALVA Access Group
> http://www.aagi.com/aagi/crossref01.html
> Offers computer accessibility software for the visually impaired.
>
> Henter-Joyce: JAWS for Windows
> http://www.hj.com/JAWS/JAWS.html
> Offers products to assist the blind in Web accessibility, including screen
> readers and Braille assistive technology. Free demo available.
>
> Window-Eyes by GW Micro
> http://www.gwmicro.com/
> Another popular screen-reader for Windows. Free demo available.
>
> IBM Home Page Reader 3.0
> http://www-3.ibm.com/able/hpr.html
> Easy-to-use talking browser. 30-day free demo available.
>
> National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM)
> http://ncam.wgbh.org
> Provides research and development initiatives on technologies for
> public mass
> media.
> Rich Media Resource Center
> for developing accessible multimedia content.
>
> MAGpie
>
> Media Access Generator (MAGpie)
>
> Developers of Web- and CD-ROM-based multimedia need an authoring tool for
> making their materials accessible to persons with disabilities.
> The CPB/WGBH
> National
> Center for Accessible Media (NCAM) has developed such a tool, the
> Media Access
> Generator (MAGpie), for distribution in SDKs, on the Web, CD-ROM and other
> methods. Funding for MAGpie comes from the Trace Research and Development
> Center at the University of Wisconsin, as part of its Information
> Technology
> Access Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center which itself is
> funded by
> the U.S. Department of Education's National Institute on Disability and
> Rehabilitation
> Research.
>
> Microsoft
> http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/nhp/Default.asp
?contentid=2
8000544
Provides Web development and design guidelines and HTML code examples.

Sun Microsystems' Accessibility Program

"http://www.sun.com/tech/access/
Information on Java accessibility, GNOME development, and other advances in
"enabling technologies."

thanks for any suggestions.
Mark Rew



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