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Re: Central resource page vs instance specific links to doc readers

for

From: Jared Smith
Date: Feb 28, 2011 7:42PM

On Mon, Feb 28, 2011 at 6:17 PM, Richard R. Hill wrote:

> By standard(s), for any document included in a website, there should be a link to appropriate readers or resources to allow visitors to be able to render/view the document.

This is a requirement of Section 508. It is not a requirement of WCAG
1.0 or 2.0.

> A strict interpretation of the standards would have  links for the appropriate rendering/reading tool(s) appear on each page where the files occur.

Correct, Section 508 wording states, "... the page must provide a link
to a plug-in..."

But it's probably worse for accessibility and usability to provide a
link to commonly-available technologies (such as Acrobat Reader) on
every page than it is to provide one link on a resource page or even
no link at all. Nearly everybody has Acrobat Reader. And if they
don't, it's easy to find or their browser will prompt them to install
it automatically. For more obscure plug-ins, then providing a link
might make sense.

> So, I'm going to go with "this is an OK solution." Yes?

Yes, it's optimal for accessibility for common plug-ins. For strict
Section 508 compliance, it's questionable. I'll take accessibility
over compliance any day.

Jared