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Re: Tables and Excel: merged or unmerged cells?

for

From: Duff Johnson
Date: Apr 16, 2012 7:09PM

Bevi,

On Apr 16, 2012, at 12:26 PM, Bevi Chagnon wrote:

> Duff wrote: "Assuming JAWS (and others) do get confused, why isn't this
> simply a bug in the software to be fixed rather than a "fact of life" with
> implications for document authors (as opposed to AT software developers)?"
>
> Wow, Duff, you just opened a Pandora's box of questions on "why doesn't AT
> technology do a better job at [fill-in-the-blank]."

Delighted to be of service. :-)

> I'm sure the solution involves any of the following:
> -- More funding to AT software companies.
> -- More funding and training for AT users to actually purchase upgraded
> versions of their technology and training.
> -- Better tools for accessing common documents, not just web pages, such as
> Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Acrobat PDF.
> -- Better coordination between AT software companies and Adobe, Microsoft,
> W3.org, Amazon, and other key players in our various publishing
> technologies.
> -- Expanded accessibility standards that cover more than just garden-variety
> text and graphics.

I'm sure it involves all of what you've suggested.

None of this seems to me to complicate the basic question, which is simply that in the case of properly structured content AT has simply *no excuse* for getting it wrong.

I'm not seeking to lay blame here. AT developers have a variety of good and substantial reasons for how they run their businesses. The pressure for new features can readily exceed the pressure for bug fixes. As someone in the software business I have a healthy appreciation of this fact.

The solution, it seems to me, is to arrange things such that both authoring software and AT developers understand that adherence to applicable standards IS a "feature" - indeed, it's the ultimate "feature" because it enables everything else.

Duff.