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Re: Software that encourages accessible document creation WASGraphical heading & Alt-text

for

From: Dave Merrill
Date: Jul 16, 2013 4:51AM

Are talking specifically about PDFs? Other desktop documents? Web pages?

Dave Merrill


On Mon, Jul 15, 2013 at 4:15 PM, Shuttlesworth, Rachel
< <EMAIL REMOVED> >wrote:

> Duff says:
> "Developing software that encourages authors to learn how to create
> accessible documents is profoundly challenging. I do not envy the UI
> developers, which is why my contributions are (necessarily) limited to
> standing on the sidelines throwing peanut shells."
>
>
>
> What are some tools that actually do encourage accessible document
> creation?
>
>
>
> Rachel
>
> Dr. Rachel S. Thompson
> Director, Emerging Technology and Accessibility
> Center for Instructional Technology
> University of Alabama
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On 07/15/13 2:57 PM, "Duff Johnson" < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:
>
> Bevi,
>
> > Here's the accessibility problem. There is a page that uses graphical
> >text
> > for the page's main heading, what should be <H1> if it was live text. For
> > the visual appearance she wants, the text must be turned into a graphic
> >to
> > produce the appearance, so she then puts Alt-text on the graphical text.
>
> Funny you should ask this - I got almost (but not quite) the exact same
> question earlier today from someone else!
>
> > Questions:
> >
> > 1) Should it be Alt-text or Actual text on the graphic?
>
> If one may assume that the visual appearance of the text isn't
> semantically significant then actual text is indicated.
>
> If the visual appearance is significant (i.e., if there's some sort of
> concrete deliverable and relevant message in the typography itself, such
> as flames to indicate heat or snow-crystals to indicate cold) then
> alternative text would be indicated.
>
> > 2) How can we let the reader know this acts as a <H1>? Because it's
> >a
> > graphic, it's tagged as a <figure> tag, not an <H1> tag.
>
> Nest the <Figure> tag within an <H1> tag.
>
> > This problem is just one of the many obstacles and software shortcomings
> > InDesign and Acrobat users face as they try to convert their layout
> >designs
> > to either an accessible PDF or an accessible eBook.
>
> These are very very hard questions for software. When does a change to
> visual styling "become" semantically significant? Whether the software
> helps you solve this problem or not, ultimately all software can do in
> such a case would be to bring the question to the attention of a human
> author: "what are you trying to say here?"
>
> If the text used in the H1 is also used later on (say, within paragraph
> text), it's likely better to use actual text in those cases to preserve
> the word-flow when text is repurposed rather than bother the poor user
> with alternative text descriptions of the image each time it occurs.
>
> Now, this last point is (largely) derivable from other general advice not
> to repeat information without purpose. But it's not going to be obvious
> (either way) to many many authors.
>
> There are also - if we are to be honest - cases where it would be
> desirable to represent either actual or alternative text, depending. I
> believe (I could be wrong) that today's APIs and AT aren't set up to
> address such circumstances at this time.
>
> Developing software that encourages authors to learn how to create
> accessible documents is profoundly challenging. I do not envy the UI
> developers, which is why my contributions are (necessarily) limited to
> standing on the sidelines throwing peanut shells.
>
> Duff.
> > > >
> > > >



--
Dave Merrill