WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

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Re: why would a desktop app not work with a screen reader?

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From: glen walker
Date: Dec 10, 2020 1:48PM

The accessibility tree is a subset of the HTML DOM. A similar concept
exists for any application running on the desktop. For example, on Windows
platforms, the elements of an app should be surfaced through MSAA (or maybe
it's UI Automation).

In this case, since the Accessibility Insights tool doesn't work (which
lets you inspect the MSAA), the app is not surfacing any information to
assistive technology. I just found out the app is bundled with Adobe Air,
which is typically used for Flash applications. I've done lots of Flash
accessibility work so I know Flash apps can be accessible, but it's not
pretty. If you build your Flash app without the accessibility option in
the compiler, nothing will be surfaced to AT. I haven't confirmed yet if
that's the exact problem but wanted to give an update.