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Re: multiple file formats

for

From: Egan, Bim
Date: Dec 28, 2006 6:40AM

Hi Darrel,

The table you have on:
http://www.mncourts.gov/default.aspx?page=513&;item=103&itemType=packetDe
might cause a few accessibility problems for screen reader users, but they'd be fairly easy to solve.

At present, someone using a screen reader may tab to the first downloadable link and would hear:
"div102-dot-doc link graphic . Table: column 4, row 2"

So they know that they are in a table, and would hope to be able to find information from table headers to make the above data a bit more informative. To do this they would probably use the screen reader query header facility, which announces headers, or in their absence, top and left cell content. In this table they get:
"Column 4, row 2: Download, div102, div102-dot-doc link graphic, div102-dot-pdf link graphic ." This is the cell reference, content of the topmost and left hand cells, and the whole content of the cell in focus.

To make it really clear, you could do the following:
* move the form name column so that it is the first column.
* give form name cells TH markup, (styled back to however you want them to look).
* split the "download" column into 2 columns, one for each format, with the top cell spanning both, using the SCOPE of COLGROUP.
* Perhaps even use the ALT attributes "Word format" and "PDF format", together with the file size (which can be important for people with little time, or slow downloads when files are large).

Then the screen reader user, still focused on the first link in the table, on querying for header information would hear:
"Column 4, row 2: Download, Instructions - Completing Certificate of Dissolution Form, Word format xxKB link graphic."

That' would be better perhaps.

Cheers,

Bim