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From: TRAUTWEIN_PAUL
Date: Fri, Mar 15 2019 12:18PM
Subject: Area Codes
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Hey –

Every 6 months or so, we have a debate in our office about the best way to display area codes on our website.

I've done some comparison testing using Voiceover and NVDA. NVDA adds appropriate pauses but VO doesn't.

xxx-xxx-xxxx (no pauses in the number in VO)
(xxx) xxx-xxxx (very slight pause after the parenthesis)
xxx.xxx.xxxx (the periods are read as "point")

Is there a preferred way to display phone numbers?
Is there any reason to choose one over another?
Are we thinking about this WAY too much?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Paul

Paul Trautwein | Web Coordinator
Santa Monica College | Marketing Department
1900 Pico Blvd. Santa Monica CA 90405
310.434.4204 | www.smc.edu

From: Birkir R. Gunnarsson
Date: Fri, Mar 15 2019 12:28PM
Subject: Re: Area Codes
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Yes, probably overthinking it. ;)
Use the most standard way you display phone numbers in general, that
is the one screen reader users are most used to (if screen readers
announce them oddly the users are used to that).
My recommendation is (555) 555-2322
or, to go all 80s, (555) 6875309 (the song gets stuck in your head).
If you are displaying an input for a phone number I ecomend having a
forgiving input logic that allows common types, straight numbers or ()
etc. Apply auto formatting to the input after the user moves focus
away.
Cheers
-Birkir


On 3/15/19, TRAUTWEIN_PAUL < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> Hey –
>
> Every 6 months or so, we have a debate in our office about the best way to
> display area codes on our website.
>
> I've done some comparison testing using Voiceover and NVDA. NVDA adds
> appropriate pauses but VO doesn't.
>
> xxx-xxx-xxxx (no pauses in the number in VO)
> (xxx) xxx-xxxx (very slight pause after the parenthesis)
> xxx.xxx.xxxx (the periods are read as "point")
>
> Is there a preferred way to display phone numbers?
> Is there any reason to choose one over another?
> Are we thinking about this WAY too much?
>
> Any thoughts would be appreciated.
> Paul
>
> Paul Trautwein | Web Coordinator
> Santa Monica College | Marketing Department
> 1900 Pico Blvd. Santa Monica CA 90405
> 310.434.4204 | www.smc.edu
>
> > > > >


--
Work hard. Have fun. Make history.

From: chagnon
Date: Fri, Mar 15 2019 12:59PM
Subject: Re: Area Codes
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Concurring with Birkir.

I think the worst method of all for accessibility with all technologies is the period. It might sometimes be voiced as "point," but frequently it's ignored and the phone number (202) 123-0987 is announced as 2,021,230,987. Comprehension is severely compromised, especially when zeros are in the phone number.

As a former magazine art director/graphic designer, don't let your designers get too artsy-fartsy with phone numbers. The key objective is to communicate information, not to win design awards.

—Bevi Chagnon

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