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Thread: Please Ignore: Background Images, something new

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Number of posts in this thread: 5 (In chronological order)

From: Hull, Larry G. (GSFC-732.0)[GSFC]
Date: Tue, Oct 21 2008 1:55PM
Subject: Please Ignore: Background Images, something new
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Sorry about accidentally posting a personal message.

From: Paul Bennett
Date: Wed, Oct 22 2008 9:00AM
Subject: Re: Please Ignore: Background Images, something new
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No worries Larry - your post was actually quite interesting.

:)
Paul

From: Elizabeth J. Pyatt
Date: Wed, Oct 22 2008 1:40PM
Subject: Re: Background Images, something new
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This is good to know, but it reminds me of the 508 requirement (at
least in the old 508) that pages be accessible/legible/usable even
with CSS turned off.

I would interpret that to mean that images specified in CSS
statements should be for pure visual decoration only....just in case
something like this happens.

Actually, I can see why a high-contrast mode might eliminate
background images if developers think most of them will interfere
with legibility.

Elizabeth

P.S. I also agree that low vision users are very idiosyncratic in
their preferences. One gentleman in an online MBA program set his
preference to the Times New Roman font even though that is normally
considered a "bad" Web font.

>From: "Hull, Larry G. (GSFC-732.0)[GSFC]" < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
>To: "WebAIM Discussion List" < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
>References: Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:44:04 -0500
>Subject: [WebAIM] Background Images, something new
>Message: 1
>
>
>What I didn't realize is background images also disappear when Windows
>High Contrast mode is used.
>
>Windows High Contrast mode is a Windows OS accessibility option designed
>for people who have vision impairment. High Contrast increases
>legibility for some users by heightening screen contrast with
>alternative color combinations. Some of the schemes also change font
>sizes for greater legibility.
>
>


--
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-Elizabeth J. Pyatt, Ph.D.
Instructional Designer
Education Technology Services, TLT/ITS
Penn State University
= EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = , (814) 865-0805 or (814) 865-2030 (Main Office)

210 Rider Building (formerly Rider II)
227 W. Beaver Avenue
State College, PA 16801-4819
http://www.personal.psu.edu/ejp10/psu
http://tlt.psu.edu

From: Gareth Dart
Date: Thu, Oct 23 2008 12:50AM
Subject: Re: Background Images, something new
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Just to be nit-picky, background images and colours can _sometimes_ be
printed - some browsers offer an option to print background colours and
images and it depends on whether your user has his/her browser
configured to do so. Firefox has such an option. IE7 doesn't that I
can see.

Cheers,

G

PS - In terms of personal messages posted to newsgroups, it could've
been a lot more personal than that! Count your blessings.


Gareth Dart
Web Developer
Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)
95 Promenade, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL50 1HZ
T 01242 211128 F 01242 211122 W www.hesa.ac.uk


-----Original Message-----
From: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
[mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = ] On Behalf Of Hull, Larry
G. (GSFC-732.0)[GSFC]
Sent: Tuesday 21 October 2008 20:44
To: WebAIM Discussion List
Subject: [WebAIM] Background Images, something new

Hi,

I ran across a thread that was concerned about possible problems with
the use of background images, those images provided on a page by CSS,
not coded in the source.

I knew that you couldn't see background images. We once examined a page
where an image appeared that you didn't see at all because it was a
background image and we also looked at another page where a background
image overlaid text. This text was invisible to graphic user yet made
the associated form understandable to you or to a user with images off.
Essentially, this hidden text provided a legend as opposed to a label.
It could in fact have been marked up as a legend for increased
understanding.

I also knew background images wouldn't print. Actually, not printing
when the background is a color or a busy wallpaper image saves ink and
may improve readability of the hard copy.

What I didn't realize is background images also disappear when Windows
High Contrast mode is used.

Windows High Contrast mode is a Windows OS accessibility option designed
for people who have vision impairment. High Contrast increases
legibility for some users by heightening screen contrast with
alternative color combinations. Some of the schemes also change font
sizes for greater legibility.

Bottom line is that background images are invisible to screen readers,
people with images turned off, printers, and people using Windows High
Contrast mode.

Learn something new every day!

Larry (time to leave, back Thursday)

From: Keith Parks
Date: Thu, Oct 23 2008 9:10AM
Subject: Re: Background Images, something new
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On Oct 22, 2008, at 11:50 PM, Gareth Dart wrote:

> Just to be nit-picky, background images and colours can _sometimes_ be
> printed - some browsers offer an option to print background colours
> and
> images and it depends on whether your user has his/her browser
> configured to do so. Firefox has such an option. IE7 doesn't that I
> can see.


For IE7 it's in the Tools > Advanced > (then near the bottom)
Printing" .

A checkbox for "Print background colors and images"

******************************
Keith Parks
Graphic Designer/Web Designer
Student Affairs Communications Services
San Diego State University
San Diego, CA 92182-7444
(619) 594-1046
mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
http://www.sa.sdsu.edu/communications

http://kparks.deviantart.com/gallery
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