Adobe Accessibility

The new real-time captioning pod for Adobe Connect 8 is now available at the Adobe Exchange. Note: Link updated to point to the current version of the captioning pod

This pod improves on the previous version in several ways:

• Predefined connection information for CaptionColorado, CaptionFirst, and the Media Access Group at WGBH
• Built-in ability for users to record a transcript of the captioning, and export to text or HTML. (Meeting hosts can disable this if required)
• Five color and contrast options for caption display, and multiple font size choices
• Support for multiple concurrent tracks of captioning, of particular use for multi-lingual audiences
• End-user rewind controls to review caption information

As with the earlier version, captions are recorded when a Connect meeting is recorded, so an archived meeting will display any captions available during the live meeting, and end-users who may find live captioning distracting or who simply do not wish to view captions can disable the display for their view of the meeting without disrupting the captioning for other participants.

Closed captioning vendors interested in delivering captioning to Adobe Connect meetings can contact us (email: access [at] adobe) for instructions on how to communicate with the caption pod.

The pod was developed by eSyncTraining who did a great job taking a wide variety of requirements into consideration and building the pod. We’re discussing further improvements to the pod already, as in developing this pod we consulted with experts at each of the caption agencies as well as current users and captioning experts and as a result have additional ideas to investigate. If you have other ideas for the pod, please let us know.

I’m pleased to share a new document: Flex 4 Accessibility Best Practices. This document was developed with the help of the SSB BART Group and provides valuable information to help developers create applications in Flex that meet the needs of users with disabilities and help address compliance targets.

This document will soon find its permanent home on the Adobe Accessibility Best Practices page.

Please feel free to send any comments or questions.

The California State University at Northridge’s Conference on Disability is going on March 16-18, 2011, and Adobe is offering a number of sessions that we hope people will find interesting and informative, as well as offering opportunities to talk directly to Adobe’s accessibility team and product team members.

The event will feature several sessions and events that I want to provide some details for. Here’s our schedule of events:

Wednesday, March 16

• PDF Portfolios: Accessible Interactive Collections of Documents and Multimedia Files (WEB-1030) (8:00-9:00am Emma C)
• Accessible HTML with Adobe Authoring Tools (WEB-1052) (9:20-10:20am Manchester A – Adobe)
• Adobe® Reader® X and Screen Reader Access (WEB-1050) (10:40-11:40am Manchester A – Adobe)
• Accessible Web Conferencing with Adobe Connect (WEB-1053) (1:50:00-2:50pm Manchester A – Adobe)
• Using Adobe Acrobat® X Action Wizards for Accessibility Repair (WEB-1059) (3:10-4:10pm Manchester A – Adobe)

Thursday, March 17

• Advice from the Field: Processes that Work to Ensure PDF Accessibility (WEB-1056) (9:20-10:20am Manchester A – Adobe)
• Adobe Open Forum (WEB-1055) (1:50:00-2:50pm Manchester A – Adobe)
• Using Adobe® InDesign® to Author Accessible PDF (WEB-2060) (3:10-4:10pm Manchester A – Adobe)

Friday, March 18

• Accessibility Best Practices for Authors (WEB-1058) (9:20-10:20am Manchester A – Adobe)
• Adobe Flex Best Practices – What to Expect (WEB-2054) (10:40-11:40am Manchester A – Adobe)
• e-books with Adobe Digital Editions (WEB-1051) (1:50:00-2:50pm Manchester A – Adobe)
• HTML 5 and Flash – An Accessibility Comparison (WEB-2057) (1:50:00-2:50pm Manchester A – Adobe)
• New session: NVDA with Adobe Reader and Flash – Michael Curran & James Teh present an overview, highlighting NVDA’s advanced support for Adobe Reader and Flash. (3:10-4:10pm Manchester A – Adobe)

The following is not an Adobe session, but it is introducing a valuable resource in the form of a course on accessible Flash development, developed jointly by the Department of Veterans Affairs and SSB BART Group.

• Creating Dynamic, Interactive, Accessible Flash (WEB-2009) (Wednesday 1:50-2:50, Cunningham B)

Adobe will have several people at CSUN and will be attending the TweetUp as well as being available to talk between or after sessions. Please come introduce yourself and ask questions and share your thoughts.