Adobe Accessibility

Supporting accessibility is an important aspect of supporting video, and closed captioning is of particular interest lately with the release of the FCC’s proposed rules for captioning. The FCC’s proposed rules are to fulfill the requirements of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 and are specifically targeted to broadcast video when delivered via the Internet.

A key question around captioning is the best file format for caption data. The W3C’s TTML is a standards which is commonly used, and SMPTE has extended this standard for an additional format, commonly known as SMPTE-TT. In addition to these, the WHAT-WG recently invented a new format, named WebVTT (based on a previous format, SRT). Authors are not surprisingly unsure as to the right format to use. As appealing as a single caption format may be, it currently seems unlikely that a single format will meet the needs of all providers of captions.

Adobe has helped those delivering video via Flash deliver closed captioning for several years. Flash CS3 included support for TTML (then known as DFXP) back in 2007 and has provided similar support for TTML in the Open Source Media Framework (OSMF). Our most current work on captioning addresses other standards for captioning:

• Support for SMPTE-TT in OSMF. We’ve developed a plugin for OSMF to support SMPTE-TT. This is freely available and licensed under the BSD software license, so even if you aren’t using OSMF it is possible to utilize the source code to support SMPTE-TT in other environments. This plugin supports robust positioning and formatting for closed captions.
  • Demo: https://my.adobeconnect.com/smpte-tt-demo
  • Source code repository: http://sourceforge.net/adobe/osmf/svn/2387/tree/osmf/trunk/samples/SMPTETTPlugin/ (Source plugin test)
• Participation in a community group for WebVTT at the W3C. WebVTT is still new and needs work to fully support the necessary functionality for captions. The advantage of this work happening at the W3C is that there is a greater opportunity for additional input. As this is a format that browser vendors have expressed interest in implementing, it is important for developers and end users to join the community group and weigh in on strengths and weaknesses of the format to help ensure that the spec provides support which is sufficient for the needs of all concerned. Adobe has joined this group to help ensure that this is true for the WebVTT community spec being drafted.

Our intent is to support what our customers want, and we have some customers who want each of these three formats. As a result we’re engaged with multiple efforts. The bottom line for Adobe is that end users who depend on captions need complete information to provide access to video and audio content and developers and video providers need efficient solutions that fit into their overall video workflow. Whether providing implementations for a developed standard or engaging in a standards development activity, we will work to ensure that both end user and video provider needs are met.

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.

There was an important ruling today on accessibility from the Canadian Federal Court that is worth a read.

A blind woman filed suit against the government of Canada stating that the government “violated her rights under section 15(1) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Part I of the Constitution Act, 1982″. In short the findings of the court were that many web sites for the Canadian government are not meeting the Common Look and Feel standard (CLF). The Court found that the government should update the CLF standard to utilize WCAG 2.0 instead of WCAG 1.0 and that there is sufficient evidence of compliance problems that need to be addressed that the Court found that the applicant was discriminated against due to the need to access information and apply for employment via these websites. The Court is allowing the government 15 months to come into compliance.

There are a couple of points raised in the ruling and in a Globe and Mail online article (Court orders Ottawa to make websites accessible to blind) that I would like to clarify. The points are as follows:

• From the ruling: “The applicant testified that in June 2007 she attempted to access information on the consumer price index and unemployment rate from the Statistics Canada website. She stated that actual statistics were, however, only available in “pdf” format, which is not accessible to screen reader technology.”
• From the ruling: [reported by a witness for the applicant] “…for example, “flash” is a technology that cannot be read by many screen readers. If a website uses “flash” technology, the user will not be able to access that content…”
• From the Globe and Mail article: “Many blind people use screen readers, computer software that translates electronic text into audio. But the readers aren’t foolproof — for one thing, most can’t decipher PDF files, a format often used to publish documents online.”

None of these is accurate. Even in 2007, most screen readers could read PDF and Flash capably. In fact, the screen reader used by the applicant was capable of reading both PDF and Flash. The points above indicate that most screen readers can’t read PDF or Flash, but it is more accurate to say that most can, including JAWS, Window-Eyes, NVDA, and others. Adobe provides a “read out loud” feature in Adobe Reader that provides basic access to PDF documents, but most users who are blind will depend on a more full-featured assistive technology.

This is not to suggest that the applicant didn’t encounter challenges, she clearly did. Authors of HTML web pages, as well as authors of PDF documents and Flash content need to make sure that they follow accessibility standards, and if authors don’t, users suffer.

We have techniques available for complying with WCAG 2.0 when authoring Flash, HTML, and techniques for PDF are in the works (there are training resources available for PDF at Adobe’s accessibility site in the meantime). The information that authors need is available, this ruling will undoubtedly stimulate an increased interest in these sources of information.

Adobe is committed to helping authors comply with accessibility requirements, whether using HTML, PDF, or Flash. Here’s a few links to relevant information:

• Dreamweaver (HTML authoring): http://www.adobe.com/accessibility/products/dreamweaver/index.html
• Acrobat (PDF authoring): http://www.adobe.com/accessibility/products/acrobat/
• Flash Professional (Flash authoring): http://www.adobe.com/accessibility/products/flash/

I spoke on Flash accessibility at MAX in Los Angeles, CA at the end of October. The talk, Creating Accessible Flash Content with Flash Professional, is focused for a general audience that is familiar with Flash. I’m providing the slides and a link to the recording of the session here for people who couldn’t attend in person.

Slides: Creating Accessible Flash Content with Flash Professional (MAX 2010)

Recording: http://tv.adobe.com/watch/accessibility-adobe/creating-accessible-content-with-flash-professional

Today the W3C published an update to the Techniques for WCAG 2.0 document and the Understanding WCAG 2.0 document. The Techniques document now includes techniques for Flash content and helps define a way for authors to comply with WCAG 2.0.

Like other sufficient techniques, the Flash techniques do not describe the only way to comply with WCAG 2.0 but define a collection of techniques that an author may choose to utilize. The table below provides a listing of the WCAG level A and AA success criteria and the Flash-specific and General techniques that authors can employ to meet the requirements of the success criteria.

As always, please send comments on existing techniques or suggestions for additional ones. This represents the first pass at the techniques for Flash, we’ll be working on adding more in the future.

Today the W3C posted an updated techniques document for review, including for the first time a collection of techniques for Flash (and Flex) technologies.  The techniques can be viewed at http://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/2010/WD-WCAG20-TECHS-20100708/flash.html – please take a look and send in comments by August 9 to http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/comments/.

I’d also like to acknowledge the hard work of people at The Paciello Group who helped us assemble the techniques.  The techniques come from a wide range of sources and reflect knowledge amassed over several years of working with Flash and Flex, and as such additional credit is due to several others including Jon Avila and others at SSBBart Group, Bob Regan and Matt May at Adobe, Michael Jordan, and others.

Finally, we are also working on a collection of PDF techniques, which we aim to have available in the next round of the techniques document. We look forward to your comments.

Today the Linux Foundation announced that it was releasing IAccessible2 with new licensing terms.  IA2 is now available with a BSD license.  You can read about this change as well as the additional tools available at http://www.linuxfoundation.org/news-media/announcements/2010/07/linux-foundation-delivers-new-licensing-terms-testing-tools-accessi.  This is an important change as Adobe works to integrate IA2 into a future version of Adobe Acrobat and Reader, as well as the Flash Player and AIR.

As promised, we’ve posted the slides from the Adobe talks at CSUN.

We have good news about Flash and Flex accessibility support to share. Please check out the following statement:
Adobe understands how important it is for computer users with disabilities to be able to access the entire Internet. In recognition of the needs of computer users with disabilities, as well as the demands on developers who need to easily create applications and content which comply with global accessibility standards, Adobe is planning major upgrades to the accessibility support in Adobe Flash Player.
The upgrades expand on Flash Player’s existing support for accessibility via the Microsoft Active Accessibility interface (MSAA) and will enable accessibility across all three major operating systems (Windows, Mac, and Linux). The Flash Player will employ IAccessible2 from the Linux Foundation and the WAI-ARIA specification from the W3C to address user and developer needs and to ease interoperability with assistive technology vendors.
Additionally, enhancement are planned to the free and open-source Flex software developer’s kit (SDK) including improvements to complex components such as Flex datagrids and adding support for WAI-ARIA to simplify development of custom user interface components. These improvements are expected to start with the next major release of Adobe Flash Player (following Flash Player 10.1), and the first successive release of the Flex SDK.