Re: [libreoffice-accessibility] VPAT for LibreOffice?

Hi Scott,

On Wed, 20 Apr 2011 00:02:22 +1000, Scott Rippon <srippon.ml@gmail.com>
wrote:
> (...) 
> Sorry if this is something that has already been considered but I had an
> idea I thought I contribute to...
>
> Does LibreOffice have a VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility
Template)<http://www.itic.org/index.php?src=gendocs&ref=vpat&category=resources>
> ?

This has not yet been discussed on this list. Thanks for bringing it up.

> I was able to find a VPAT for
OpenOffice<http://www.oracle.com/us/corporate/accessibility/templates/t2313.html>
> .

I was not aware of the VPAT for OpenOffice.org.
Note that this VPAT is based on features available on the Gnome desktop.
This is important: while it is possible to expose accessibility metadata
through an API (see 1194.21(d) ) this does not always guarantee
accessibility. OpenOffice.org exposes metadta through accessibility APIs on
Linux, Mac OS and Windows, but on Windows, the OpenOffice.org accessibility
API is mapped to the Java accessibility API, which is rather poorly
supported by screen readers on Windows. 
IBM contributed on IAccessible2 implementation to Oracle [1], but now that
Oracle has announced that it will no longer invest in OpenOffice.org, I
have no idea if or how that code will become available.

If we create a VPAT for LibreOffice, we can't avoid talking about the
differences between the platforms. The alternative is to focus only on
those platforms where screen readers work well with LibreOffice.


> I tried to create a page on the Wiki to start creating a VPAT but had
> trouble creating a new page.


I have never used the TDF wiki, but maybe someone else on this list can
help you.


> *What's a VPAT?*
> In the U.S. Section 508 "bars the Federal government from procuring
> electronic and information technology (E&IT) goods and services that are
> not
> fully accessible to those with disabilities." (WebAIM: United States
Laws:
> Section 508 <http://webaim.org/articles/laws/usa/rehab#s508>)  The
> Information
> Technology Industry Council (ITI) <http://www.itic.org/> created VPAT as
"a
> tool used to document a product's conformance with the accessibility
> standards under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act." (ITI -
VPAT<http://www.itic.org/index.php?src=gendocs&ref=vpat&category=resources>
> )

[1] I wrote about this in February:
<http://listarchives.libreoffice.org/www/accessibility/msg00034.html>

Best regards,

Christophe Strobbe


> Kindest regards,
> Scott Rippon.
> -- 
> Scott Rippon Consulting
> User research, design and evaluation
>
> W  http://www.scottrippon.com/
> E  Scott.Rippon@gmail.com
> M  +61 423 302 672

-- 
Christophe Strobbe
K.U.Leuven - Dept. of Electrical Engineering - SCD
Research Group on Document Architectures
Kasteelpark Arenberg 10 bus 2442
B-3001 Leuven-Heverlee
BELGIUM
tel: +32 16 32 85 51 
www.docarch.be
Twitter: @RabelaisA11y

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