#19438
When usability expert Jakob Nielsen proclaimed Flash was 99 percent bad, he was right on at least one account: accessibility. Until the release of Flash MX and the Flash 6 player, about 41 million disabled Web users could not take full advantage of Flash Web sites (According to World Bank in 2000). Even with Macromedia's move to support Section 508 guidelines, the government's plan for Web accessibility, the majority of Flash developers have not adopted the necessary best practices. Advertisement In previous versions of the Flash player, disabled Web users were unable to view any content generated by Flash. The Flash 6 player took a big step in this regard by retroactively providing text equivalents to the application's content. This change has allowed assistive Web browsers such as screen readers to view or speak Flash content. Many Flash developers question the need for Flash accessibility since proper accessibility requires a text-only version of existing Web content. This is a myth: images and animation can actually help users with nonvisual disabilities such as dyslexia. Flash can also benefit the blind by incorporating sound to notify the Web surfer of events.
Perry, Jason Michael. O'Reilly and Associates (2002). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Flash
#13543
Flash MX: Moving Toward Accessible Rich Media
Macromedia released Flash MX in mid-March of 2002, including enhancements to the player and the authoring tool to improve accessibility for people with disabilities. Admittedly, some areas like screen reader access couldn’t possibly get any worse than they were in previous versions of the player: popular screen readers such as JAWS and Window-Eyes ignored Flash content completely. Other features, such as the ability to add captions (which has been available since Flash 5), benefit from improvements Macromedia made to the Flash architecture in this release. The changes have also automatically improved access to existing Flash content when viewed in the Flash Player 6, but to maximize Flash accessibility for your users you’ll need to publish content from Flash MX.
Kirkpatrick, Andrew. List Apart, A (2002). Design>Accessibility>Multimedia
#13668
Those succeeding with Flash usually apply it as an element and mix it with other technologies or images such as streaming audio and video, GIF, JPG, DHTML, and CGI to name a few. Determine what elements you need on your site and study the strengths and weaknesses of each technology to determine which option would work best for each element. You're in good shape if you can use Flash without sacrificing accessibility, readability, navigability, usability, searchability, and ability to update.
Evans, Meryl K. Digital Web Magazine (2002). Design>Accessibility>Multimedia>Web Design
#24959
Flexible Diff-ing in a Collaborative Writing System 
Discusses the use of computer-generated information about what has been revised in the display of editing in word processors.
Neuwirth, Christine M., Ravinder Chandhok, David S. Kaufer, Paul Erion, James Morris and Dale Miller. Computer Supported Cooperative Work (1992). Articles>Editing>Word Processing>Collaboration
#27234
Floating Objects in Word 2000 Table Cells are Vertically Aligned Wrongly
Whenever I insert a graphical object (picture, drawing object, etc.) into a Word 2000 table cell I lose the vertical formatting. The text is always aligned at the top of the cell, instead of being centered or at the bottom of the cell. Why, and what can I do about it?
Meister, Cindy. Word MVP Site, The (2002). Articles>Word Processing>Software>Microsoft Word
#27669
Formal Objection to WCAG Claiming to Address Cognitive Limitations
Lisa Seeman intends to make a formal objection about WCAG 2.0's claim that they address all requirements for learning difficulties and cognitive limitations, as they do not have the success criteria to back up their claim. Moreover, there are known techniques that WCAG have not included, and people who do intend to cater for people with learning difficulties and cognitive limitations would benefit from knowing of these techniques.
Seeman, Lisa. Juicy Studio (2006). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Cognitive Psychology
#30364
These are some formatting/word processing tips for Microsoft Word.
Leigh, Heather. Crazy for Words (2007). Articles>Word Processing>Software>Microsoft Word
#24551
Forum Topic Titles: How To Write Them
Internet discussion forums contain topic titles that are vague, silly, amateur, too long, or too emotional. How to write clear, relevant, succinct topic titles that command attention and attract replies that can provide the answer you seek.
Streight, Steven. Blogger.com (2004). Articles>Internet>Discussion Forum>Writing
#29649
From Starfish to Butterfly ... the Amazing Story of the AccessAbility SIG 
This paper describes the remarkable history of the Society's newest Special Interest Group--the AccessAbility SIG--tracing it back to its origins in 1997 as the Special Needs Committee (SNC). The SNC, founded by Judy Skinner, was originally chartered to assist technical communicators with disabilities in the practice of our profession by researching and publicizing assistive technologies and techniques to overcome those limitations. Over its 5-year lifespan, the committee expanded its mission to include a second overarching goal--assisting all technical communicators in developing information products that are fully accessible to end users with disabilities. Its accomplishments included a data-rich yet eye-pleasing online newsletter, an ever-growing comprehensive web site that is becoming a definitive resource on accessibility, and a robust and dynamic listserv.
Voss, Daniel W. STC Proceedings (2005). Articles>Accessibility>Community Building>STC
#28757
From Starfish to Butterfly: the Amazing Story of the AccessAbility SIG 
This paper describes the remarkable history of the Society's newest Special Interest Group--the AccessAbility SIG--tracing it back to its origins in 1997 as the Special Needs Committee (SNC). The SNC, founded by Judy Skinner, was originally chartered to assist technical communicators with disabilities in the practice of our profession by researching and publicizing assistive technologies and techniques to overcome those limitations. Over its 5-year lifespan, the committee expanded its mission to include a second overarching goal--assisting all technical communicators in developing information products that are fully accessible to end users with disabilities.
Voss, Daniel W. STC Proceedings (2007). Articles>Accessibility>Community Building
#23127
FucinaWeb è un sito indipendente di risorse e articoli per sviluppatori e designer web che volge un occhio di riguardo alle problematiche di usabilità e accessibilità.
FucinaWeb. (Italian) Resources>Directories>Accessibility>Usability
#28298
The Future of Web Accessibility
Accessibility is currently in a great state of change - find out what the future hold for web accessibility and how this may affect your website.
Moss, Trenton. Webcredible (2006). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
#18598
General Concepts, Universal Design Principles and Guidelines
People who could benefit from more universal designs include many both with and without disabilities. In some cases, people may experience difficulty in using products purely as a result of the environment or an unusual circumstance. Beneficiaries of universal design include: * People in a noisy shopping mall who cannot hear a kiosk * People who are driving their car who must operate their radio or phone without looking at it * People who left their glasses in their room * People who are getting older * People with disabilities * Almost anyone In order to design for the general population, it is important to understand the diversity, problems, tools, and abilities of its members.
University of Wisconsin. Design>Usability>Accessibility>Universal Usability
#24939
Generating PDF Files from Word Documents
This document explains how to create PDF files from Microsoft Word documents.
InfoTechWriter. Articles>Publishing>Word Processing>Adobe Acrobat
#27229
Getting Help With Calling Word's Built-In Dialogs Using VBA
There are two Help topics in Word VBA Help that are required reading to get you started with built-in dialogs: 'Displaying built-in Word dialog boxes' and 'Built-in dialog box argument lists'. Unfortunately, in the latter article, Microsoft listed the arguments you can use but forgot to mention what the arguments mean or what values they can take! Fortunately, the dialog box arguments are almost identical to the arguments of the commands of WordBasic, so if you know one, you can work out the other. Therefore, the WordBasic Help file is at present by far the best resource for programmers wanting to use the dialogs. It is an absolute must-have.
Rado, Dave. Word MVP Site, The (2005). Articles>Word Processing>Programming>Microsoft Word
#18630
Getting Started: Making a Web Site Accessible
An initial introduction to resources for people new to Web accessibility.
Brewer, Judy. W3C (2002). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
#26115
Getting the Most from OpenOffice.org Writer Fields
Fields are extremely useful features of Writer. This article describes how to use fields to solve common business and technical writing problems.
Weber, Jean Hollis. NewsForge (2005). Articles>Word Processing>Software>OpenOffice
#27218
Getting to Grips With VBA Basics in 15 Minutes
I can't turn you into a VBA expert but I can suggest a way to explore VBA that you may find helpful. Below, I've listed 22 steps that can be completed in approximately 15 minutes, assuming someone is kind enough to read them to you as you sit at your keyboard. If you have to read them by yourself and turn your attention alternately to the keyboard and back to the steps, then you may need a half hour or longer to complete the steps. Either way, the steps should give you a feel for what it's like to program in Word.
Coan, Bill. Word MVP Site, The (2005). Articles>Word Processing>Programming>Microsoft Word
#29073
The Great Instauration: Restoring Professional and Technical Writing to the Humanities 
If you wish to start an undergraduate professional and technical writing program at a small liberal arts college, you will find good arguments for your project in the educational writings of Sir Francis Bacon. Unlike other Renaissance Humanists, Bacon located the New Learning (what we now call the humanities) within the related contexts of scientific discovery and invention and professional training and development. His treatise, The Advancement of Learning, proposes to draw knowledge from and apply knowledge to the natural and social world. Bacon's curricular ideas can benefit emerging PTW programs in the humanities in three ways: They make a convincing apologia for most English departments and writing programs, wed humanistic education to public service, and provide a rich but practical theoretical framework for program development and administration.
Di Renzo, Anthony. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2002). Articles>Education>Professionalism>Technical Writing
#19933
Green Squiggly Lines: Evaluating Student Writing in Computer-Mediated Environments
We have a theory, a trace, a prediction of what will happen in the influence that word processors have had on student writing. By outlining a history of word processors in writing pedagogy and assessment (a vast increase in studies of and pedagogies advocating revision occurred in the 1980s), 'Green Squiglly Lines' sketches the potential impact of electronic portfolios on writing assessment. How will the publication--the turning of academic essays into (pre)professional documents [literally portfolios in the graphic artist sense of the word]--change writing assessment in American higher education?
Whithaus, Carl. Academic.Writing (2003). Articles>Editing>Online>Word Processing
#18444
A Guide for Website Developers About How to Accommodate Users with Low Education, Low Motivation
Users with low education are users who have obtained limited level of education. These educationally disadvantaged people acquired and applied complex reasoning, but the lack of basic reading comprehension and communications skills hinder their success in education and skilled occupations. Low level of education effectively equals to functional illiteracy. Even though there is a significant increase in Internet use for individuals with elementary education (129%) from 1998 to 2000, only 9.1% of those with elementary education versus 75.5% with Bachelor's Degree or more uses the Internet [2]. More than one out of five adult Americans are functionally illiterate, and their ranks are swelling by about 2.3 million persons each year. Nearly 40 percent of minority youth and 30 percent of semiskilled and unskilled workers are illiterate [1]. It is hence necessary to address website accessibility issues pertaining to this group of users.
Lim, Ser Nam. Universal Usability (2001). Design>Usability>Accessibility
#10043
An accessible site allows all users to access it, regardless of their browser, resolution, settings, or eyesight. Accessible sites are open to the world's 750 million disabled people, including the sizeable blind population. Through better authoring, Web information providers can avoid shutting out the world's disabled population from the information age, and can garner a good portion of this largely ignored market.
Quinn, Liam. Web Design Group, The (1997). Design>Accessibility>Web Design
#21889
A Guide to Making Documents Accessible to People Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired
This document contains a comprehensive discussion about how to make print and electronic information available to people with visual impairments in a variety of accessible formats. Consumers who have limited vision or are totally blind have unique access needs. These needs depend on the amount of vision each person has for reading. Some people have usable vision, allowing them to read large print. Others choose to read braille on paper, while a third group prefers to use a computer with synthetic speech, or refreshable braille display, to read electronic documents.
Sutton, Jennifer. American Council of the Blind (2002). Design>Accessibility>Information Design
#18610
A Guide to Making Documents Accessible to People Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired
This document contains a comprehensive discussion about how to make print and electronic information available to people with visual impairments in a variety of accessible formats. Consumers who have limited vision or are totally blind have unique access needs. These needs depend on the amount of vision each person has for reading. Some people have usable vision, allowing them to read large print. Others choose to read braille on paper, while a third group prefers to use a computer with synthetic speech, or refreshable braille display, to read electronic documents.
Sutton, Jennifer. American Council of the Blind (2002). Design>Usability>Accessibility>Visual
#20641
Provides usability guidelines and quick fix checklists for designing usable Web sites.
