#13281
Guidelines for Accessible Web Site: Technology and Users 
Accessible design goes beyond accommodating the mentally or physically impaired. With new technologies and greater global access, accessible design now includes technological as well as user considerations.
Ward, Michele, Philip Rubens and Sherry Southard. STC Proceedings (2000). Presentations>Accessibility>Web Design
#19186
Guidelines for Writing Accessible Online Help
This article describes how to write effective on-line help for blind and low vision users of text based readers. The authors draw on their collective experience in both using text (screen) readers like JAWS to access web applications as well as preparing accessibility help for web pages and applications. This article doesn't include specific information about building web interfaces or sites, use of controls for accessibility within web sites, Section 508 or WAI Standards and Guidelines, or specific information about hardware or software. We include JAWS instructions as an example because it is commonly used in the United States. Also, we don't include information about actual language used within an interface and how to write it to make the interface more accessible. We are only discussing how to write Help pertaining to the interface itself.
Reed, Will, Everyl Yankee and Wendi Fornoff. Usability Interface (2003). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Visual
#26111
If you are using any word processor or editor in a group situation, such as a technical writing team, or an office, then it will probably be in your interest to set up templates for authors to use to ensure consistency, reduce effort, and help automate conversation of documents between formats, such as building web pages from office documents. If you are also trying to store and manipulate content in XML but want to use a word processing environment for authoring, then well-crafted templates are even more important.
Sefton, Peter. XML.com (2005). Articles>Word Processing>XML>OpenOffice
#23664
The detailed Mission Plan for the Special Needs Special Interest Group (SIG) of the Society for Technical Communication (STC) has an objective to extend the availability of online technical communication resources and a strategy for achieving that objective. Specifically, Strategy 1.5, reads as follows: Encourage Special Needs SIG members to research and report on the use of telecommuting in the field of technical communication and study the viability of telecommunication as a means of increasing the employability of practitioners with special needs.
Marty, Helen A. STC Proceedings (2003). Careers>Telecommuting>Accessibility
#31075
An application that, using an inexpensive camera, lets users control a mouse pointer by aiming their face around the screen.
IBM (2006). Resources>Software>Accessibility>Microsoft Windows
#23010
Most developers don't think about individuals who are deaf when they think of Web accessibility. For too many developers, Web accessibility consists of adhering to a few guidelines that ensure accessibility to screen readers for the blind. On one level, this is understandable. People who are blind will have the most trouble, since the Web is a visual medium...or is it?
WebAIM (2001). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Audio
#25238
For this study, we recruited low-vision users with a variety of vision problems who need software to magnify computer text. Although we did not systematically recruit for specific vision problems, the fact that our users had different needs gave us one of the most critical insights in this study: The needs of low-vision users are too diverse for simple solutions to Web accessibility and usability. We show a few ways in which today’s Web sites are missing the needs of all low-vision users and provide guidelines for fixing those problems. However, the diversity of vision needs and the resulting adaptations that low-vision users require mean that there are no simple solutions to making Web sites work for everyone. In this article, therefore, you will not find many simple guidelines. Instead, we raise a critical issue and suggest a 'vision of the future' solution.
Theofanos, Mary Frances and Janice C. 'Ginny' Redish. Technical Communication Online (2005). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Universal Usability
#30017
HERA: Accessibility Testing with Style
HERA is a tool to check the accessibility of Web pages accoridng to the specification Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 1.0). HERA performs a preliminary set of tests on the page and identifies any automatically detectable errors or checkpoints met, and which checkpoints need further manual verification.
#23540
A free online tool to analyze the accessibility of websites. With Hermish, make your pages comply to accessibility guidelines. Accessibility relates to section 508 and priority levels.
Slinn, Gareth. Hermish (2004). Resources>Web Design>Accessibility>Section 508
#26471
High Accessibility Is Effective Search Engine Optimization
It’s no coincidence that search engines love highly accessible websites; in fact, by designing for accessibility, you’re already using effective search-engine optimization techniques. Andy Hagans explains yet another reason to pay attention to accessibility.
Hagans, Andy. List Apart, A (2005). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Search
#24078
High Accessibility, High Design: CSS to the Rescue
Anyone with good graphic-design skills can use Web standards to produce attractive Web sites that function adequately for nearly all viewers and very well for most viewers – including people with disabilities. This article will explore a few details concerning the interplay of accessibility and Web design.
Voren, Naar. NaarVoren.nl (2004). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>CSS
#22935
When Apple released Safari on to the unsuspecting world in 2003, it caught a lot of people off guard. The ripples are still being felt - Mozilla's source code was rejected in favour of the smaller code base of KHTML, and more recently Opera has suggested that it may no longer make a version of its browser for the Macintosh platform. And then, of course, there's the whole issue of how web developers can keep up with yet another browser foisted upon them - does it support agreed web standards? Or does it break standards-compliant sites in horrible new inventive ways?
Lloyd, Ian and Garrett Smith. Accessify (2003). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Web Browsers
#27190
How Can I Insert Special Characters, Such as Dingbats and Accented Letters, in My Document?
Many Word users don't realize how easy it is to insert special characters. There are at least four ways to do it: through the Symbol dialog, using shortcut keys, automatically with AutoCorrect, or by direct keypad entry.
Barnhill, Suzanne. Word MVP Site, The (2005). Articles>Word Processing>Software>Microsoft Word
#27207
How Can I Recover a Corrupt Document or Template – and Why Did It Become Corrupt?
Saving when resources are low can cause corruptions. If you notice Word start to slow down noticeably it's always best to quit and restart Word immediately; to close any other applications that are open; and to clear the clipboard, by selecting any character and copying it.
Rado, Dave and John McGhie. Word MVP Site, The (2005). Articles>Word Processing>Software>Microsoft Word
#22065
How Disabled Users Access the Internet
There's more to web accessibility than making your website screen reader-friendly. Find out more here!
Moss, Trenton. Webcredible (2004). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
#27201
How Do I Generate an Index in Word?
The Microsoft Word Help suggests that you can automatically generate an index. Sorry, but you can't (the 'result' looks like an index, but the reader can't use it). You can automatically mark index entries: however, the amount of work required to edit the result into a usable index is usually double the effort required to manually mark the index entries one-by-one.
McGhie, John. Word MVP Site, The (2005). Articles>Word Processing>Indexing>Microsoft Word
#19140
How Do People Really Use Text Editors?
Keystroke statistics were collected on editing systems while people performed their normal work. Knowledge workers used an experimental editor, and secretaries used a word processor. Results show a consistent picture of free use patterns in both settings. Of the total number of keystrokes, text entry accounted for approximately 1/2, cursor movement for about 1/4, deletion for about 1/8, and all other functions for the remaining 1/8. Analysis of keystroke transitions and editing states is also presented. Implications for past research, editor design, keyboard layout, and benchmark tests are discussed.
Whiteside, John, Norman Archer, Dennis Wixon and Michael Good. ACM SIGCHI (1982). Articles>Usability>Software>Word Processing
#23171
How Nationwide Tackled Accessibility - The Whole Story
A piece written by Ian Lloyd (Accessify bod) about how accessibility was worked into the project management life cycle.
Lloyd, Ian. Usability News (2003). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
#20058
How People with Disabilities Use the Web
This document provides an introduction to use of the Web by people with disabilities. It illustrates some of their requirements when using Web sites and Web-based applications, and provides supporting information for the guidelines and technical work of the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI).
W3C (2001). Design>Accessibility>Web Design
#27216
How To Add Pop-Up Lists to any Word Document, So You Can Click Your Way Through Changes in Seconds
Do you re-use some of your documents over and over again, making slight changes just before you print, fax, or email it each time? Do you, for example, send the same basic letter to each new customer, but edit the letter each time so that it refers to the specific product purchased by that customer? Starting with Word 97, there's an easy way to add a pop-up list of choices to any Word document. This new feature lets you point at a word or phrase and simply right-click the mouse to switch to some other word or phrase.
Coan, Bill. Word MVP Site, The (2005). Articles>Word Processing>Programming>Microsoft Word
#26109
How to Change All Font Sizes in a Document at Once
Many people want a facility in OOo to enlarge or reduce the size of all fonts in a document at once, preferably by clicking on an icon. Although I do not know any way to do that, I have found a workaround that provides a similar result. It takes a bit of setting up but otherwise works quickly and easily.
OpenOffice.org (2004). Articles>Word Processing>Software>OpenOffice
#27202
How to Control the Page Numbering in a Word Document
Word's page numbering scheme isn't directly obvious but it isn't needlessly complex, either. Indirect might be a good term for it. Once you understand how it works, all sorts of possibilities open up. Unfortunately, the built-in tools that simplify the insertion of page numbers also happen to make it more difficult to tell what's really going on. So, for the moment, forget everything you've learned or think you know about page numbers.
Coan, Bill. Word MVP Site, The (2005). Articles>Word Processing>Document Design>Microsoft Word
#27194
Mail merge is for simplifying repetitive documents and tasks. Mail merge can be used for creating many documents at once that contain identical formatting, layout, text, graphics, etc., and where only certain portions of each document varies. Mail merge is also used for generating mailing labels, envelopes, address lists, personalised training handouts, etc. As well as hard copy mailshots, it can be used to generate multiple emails and electronic faxes. And it can even be used to create a 'friendly' front-end to spreadsheet or database information.
Melton, Beth and Dave Rado. Word MVP Site, The (2005). Articles>Word Processing>Databases>Microsoft Word
#27219
This example will step you through the process of creating a template that contains an autonew macro which, when you create a new document from the template, will cause a Userform to be displayed, into which you can enter some information that you want to appear in the document.
Robbins, Doug. Word MVP Site, The (2005). Articles>Word Processing>Forms>Microsoft Word
#26753
How to Create Different Page Numbering Formats
Large documents often require several page number formats in the same document. In this article, we describe how to setup different page numbering formats.
Klariti (2005). Articles>Software>Word Processing>Microsoft Word
