Macromedia Flash Accessibility Web Page; Understanding Screen Reader Technology - MACROMEDIA FLASH MX 2004-USING FLASH Use Manual

For additional information about Section 508, see the following websites:
•
The US government-sponsored website at
•
The Macromedia accessibility site at

Macromedia Flash Accessibility web page

For the latest information on creating and viewing accessible Flash content, including supported
platforms, screen reader compatibility, articles, and accessible examples, consult the Macromedia
Flash Accessibility web page at www.macromedia.com/software/Flash/productinfo/accessibility/.

Understanding screen reader technology

Screen readers are software designed to navigate through a website and read the web content
aloud. Visually impaired users often rely on this technology. You can create Flash content
designed for use with screen readers on only Windows platforms . Viewers of your Flash content
must have Flash Player 6 or later and Internet Explorer on Windows 98 or later.
JAWS, from Freedom Scientific, is one example of screen reader software. You can access the
JAWS page of the Freedom Scientific website at www.hj.com/fs_products/software_jaws.asp.
Another commonly used screen reader program is Window-Eyes, from GW Micro. To access the
latest information on Window-Eyes, visit the GW Micro website at www.gwmicro.com. To
enable a screen reader to read nontextual objects in your application, such as vector art and
animations, you can use the Accessibility panel to associate a name and description with the
object, which the screen reader reads aloud.
Screen readers help users understand what is contained in a web page or Flash document. Based
on the keyboard shortcuts you define, you can allow users to navigate through your document
using the screen reader with ease. See
To expose graphic objects, you can provide a description using the Accessibility panel or
ActionScript. See
Because different screen reader applications use varying methods to translate information into
speech, the presentation of your content will vary according to each user. As you design accessible
applications, remember that you have no control over how any screen reader will behave. You
have control over only the content, which you can mark up in your Flash applications to expose
the text and ensure screen reader users can activate the controls. This means that you can decide
which objects in the Flash application are exposed to screen readers, provide descriptions for
them, and decide the order in which they are exposed to screen readers. However, you cannot
force screen readers to read specific text at specific times or control the manner in which that
content is read. It is very important, therefore, to test your applications with a variety of screen
readers to ensure that they perform as you expect. See
Flash and Microsoft Active Accessibility (Windows only)
Flash Player is optimized for Microsoft Active Accessibility (MSAA) which provides a highly
descriptive and standardized way for applications and screen readers to communicate. MSAA is
available for Windows operating systems only. For more information on Microsoft Accessibility
Technology, visit the Microsoft Accessibility website at www.microsoft.com/enable/default.aspx.
www.macromedia.com/macromedia/accessibility/
"Creating a keyboard shortcut" on page
"Using Flash to enter accessibility information for screen readers" on page
www.section508.gov
"Testing accessible content" on page

Understanding screen reader technology

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