Using Word as a basis for an ATAG-compliant tool

Hi folks.

Here is an appraoch to extending Word, to make it an ATAG-conformant tool. (I
don't know how far it conforms yet - anyone intersted in testing it?)

forwarded message:
> >From: Eoin Campbell <ecampbell@xmlw.ie>
> >Delivered-To: mailing list xml-doc@yahoogroups.com

> >Pardon the plug, but our product YAWC Pro,
> >mentioned previously on this list, and now available
> >for sale (http://www.yawcpro.com/), uses XML to
> >generate WAI Level 1 compliant HTML pages directly from MS-Word.
> >
> >It started life as a Word to XML converter, but we added
> >an automatic post-processing XSLT step to convert the generated
> >XML into HTML immediately. The HTML is compliant with the
> >Strict HTML 4.01 DTD, WAI Level 1 (and bits of Level 2),
> >and also allows users to insert Dublin Core Metadata
> >in a Word dialog box, which is then retained in the HTML output.
> >Note that improved searchability is also a major benefit for
> >people with impairments.
> >
> >One Irish government department now uses YAWC to maintain all
> >the pages on their site (www.entemp.ie). Quite apart from the
> >accessibility improvements, being able to maintain a web page
> >in MS-Word is a huge time-saver.
> >The surrounding navigational aids on each page are automatically
> >added to the HTML using the "Style-free Stylesheets" XSLT technique
> >mentioned on XML.com a while back.
> >
> >Another point worth noting is that accessibility is not just about
> >readability, but also about writability. I'm not sure if there are
> >any XML (or even HTML) editing tools which pay attention to the needs
> >of people with various disabilities. MS-Word does, so YAWC makes it
> >easier for them to create XML/HTML too.

Received on Tuesday, 22 January 2002 07:39:24 UTC