RE: Best tools for accessible design?

Fine by me.  I've seen a couple messages go by on this list referring to
FP2000 that didn't seem completely accurate from an overall perspective -
I'd love to clarify any questions there.

Do you have specific examples you're referring to with respect to "valid
code" or "pages that are accessible"?  The specific issues that I'm aware of
that have been discussed on this list are the issues of inserting a DOCTYPE
by default and the fact that there is no WYSIWYG interface for placing an
alt attribute on AREA tags.  I believe there's already been a response on
the DOCTYPE issue (this is relatively easy to do by simply switching to the
HTML view and pasting it in, or by changing your default template so that
all new pages will get one automatically).  I don't really have a response
on the alt attribute on AREA tags (unless you want to hear the history of
how our original WYSIWYG hotspot tools (from 1995) would automatically
handle generating the various different server-side image map files (all
different formats) before client-side imagemaps existed).  That became less
interesting/useful once the installed base of browsers supported client-side
image maps, but there continued to be some consequences to our internal
architecture.

Clearly, when picking a tool to use you need to look at the overall issues.
One point to note where FP2000 can help generate accessible content is that
the navigation bar tools allow you to automatically generate navigation bars
with appropriate alt tags and to generate text-only versions of the
navigation bars that are guaranteed to stay in sync with the graphical bars.
I'm not trying to make a sales pitch here, I just think it makes sense to
look at the overall picture in making any kind of decision like this.

Terry


-----Original Message-----
From: Kathleen Anderson [mailto:kathleen.anderson@po.state.ct.us]
Sent: Monday, October 23, 2000 9:41 AM
To: Terry Crowley; 'Kristi R Schueler/NONFS/USDAFS'; w3c-wai-ig@w3.org
Subject: Re: Best tools for accessible design?


I vote to keep this discussion on the list, as I would like to participate,
please. It's a subject near and dear to my heart.  FrontPage 2000 used in
WYSIWYG-only mode does not produce valid code or pages that are accessible.
However, there are workarounds for some issues and for the others, you need
to use the "HTML mode' to fix them. I don't know if FrontPage as a tool is
accessible, however, there is accessible documentation at:
http://www.microsoft.com/enable/products/docs/frontpage2000.htm


Kathleen Anderson, Webmaster
Office of the State Comptroller
55 Elm Street
Hartford, Connecticut   06106
voice: 860.702.3355 fax: 860.702.3634
e-mail: kathleen.anderson@po.state.ct.us
URL: http://www.osc.state.ct.us/
URL ACCESS: http://www.cmac.state.ct.us/access/



----- Original Message -----
From: Terry Crowley <tcrowley@microsoft.com>
To: 'Kristi R Schueler/NONFS/USDAFS' <kschueler@fs.fed.us>;
<w3c-wai-ig@w3.org>
Sent: Monday, October 23, 2000 12:24 PM
Subject: RE: Best tools for accessible design?


> Note that you can configure FrontPage (FP2000) to control which browsers
and
> browser technologies are enabled within the user interface.
>
> By the way, which tags are we "notorious" for?  (I *knew* we never should
> have put that Insert/Marquee command on the menus...)
>
> This continued thread is probably off-topic - feel free to reply directly.
>
> Terry Crowley
> FrontPage Development Manager
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kristi R Schueler/NONFS/USDAFS [mailto:kschueler@fs.fed.us]
> Sent: Monday, October 23, 2000 9:16 AM
> To: w3c-wai-ig@w3.org
> Subject: Best tools for accessible design?
>
>
> I am needing to make some decisions on the what software we purchase.
> Previously they have been using old versions of FrontPage, but since they
> are notorious for using proprietary tags that are not HTML 4.01 compliant,
> I have campaigned for a change in web authoring tools.  Now, I have to
tell
> them which to get.  Does anyone have any recommendations?  Thanks for any
> help you can offer!
>
> Kristi Schueler
> USFS - WOD,  FC AQM Systems
> Web Developer (contractor)
> (970)295-5801 (voice)
> (970)295-5809 (fax)
>
>

Received on Monday, 23 October 2000 14:11:48 UTC