Re: access to plug-ins

Hi Jason,

Good question.  Are you referring to WAI or Section 508?

The Section 508 guideline (m) says that anything that displays page content
must include a link to an accessible plugin.
    http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/guide/1194.22.htm#(m)

I would say you should also include links to plug-ins for every type of file
that is not natively handled by the browser, like Zip, PDF, PowerPoint, Word
files (there are free viewers for these).  Keep in mind, the viewer/plugin
has to be accessible, and many viewers are not fully accessible.

I also agree with Simon.  For most formats, even if you do include a link to
a plugin that is accessible, I would provide the same information as HTML
(or, minimally, ASCII text) to be viewed in the browser.

That does create an added step when posting new content, and you also need
to make sure all versions are updated at the same time--also see
http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/guide/1194.22.htm#(k) .

Ideally, one version could be provided for all users.  But we know, at least
for the near term, that flashy versions in PDF and, well, Flash will be
around.  As Simon said, "Use them if necessary but offer an alternative."

Joel


----- Original Message -----
From: Jason Megginson
To: w3c-wai-ig@w3.org
Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2002 11:47 AM
Subject: access to plug-ins


I am aware that a page must provide a link to a plug-in when the page
requires it.  My question though is this:
Does this rule pertain to only multimedia plug-ins or does it mean any
plug-in/application such as WinZip or any other tool that is not involved in
multimedia?

Thanks in advance for your help,
Jason

Received on Thursday, 24 January 2002 13:19:15 UTC