Re: Understanding WCAG 2.0: Updates in progress

In the statement of the intent of Criterion 1.3.1 is states
specifically that visual and audio formatting are preserved.  This
implies that these formatting changes can be made perceivable using
assistive technology.

“The intent of this Success Criterion is to ensure that information
and relationships that are implied by visual or auditory formatting
are preserved when the presentation format changes. For example, the
presentation format changes when the content is read by a screen
reader or when a user style sheet is substituted for the style sheet
provided by the author.”

Now it is well know that italics are very difficult for people with
low vision to read.  With CSS and HTML one can choose a clean
sans-serif font like Verdana or Tahoma for normal print.  Rather than
use italics for “emphasis” one can use a readable comic font like
Comic Sans MS.  This may not be a stylish font, but the AFB recognizes
it a readable, and it is visually different from Verdana or Tahoma.
This type of transformation should be available to every file format
that claims to be accessible.

In the sufficiency criteria, there appears to be no entry that ensures
this access.  This is critical semantic access, but the sufficiency
criteria don’t appear to protect it.

I can see how it is communicated in HTML + CSS, but it is missing in
PDF, Flash and Silverlight references.  In the criteria 1.40 we see
how to achieve this with HTML 5, but the first sentence of the PDF
example appears to exclude this as a possibility.  This contradicts
the intent of the SC 1.3.1 as stated in this document.

Wayne Dick

Received on Monday, 6 August 2012 23:34:02 UTC