Authorware 7 Accessibility Introduction
Macromedia Authorware 7 is the leading rich-media authoring tool for creating web and online learning. Authorware integrates graphics, sound, animation, text, and video into compelling rich-media learning solutions.
The Authorware interface provides a fast and easy environment for creating interactive applications. Drag-and-drop icons support rapid application prototyping and development without the need for extensive scripting. The flowline provides an intuitive representation of the structure of large, highly branched learning applications.
Scripting in Authorware is now possible in JavaScript as well as Authorware Script Language. The Calculation editor lets you specify either language for entering and running scripts.
A major addition to Authorware 7 is XML import and export capability. Not only can you import XML files into Authorware but you can export an entire Authorware piece as XML. For example, you can import a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation as XML into Authorware, and use the PowerPoint slides as the foundation for building an Authorware application.
Authorware now supports DVD and Mac OS X playback as well as ADL SCORM API Adapter Objects. Additionally, the new Learning Object Packager creates SCORM-compliant learning objects from Authorware files.
Authorware 7 Accessibility Features
With Authorware 6.5 Macromedia released the Authorware Application Accessibility Kit to help developers make their products accessible to all users, including people with disabilities. This Kit has been updated and improved for Authorware 7.
Authorware is used primarily to create learning courses and information products. If completing a course is the only thing that stands in the way of people undertaking a job, even if they are disabled, then it is incumbent upon us as developers to make the course accessible. Making your product accessible will also help able-bodied users who encounter environmental distractions such as office noise, mice that don’t work or missing sound cards or speakers.
For a more detailed discussion on using the Authorware 7 accessibility features, see the Accessibility Kit Tutorial provided in Authorware 7.
Authorware Application Accessibility Kit
The Authorware Application Accessibility Kit can make your learning applications accessible to all end users. Use the Accessibility Kit to tap into Knowledge Objects, Commands, models, and techniques to make text audible; run movies with captions; create accessible user interfaces, menus, and quizzes; and edit hot keys to find buttons, hot spots, and hot object responses that do not have keystrokes attached. The Accessibility Kit includes scripting to automatically detect the text-to-speech facilities already installed in the end-user's computer, including JAWS and WindowEyes.
Accessibility Framework Model
The Accessibility Framework model is intended to be used as a template and then adapted to suit the developer’s needs. For example a developer can design her own user interface of buttons and graphics while retaining the logic and icon flow structures provided in the Accessibility Framework Model.
Screen Accessibility Knowledge Object
The Screen Accessibility Knowledge Object has been created to extract and organize text for your speech facility. You will find it in the Accessibility category of the Knowledge Object panel.
For it to work, your application must use the Accessible Framework Model. Just drop it into the top of each framework page of your application. When run, your application will speak the screen contents from top to bottom without interruption when the screen is displayed or refreshed.
If the text items come from separate icons on your page, then the user can activate the Speech Focus keys or roll the mouse over each item to hear the text spoken again.
Keyboard Commands
The Authorware logic that handles the speech actions is located under the interaction entitled Keyboard Commands in the Accessible Framework. A summary of the keystroke assignments used by this kit is stored in the Accessibility Kit Keyboard.RTF in the Accessibility Kit folder.
Edit HotKeys Command
The Edit HotKeys Command has been provided as part of this Kit to help you ensure you have keyboard equivalences for all responses. This non-modal Command even allows you to edit the keys directly. You can find the Edit HotKeys Command in the Commands menu under Accessibility.
New cross-platform Speech Xtra
Authorware 7 uses native text-to-speech capabilities with the operating system to make content available to people with visual impairments. These capabilities allow developers to create accessible self-voicing content without relying on the availability of screen readers or other assistive technologies.
These features allow developers to build applications to support people with disabilities in environments where users may not have access to screen reader software—such as a museum kiosk, library workstation, or school computer lab. With added support for OS X, Authorware 7 allows you to build accessible applications for Apple Macintosh as well as PCs. Creating self-voicing applications that rely on system-level voices rather than screen readers is important for MacIntosh applications because at the present time screen reader technology is not available to MacIntosh users.
Speech options dialog
With Authorware 7 comes the new Speech Xtra to connect your application to the end users installed speech facilities. This is a cross-platform scripting xtra that includes a range of functions for invoking speech and accessing speech properties such as speaking voice.
If your application is built with the Accessible Framework Model, then One-Button-Publishing will automatically include the Xtra file with your delivery package. The Accessibility Framework Model includes a dialog for end-users to manipulate the speech options.
Simplified text-to-speech detection logic
There are two approaches to dispatching the text to speech facility.
The first way is to maintain a single copy of the text and icon descriptions to be spoken in the source icons and have them extracted and spoken immediately at run-time. The disadvantage of this approach is that the text gets spoken “as-is”. Also, either:
- Each screen requires scripting to scan all its icons for text and descriptions, slowing up runtime performance, or
- Individual icons require scripting to add their text and descriptions to the “speak” list, making authoring tedious.
The second way is to have a Knowledge Object scan the screen and extract the authored text and descriptions at design time into a list that may be edited. This is the recommended approach.
