ADA Compliant Powerpoint web conversions

[Steve]

I work for a university in California who is currently
under task to make all of our websites accessible
according to the Section 508 of Americans with
Disabilities Act.

I have found that a large number of our files that fail
an automated checking process, using AccVerify software
from HiSoft, are Powerpoint files that have been
converted to Web presentations. Most notably is that
these presentations use images for place holding, ie they
are not meaningful pictures that contribute to the
meaning of the presentation, yet they have no alt tag and
the use of frames without titles. Both of these issues
cause a web page to fail.

Now if I only had to deal with less than a hundred or so
of these pages I might be inclined to correct them
myself, but I'm looking at thousands of pages that need
corrections plus any new ones faculty or staff create.

Is there a way to set Powerpoint to create the html files
with the correct alt tags and frame titles? Is there any
way to repair old presentations that fail because of
these missing parameters?

TIA.

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

PowerPoint can contain content from so many different sources and in so many
different formats that I doubt you'll find any one conversion method that
works with all presentations.

On the other hand, if it's possible to limit the input, so to speak, it's
certainly possible to get more accessible HTML than PowerPoint normally
delivers.

Have a look at our PPT2HTML converter at http://www.rdpslides.com/ppt2html/
for one approach. I'd be happy to work with you to create sample templates
for it to see how it fares in your testing procedure. Email steve at-sign
pptools dot com if you'd like to chat further.

There are other ways of making PPT more accessible - I'm hoping our local
expert, Glenna Shaw, comes along soonish. I doubt anybody on the planet
knows more about this than she does.

--
Posted to news://msnews.microsoft.com
Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PowerPoint FAQ - www.pptfaq.com
PPTools - www.pptools.com
===============================

 

[TAJ Simmons]

Glenna Shaw is our expert on 508 compliance.



TAJ

 

[Glenna]

Hi Steve,

Sorry I can't offer you a batch conversion utility
(wouldn't that be sweet!)

However, I can offer you this:

Get the original presentations. It's going to make your
life a LOT easier.

Now check out Geetesh's Review on PowerTalk:
http://www.indezine.com/products/powerpoint/addin/powertalk
..html

In the notes from me, there's info that should help you,
including a download for an Office Accessibility Wizard.
This wizard automatically prompts for labeling of the
images.

If it were me, I'd send the Accessibility Wizard to the
authors of the presentations, let them run it and label
all the images and create the output files. Since you're
talking about thousands of pages here... Just be specific
on the output you want (text-only is mandatory).

You can use PowerTalk to check how well they turn out.

If you have some that you have to convert yourself and
want greater flexibility on the output, you might prefer
PPT2HTML since it gives you greater control.

If you need specific assistance, please feel free to email
me at (e-mail address removed)

HTH,

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

If you have some that you have to convert yourself and

want greater flexibility on the output, you might prefer
PPT2HTML since it gives you greater control.

And there's a batch version available. Drop files to be converted into a
"watched" folder and it automatically converts them.

 

[John Langhans [MSFT]]

[CRITICAL UPDATE - If you are using Office 2003, you should install this
update as soon as possible. From PowerPoint, choose "Help -> Check for
Updates".]

Hello Steve,

PowerPoint does not have the capability of creating Section 508 compliant
html output without resorting to 3rd party tools. Microsoft has partnered
with the HiSoftware company (experts in compliance software) to provide
solutions for verifying (AccVerify) and fixing (AccRepair) non-compliant
HTML which can be integrated directly into Office applications (AccVerify
Publisher for Microsoft Office). It sounds like you already are aware of
their verification ONLY product.

IMPORTANT: No product recommendation implied

Verify: http://www.hisoftware.com/access/newvIndex.html
Repair: http://www.hisoftware.com/access/repair.html
Office: http://www.hisoftware.com/access/valueadd11.html

Of course, if you (or anyone else reading this message) feel strongly that
Office 2003 should provide tools and options for creating Section 508
compliant HTML (without having to resort to add-ins), don't forget to send
your feedback (in YOUR OWN WORDS, please) to Microsoft at:

http://register.microsoft.com/mswish/suggestion.asp

As with all product suggestions, it's important that you not just state
your wish but also WHY it is important to you that your product suggestion
be implemented by Microsoft. Microsoft receives thousands of product
suggestions every day and we read each one but, in any given product
development cycle, there are only sufficient resources to address the ones
that are most important to our customers so take the extra time to state
your case as clearly and completely as possible.

IMPORTANT: Each submission should be a single suggestion (not a list of
suggestions).

John Langhans
Microsoft Corporation
Supportability Program Manager
Microsoft Office PowerPoint for Windows
Microsoft Office Picture Manager for Windows

For FAQ's, highlights and top issues, visit the Microsoft PowerPoint
support center at: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=ppt
Search the Microsoft Knowledge Base at:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbhowto

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
Use of any included script samples are subject to the terms specified at
http://www.microsoft.com/info/cpyright.htm

 

[Glenna]

Hi Steve,

Go to http://www.hisoftware.com/access/valueadd.html
You can then download the add-ins for Word, PowerPoint,
and Excel. You should also download the ACCRepair DS2
found at http://www.hisoftware.com/products/DeskTop.htm
You can run these add-ins in verify or verify & repair
mode. After installation, click on Tools, AccVerify HTML
Publisher. I think you'll find it pretty amazing.

These are excellent tools and I highly recommend them to
anyone who can afford them. They are the only ones out
there with products like these that meet the "letter of
the law" fully 508 compliant conversion of MS Office
Documents. I was extremely pleased that Microsoft chose
to partner with them.

The only downside of the add-ins is the learning curve for
your average person. Most folks aren't going to know what
a NOSCRIPT element is when prompted for it. Hence, my
recommendation for the Office Accessibility Wizard if you
can get the presentation authors to do the conversion for
you.

And I'm hoping that many folks will chime in on the wish
list for increased accessibility of MS Office Documents.
I hate to be the only one out there wishing...

Some things we can consider "wishing" for:

SAPI incorporated into MS Office Applications, MS Office
Viewers and Internet Explorer, so a person can click on an
icon to read aloud any MS Office Document, Presentation,
Spreadsheet and/or HTML page. Ideally it should work like
PowerTalk (http://www.meru.org.uk/speechmakers/), which
reads ALT-Text tags correctly. Reading screen tips on
mouse-overs and links when tabbed to would be important as
well.

For those interested, there's a KB Article that tells you
how to "sorta" do this in XP:
"HOW TO: Automate Excel Text to Speech in Another Office
Program"
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-
us;287120&FR=1

Another wish is an Accessibility Wizard that outputs
accessible HTML files, like the one found here:
http://cita.rehab.uiuc.edu/software/office/overview.html
Which is a nice first start, but it would be nice to have
even better output that is truer to the presentation.

So there's my soapbox and hopefully you folks will chime
in. As John said:

Of course, if you (or anyone else reading this message)
feel strongly that
Office 2003 should provide tools and options for creating
Section 508
compliant HTML (without having to resort to add-ins),
don't forget to send
your feedback (in YOUR OWN WORDS, please) to Microsoft at:

http://register.microsoft.com/mswish/suggestion.asp

As with all product suggestions, it's important that you
not just state
your wish but also WHY it is important to you that your
product suggestion
be implemented by Microsoft. Microsoft receives thousands
of product
suggestions every day and we read each one but, in any
given product
development cycle, there are only sufficient resources to
address the ones
that are most important to our customers so take the extra
time to state
your case as clearly and completely as possible.

Thanks so much,
Glenna

-----Original Message-----
[CRITICAL UPDATE - If you are using Office 2003, you should install this
update as soon as possible. From PowerPoint, choose "Help -> Check for
Updates".]

Hello Steve,

PowerPoint does not have the capability of creating Section 508 compliant
html output without resorting to 3rd party tools. Microsoft has partnered
with the HiSoftware company (experts in compliance software) to provide
solutions for verifying (AccVerify) and fixing (AccRepair) non-compliant
HTML which can be integrated directly into Office applications (AccVerify
Publisher for Microsoft Office). It sounds like you already are aware of
their verification ONLY product.

IMPORTANT: No product recommendation implied

Verify: http://www.hisoftware.com/access/newvIndex.html
Repair: http://www.hisoftware.com/access/repair.html
Office: http://www.hisoftware.com/access/valueadd11.html

Of course, if you (or anyone else reading this message) feel strongly that
Office 2003 should provide tools and options for creating Section 508
compliant HTML (without having to resort to add-ins), don't forget to send
your feedback (in YOUR OWN WORDS, please) to Microsoft at:

http://register.microsoft.com/mswish/suggestion.asp

As with all product suggestions, it's important that you not just state
your wish but also WHY it is important to you that your product suggestion
be implemented by Microsoft. Microsoft receives thousands of product
suggestions every day and we read each one but, in any given product
development cycle, there are only sufficient resources to address the ones
that are most important to our customers so take the extra time to state
your case as clearly and completely as possible.

IMPORTANT: Each submission should be a single suggestion (not a list of
suggestions).

John Langhans
Microsoft Corporation
Supportability Program Manager
Microsoft Office PowerPoint for Windows
Microsoft Office Picture Manager for Windows

For FAQ's, highlights and top issues, visit the Microsoft PowerPoint
support center at: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=ppt
Search the Microsoft Knowledge Base at:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbhowto

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
Use of any included script samples are subject to the terms specified at
http://www.microsoft.com/info/cpyright.htm

.