Office Application Accessibility Review: OpenOffice Calc 3.2 (for Mac OS) | Accessible Digital Office Document (ADOD) Project

Version
Date of Current Version: 16 February 2011
Latest Version (HTML): http://inclusivedesign.ca/accessible-office-documents/oocalc-mac-review

Contents
Usage Notes
Review Results
Screen Reader Test 1. Accessing an Existing Test Document
Screen Reader Test 2. Creating a New Document
Acknowledgments

Usage Notes

Overview

At the time of testing (February, 2011), OpenOffice Calc v.3.2 (for Mac) was found to be relatively accessible using keyboard navigation. In addition, screen reader testing appeared to show that use is possible with VoiceOver OS X 10.6, but with important limitations.

Testing Details

Screen reader testing was performed using VoiceOver OS X 10.6.
Keyboard navigation testing was performed on OS X 10.5.8.

Disclaimer

This document is provided for information purposes only and is neither a recommendation nor a guarantee of results.
If errors are found, please report them to: adod-comments@idrc.ocad.ca.

Review Results

This table summarizes the result of our reviews using the “ADOD Assessment Framework: Success criteria for assessing the accessibility of office application user interfaces”

ADOD Assessment Framework: Success criteria for assessing the accessibility of office application user interfaces	Result
[ADOD-Office-Applications-UI 7.1] Use all applicable operating system and accessibility standards and conventions that are important or essential to accessibility. The techniques for this checkpoint include references to checklists and guidelines for a number of platforms and to general guidelines for accessible applications. ADOD Note: The Checkpoint is very general, and includes: Supporting relevant accessibility API(s); Web-based tools conforming to WCAG; Keyboard access; Providing keyboard shortcuts where recommended for a platform; Respecting platform settings (such as “high contrast” modes); and Providing documentation.	Yes. Screen reader support is confirmed by testing (see below). Most features are keyboard accessible. Keys assigned to desktop system are not available to OpenOffice applications. Menu bar, tool bars, windows, and document accessible without mouse. Shortcut keys for mouse actions. Respects platform settings including “high contrast” mode.
[ADOD-Office-Applications-UI 7.2] Allow the author to change the presentation within editing views without affecting the [office document]. This allows the author to edit the document according to personal requirements, without changing the way the document is rendered when published.	Yes. “Zoom” feature and support for high contrast settings.
[ADOD-Office-Applications-UI 7.3] Allow the author to edit all properties of each element and object in an accessible fashion.	Mostly. Some inserted graphical objects (e.g., shapes) appear to require the mouse be used for editing.
[ADOD-Office-Applications-UI 7.4] Ensure that the editing view allows navigation via the structure of the document in an accessible fashion.	Yes. Via the “Navigator” feature, mouse required, no shortcut keys for the “Navigator”.
[ADOD-Office-Applications-UI 7.5] Enable editing of the structure of the document in an accessible fashion.	Yes. Via the “Navigator” feature, mouse required, no shortcut keys for the “Navigator”.
[ADOD-Office-Applications-UI 7.6] Allow the author to search within editing views.	Yes. Via the “Find and Replace” feature.

Screen Reader Test 1. Accessing an Existing Test Document

In this test, the evaluator used a screen reader to explore a pre-existing test document that had been created by a sighted colleague, following the “Authoring Techniques for Accessible Office Documents: OpenOffice Calc 3.2”. The test document included the elements in the left-hand column (i.e., heading, table of contents, etc.).

Able to Access?	VoiceOver OS X 10.6
Image with “alt” text	Yes. This was listed as an object alongside the worksheet and there was no context for the image’s position in the worksheet. It was necessary to use the VoiceOver navigation commands to move to the left of the worksheet to find the image. The alt was read as help text for the image (control + option + shift + h).
Data table	Yes. Cells with formulas were not announced as having formulas. Pressing F2 to enter edit mode on cells with formulas did reveal the formulas.
Bar chart with “alt” text	Yes. This was listed as an object alongside the worksheet and there was no context for the chart’s position in the worksheet. It was necessary to use the VoiceOver navigation commands to move to the left of the worksheet to find the chart. The alt was read as help text for the chart (control + option + shift + h).
Formatted text	No. The text was available, but the formatting was not read using the VoiceOver text attributes command (control + option + t).
Cell with a note on it	No. The text of the cell was read, but there did not appear to be a way to access the note.
Search function	Yes. VoiceOver did not report what was typed into the search combo box, but did perform the search.

Screen Reader Test 2. Creating a New Document

In this test, the evaluator used a screen reader to create a new test document which was to include the elements in the left-hand column (i.e., two levels of heading, an image, etc.).

Able to accomplish?	VoiceOver OS X 10.6
Add and then edit regular text (e.g. do a select-cut-paste)	Yes. To cut and paste an entire cell of text it is necessary to select the cell, cut, move to the new cell, and then to paste. To cut a segment of text from the currently selected cell it is necessary to press F2 to focus on the cell edit control, to select the desired text, to cut, to find the new cell, and to paste.
Insert an image	Yes. It did not appear possible to select the image to set alternative text.
Insert a 3-by-3 data table and fill it with content	Yes.
Create a chart from data table	Yes. It was possible to navigate through the Chart dialog, but many of the controls were not accessibly labeled and therefore it would be very difficult to create a proper chart. Also VoiceOver does not read any details about the created chart.
Use text formatting (bold, text colour)	Yes. It was possible to use bold, it did not appear possible to set text color. The text color control does not appear to be accessible with VoiceOver.
Save document	Yes.
Other Comments by the Screen Reader Tester:	VoiceOver would not interact with the worksheet as if it were a table. In fact, it would not really interact with the worksheet at all. Using the arrow keys it was possible to navigate the cells in the worksheet even without interacting with it using VoiceOver. This is explained in part in the VoiceOver table navigation bug at http://www.openoffice.org/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=103230 This was non-intuitive behavior for a VoiceOver user. The OpenOffice help documents are poorly accessible with VoiceOver, see the above table navigation bug for a partial explanation.

Acknowledgments

This document was produced as part of the Accessible Digital Office Document (ADOD) Project (http://inclusivedesign.ca/accessible-office-documents).
This project has been developed by the Inclusive Design Research Centre, OCAD University as part of an EnAbling Change Partnership project with the Government of Ontario and UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).

Partner logos: UNESCO-United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the Government of Ontario and the Inclusive Design Research Centre (OCAD University)

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