Office Application Accessibility Review: MS Word 2003 | Accessible Digital Office Document (ADOD) Project

Version
Date of Current Version: 16 February 2011
Latest Version (HTML): http://inclusivedesign.ca/accessible-office-documents/word2003-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), Word 2003 was found to be relatively accessible using keyboard navigation. In addition, screen reader testing appeared to show that use is possible with JAWS 11 and NVDA 2010.2 with some limitations.

Testing Details

Screen reader testing was performed using two popular screen readers for Windows 7, JAWS 11 and NVDA 2010.2.
Keyboard navigation testing was performed on Windows 7.

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. Menus, toolbars, task panes, and dialog boxes are accessible via keyboard. Respects platform settings including Windows “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 Windows platform 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 “Outline Level” feature in the “Outline” view.
[ADOD-Office-Applications-UI 7.5] Enable editing of the structure of the document in an accessible fashion.	Yes. Via the “Outline Level” feature in the “Outline” view.
[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: Microsoft Word 2007”. The test document included the elements in the left-hand column (i.e., heading, table of contents, etc.).

Able to Access?	JAWS 11	NVDA 2010.2
Headings	Yes.	No.
Table of contents	Yes.	Yes. Links were not identified as such.
Image with “alt” text	Yes.	No.
Table	Yes.	Yes.
Formatted text	Yes. The formatting of the text was not automatically spoken. Using the command (JAWS key + f) provided a summary of the formatting of the text at the PC cursor.	Yes. The formatting of the text was not automatically spoken. Using the command (NVDA key + f) provided a summary of the formatting of the text at the PC cursor. Color was not identified.
Change tracking	Yes. The note was automatically announced when reading by line, it was necessary to read by word up to the note to have its contents spoken. Change tracking was only announced when Track Changes was enabled in Word. In this mode, it was very difficult to identify which parts of the sentence were added or deleted.	No.
Numbered pages	Yes. This was available only when viewing the header / footer for the page.	Yes. This was available only when viewing the header / footer for the page.
Search function	Yes.	Yes.

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?	JAWS 11	NVDA 2010.2
Create a new document	Yes.	Yes.
Create two levels of headings	Yes. By selecting the text and using the keyboard command (alt + control + <n>) where <n> is the heading level.	Yes. By selecting the text and using the keyboard command (alt + control + <n>) where <n> is the heading level. Confirmed with JAWS 11.
Add and then edit paragraph text (e.g. do a select-cut-paste)	Yes.	Yes.
Insert an image	Yes. Using Insert > Picture > From file… It did not appear possible to select the image in order to access the Format Picture dialog to add alternative text.	Yes. Using Insert > Picture > From file… It did not appear possible to add alternative text, since NVDA cannot find the image. It was necessary to use JAWS 11 to confirm that the image had been added to the document.
Insert a 3-by-3 table and fill it with content	Yes.	Yes. On the Table menu the Insert sub menu was spoken as Insert Macro, which was slightly disorienting.
Create a bullet list	Yes. Although JAWS reads the bullets it does not announce this as a list or identify the number of items in the list (as would happen with a properly marked up list on a web page).	Yes. Although a list could be created NVDA did not recognize the list or the bullets. It was necessary to use JAWS 11 to confirm that the list had been created.
Use text formatting (bold, text colour)	Yes.	Yes. It was necessary to use JAWS to confirm that the colour change had been applied to the text.
Add page numbering	Yes.	Yes.
Insert a table of contents	Yes.	Yes. It was necessary to use JAWS 11 to confirm that the table of contents was properly linked to the page content.
Save document	Yes.	Yes.
Other Comments by the Screen Reader Tester:	The clipart search dialog was not accessible by JAWS using the PC cursor, but was visible when exploring the window with the JAWS cursor (mouse cursor).

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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