Accessibility

OpenOffice.org has support for various Accessibility aspects: keyboard navigation, scheming, assistive technology (AT) support, and much more.

Details can be found here: http://ui.openoffice.org/accessibility/whitepaper.html

There is a mailing list which can be used for user questions and comments, as well as for developer related things.

Please subscribe to accessibility@ui.openoffice.org, or have a look into http://ui.openoffice.org/servlets/SummarizeList?listName=accessibility

The Accessibility Project pages are here: http://ui.openoffice.org/accessibility/

OpenOffice.org AT support

OpenOffice.org exposes it's information to AT via the Java Accessibility API (JAA) on Windows, and via GNOME Accessibility API (ATK) on Linux/Solaris with GNOME. This way OpenOffice.org should be accessible with AT supporting JAA or ATK.

More details about this can be found here: http://ui.openoffice.org/accessibility/at-support.html.

Windows

To use Java Accessibility, a current version of Java (v1.5 or newer) must be installed. This can be found here: http://java.sun.com/

Verify that OpenOffice.org uses the correct version: Choose menu Tools/Options/Java.

You also need the “Java Access Bridge for Windows v2”, which can be found here: http://java.sun.com/products/accessbridge/

You also have to activate AT support in OpenOffice.org: Choose menu Tools/Options/Accessibility and check “Support assistive technology tools”.

If you want to install the Access-Bridge only for one user, you can find some hints at Windows Access Bridge Single-User Install.

GNOME

Everything you need is included in current versions of GNOME.

Activate AT support globally: Preferences/Accessibility/Assistive Technology Support, check “Enable assistive technologies” More information can be found here: http://developer.gnome.org/projects/gap/

AT that works

In general, AT support is much better on GNOME than on Windows. This is no limitation within OpenOffice.org, but in Windows AT, which concentrates on other things, not on Java Accessibility.

• Windows, Screen Reader
  • ZoomText 7.11, 8.12, 9.x
  • JAWS 6.2, 7.x

• Windows, Screen Magnifier
  • ZoomText 7.11, 8.12, 9.x

• Windows, On Screen keyboard
  • Probably all, because they just send Windows messages

• GNOME, Screen Reader
  • Orca
  • Gnopernicus

• GNOME, Screen Magnifier
  • Gnopernicus
  • (Orca)

• GNOME, On Screen keyboard
  • GOK
  • Dasher