Resources for Designing Accessible Applications
Use the following links to find information about technologies that support accessible design as well as tips and examples for developing accessible Windows applications and Web sites. General information on accessibility can be found online at https://www.microsoft.com/enable/.
Technologies
Microsoft Active Accessibility A COM-based technology that improves the way accessibility aids work with applications running on Microsoft Windows®. It provides dynamic-link libraries that are incorporated into the operating system as well as a COM interface and application programming elements that provide reliable methods for exposing information about user interface elements. For more information, see https://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/msaa/msaastart_9w2t.asp.
Microsoft .NET Speech Technologies The Microsoft® .NET Speech SDK is a set of Microsoft® ASP.NET controls, a Microsoft® Internet Explorer Speech add-in, sample applications and documentation that allows Web developers to create, debug and deploy speech-enabled ASP.NET applications. The tools are integrated seamlessly into Microsoft® Visual Studio®, allowing developers to leverage the familiar development environment. For more information, see https://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/sasdk_getstarted/html/SDK_Welcome.asp.
Understanding SAMI 1.0 Microsoft Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange (SAMI) technology provides a way for developers to caption audio content for PC multimedia. For more information, see https://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/dnacc/html/atg_samiarticle.asp.
Windows Applications
Walkthrough: Creating an Accessible Windows-based Application This topic provides step-by-step instructions for including the five accessibility requirements for the Certified for Windows logo in a sample Windows application.
Guidelines for Keyboard User Interface Design This technical article describes how design a Windows application user interface that users can navigate from the keyboard. For more information, see https://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms971323.aspx.
Console Accessibility This technical article describes the APIs and events used to expose the console in Windows XP for accessibility aids. For more information, see https://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms971319.aspx.
Web Sites
Walkthrough: Creating an Accessible Web Application This topic provides step-by-step instructions for including accessible controls in a sample Web page as well as some accessibility design tips for the Web.
Making Web Pages More Accessible This technical article lists HTML 3.2 elements that are accessible as well as elements that can be made accessible for use in Web site development. For more information, see https://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms971309.aspx.
Creating Accessible Web Pages with DHTML This technical article lists HTML 4.0 elements that are accessible as well as accessible Web design tips. For more information, see https://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms528445.aspx.
Text Alternatives to Inaccessible Web Pages This technical article describes how to use XML and XSLT to provide multiple views of the same Web page, such as text only versions. For more information, see https://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa468593.aspx.
Third-party Resources
- Web Accessibility Initiative of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) This Web site provides guidelines and techniques for accessible Web site development. For more information, see http://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/.