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Chapter 17: Creating accessible content
You can create content that is accessible to all users, including those with disabilities, using the accessibility features
that Adobe® Flash® CS3 Professional provides in the authoring environment user interface, taking advantage of
ActionScript™ designed to implement accessibility. As you design accessible Flash applications, consider how users
might interact with the content and follow recommended design and development practices.
For a tutorial about accessible content, see Create Accessible Flash Content on the Flash Tutorials page at
www.adobe.com/go/learn_fl_tutorials
.
For a sample of accessible Flash content, see the Flash Samples page at
www.adobe.com/go/learn_fl_samples
.
Download and decompress the Samples zip file and navigate to the Accessibility\AccessibleApplications folder to
access the sample.
About accessible content
Worldwide accessibility standards
Many countries have adopted accessibility standards based on the standards developed by the World Wide Web
Consortium (W3C). The W3C publishes the
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
, a document that prioritizes
actions designers should take to make web content accessible. For information about the Web Accessibility Initiative,
see the W3C website at w3.org.
In the United States, the law that governs accessibility is commonly known as Section 508, which is an amendment
to the U.S. Rehabilitation Act.
For additional information about Section 508, see the following websites:
•
The US government-sponsored website at section508.gov
•
The Adobe accessibility site at
www.adobe.com/accessibility/
Adobe Flash Accessibility web page
For the latest information on creating and viewing accessible Flash content, including supported platforms, screen
reader compatibility, articles, and accessible examples, see the Flash Accessibility web page at
www.adobe.com/go/flash_accessibility/
.
Understanding screen reader technology
Screen readers are software applications that visually impaired users can use to navigate a website and read the web
content aloud. To enable a screen reader to read nontextual objects in your application, such as vector art and anima-
tions, use the Accessibility panel to associate a name and description with the object. The keyboard shortcuts you
define can allow users to use the screen reader to navigate through your document with ease.
To expose graphic objects, use the Accessibility panel or ActionScript to provide a description.
