Dynamically Changing Style Sheers

I am currently studying for a Masters degree in Internet Systems
Development, and have chosen the area of website accessibility as the
subject for my dissertation.

As part of this, I have developed a simple ASP.NET tool that enables
users to change the appearance of a web page by clicking a link, but
would be very interested in getting a clearer understanding of some of
the difficulties that people with visual impairments experience when
using the Internet. I would like to get some feedback on what I have
produced already, both from users and experts in the area of web
accessibility, so that I may be able to determine whether or not
dynamically changing style sheets is a benefit, when it comes to web
accessibility.

Examples of this tool in use can be accessed via the following links:
http://www.adsandtaz.com/dynamiccss/csstest.aspx
http://www.adsandtaz.com/dynamiccss/paradisii.aspx

Clicking on the links in the top-right corner of the screen will alter
the appearance of the pages, without changing any of the content. It
is simply the presentation that has been affected.

In the first example, I have tried to use as basic a design as
possible; the intention is simply to demonstrate the effects of the
tool on a web page.

The second example is the home page for my company's website (albeit
one that hasn't changed for a while) which I have re-structured to
avoid using frames, as well as incorporating the tool to enable the
appearance of the page to be changed.

In both cases some of the code isn't particularly pretty and there are
certainly areas that could be improved so I would welcome any comments
on how this could be achieved. However, the focus is on the ability to
change the presentation of the page with the aim of making it more
accessible to users with visual impairments.

If you are interested in helping me in this matter, I'd be grateful if
you would get back to me as soon as possible.

If anybody has any questions or requires any further information,
please don't hesitate to contact me.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,
Adam
adam (AT) adsandtaz (DOT) com
http://www.adsandtaz.com

Gazing into my crystal ball I observed "DarthMcAdam" <adam (AT) adsandtaz (DOT) com>
writing in news:1116780942.791390.206940 (AT) o13g2000cwo (DOT) googlegroups.com:

I am currently studying for a Masters degree in Internet Systems
Development, and have chosen the area of website accessibility as the
subject for my dissertation.

As part of this, I have developed a simple ASP.NET tool that enables
users to change the appearance of a web page by clicking a link, but
would be very interested in getting a clearer understanding of some of
the difficulties that people with visual impairments experience when
using the Internet. I would like to get some feedback on what I have
produced already, both from users and experts in the area of web
accessibility, so that I may be able to determine whether or not
dynamically changing style sheets is a benefit, when it comes to web
accessibility.

Examples of this tool in use can be accessed via the following links:
http://www.adsandtaz.com/dynamiccss/csstest.aspx
http://www.adsandtaz.com/dynamiccss/paradisii.aspx

Well, with javascript disabled, there is no changing of the stylesheet.

Clicking on the links in the top-right corner of the screen will alter
the appearance of the pages, without changing any of the content. It
is simply the presentation that has been affected.

In the first example, I have tried to use as basic a design as
possible; the intention is simply to demonstrate the effects of the
tool on a web page.

The second example is the home page for my company's website (albeit
one that hasn't changed for a while) which I have re-structured to
avoid using frames, as well as incorporating the tool to enable the
appearance of the page to be changed.

In both cases some of the code isn't particularly pretty and there are
certainly areas that could be improved so I would welcome any comments
on how this could be achieved. However, the focus is on the ability to
change the presentation of the page with the aim of making it more
accessible to users with visual impairments.

If you are interested in helping me in this matter, I'd be grateful if
you would get back to me as soon as possible.

Stop relying on javascript for something this important. There are other
ways to do this without javascript. For instance, set a session variable,
or for users who will not allow session cookies, use the
request.querystring method.

If anybody has any questions or requires any further information,
please don't hesitate to contact me.

Additionally, the font size on the second URL may be too small for some
users, especially those with low vision problems.

I would suggest running your sites through aDesigner available at
<http://www.alphaworks.ibm.com/tech/adesigner/evaluation>. Run the Blind
test and the Low Vision test. You will not be pleasantly surprised.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,
Adam
adam (AT) adsandtaz (DOT) com
http://www.adsandtaz.com

--
Adrienne Boswell
http://www.cavalcade-of-coding.info
Please respond to the group so others can share

Adrienne,

Thanks for your prompt response and your comments.

It had been brought to my attention that disabling javascript does
prevent the stylesheet from being changed, so I will be looking into
using an alternative method (probably query strings) of achieving this.
I should point out however, that this is simply an inherent part of
ASP.NET in that the javascript is automatically generated to handle
postbacks to the server and is not something that I have devised
myself. Nevertheless, it still renders the functionality as useless
when javascript is disabled so clearly needs to be avoided.

Aside from that, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the
approach taken to provide a more accessible version of the original
pages. Is this effective and if so, what benefits do you believe it
offers? Alternatively, what changes (excluding the javascript and font
size) could be applied to make it so?

In a nutshell, I am keen to hear the opinions of experts like yourself
on whether or not the concept of dynamically changing style sheets
improves web accessibility.

Lastly, can you clarify which version of the page you were referring to
when you said that "the font size on the second URL may be too small
for some users"? The page has been developed to demonstrate how the
appearance has been changed to (hopefully) be more accessible; I am
simply trying to make a distinction between a page that is not readily
accessible and one that is. There could be a third link which shows
the text-only version using even larger font size, but that is not my
aim at this point. Let me know if I've not explained myself very
clearly.

I will also be testing the pages using aDesigner as you've suggested to
see what further changes can be made.

Thanks again, and I look forward to your response.

Adam

Adrienne wrote:

Gazing into my crystal ball I observed "DarthMcAdam"
adam (AT) adsandtaz (DOT) com
writing in
news:1116780942.791390.206940 (AT) o13g2000cwo (DOT) googlegroups.com:

I am currently studying for a Masters degree in Internet Systems
Development, and have chosen the area of website accessibility as
the
subject for my dissertation.

As part of this, I have developed a simple ASP.NET tool that
enables
users to change the appearance of a web page by clicking a link,
but
would be very interested in getting a clearer understanding of some
of
the difficulties that people with visual impairments experience
when
using the Internet. I would like to get some feedback on what I
have
produced already, both from users and experts in the area of web
accessibility, so that I may be able to determine whether or not
dynamically changing style sheets is a benefit, when it comes to
web
accessibility.

Examples of this tool in use can be accessed via the following
links:
http://www.adsandtaz.com/dynamiccss/csstest.aspx
http://www.adsandtaz.com/dynamiccss/paradisii.aspx

Well, with javascript disabled, there is no changing of the
stylesheet.


Clicking on the links in the top-right corner of the screen will
alter
the appearance of the pages, without changing any of the content.
It
is simply the presentation that has been affected.

In the first example, I have tried to use as basic a design as
possible; the intention is simply to demonstrate the effects of the
tool on a web page.

The second example is the home page for my company's website
(albeit
one that hasn't changed for a while) which I have re-structured to
avoid using frames, as well as incorporating the tool to enable the
appearance of the page to be changed.

In both cases some of the code isn't particularly pretty and there
are
certainly areas that could be improved so I would welcome any
comments
on how this could be achieved. However, the focus is on the
ability to
change the presentation of the page with the aim of making it more
accessible to users with visual impairments.

If you are interested in helping me in this matter, I'd be grateful
if
you would get back to me as soon as possible.

Stop relying on javascript for something this important. There are
other
ways to do this without javascript. For instance, set a session
variable,
or for users who will not allow session cookies, use the
request.querystring method.


If anybody has any questions or requires any further information,
please don't hesitate to contact me.


Additionally, the font size on the second URL may be too small for
some
users, especially those with low vision problems.

I would suggest running your sites through aDesigner available at
http://www.alphaworks.ibm.com/tech/adesigner/evaluation>. Run the
Blind
test and the Low Vision test. You will not be pleasantly surprised.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,
Adam
adam (AT) adsandtaz (DOT) com
http://www.adsandtaz.com





--
Adrienne Boswell
http://www.cavalcade-of-coding.info
Please respond to the group so others can share

Gazing into my crystal ball I observed "DarthMcAdam" <adam (AT) adsandtaz (DOT) com>
writing in news:1116838985.630719.324920 (AT) g47g2000cwa (DOT) googlegroups.com:

Adrienne,

Thanks for your prompt response and your comments.

It had been brought to my attention that disabling javascript does
prevent the stylesheet from being changed, so I will be looking into
using an alternative method (probably query strings) of achieving this.
I should point out however, that this is simply an inherent part of
ASP.NET in that the javascript is automatically generated to handle
postbacks to the server and is not something that I have devised
myself. Nevertheless, it still renders the functionality as useless
when javascript is disabled so clearly needs to be avoided.

One of the reasons I stay with ASP Classic.

Aside from that, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the
approach taken to provide a more accessible version of the original
pages. Is this effective and if so, what benefits do you believe it
offers? Alternatively, what changes (excluding the javascript and font
size) could be applied to make it so?

In a nutshell, I am keen to hear the opinions of experts like yourself
on whether or not the concept of dynamically changing style sheets
improves web accessibility.

Lastly, can you clarify which version of the page you were referring to
when you said that "the font size on the second URL may be too small
for some users"? The page has been developed to demonstrate how the
appearance has been changed to (hopefully) be more accessible; I am
simply trying to make a distinction between a page that is not readily
accessible and one that is. There could be a third link which shows
the text-only version using even larger font size, but that is not my
aim at this point. Let me know if I've not explained myself very
clearly.

The font size is in pixels, which cannot be resized by certain browsers, IE
for one. Simply change the font unit to a resizable one, like percentages.
IE also has problems with ems for font size, so percentages is the way to
go. That way, the font size can be adjusted by the user, without having to
use the text only version.

I will also be testing the pages using aDesigner as you've suggested to
see what further changes can be made.

The low vision simulation is most "eye opening".

Thanks again, and I look forward to your response.

Adam

Adrienne wrote:
Gazing into my crystal ball I observed "DarthMcAdam"
adam (AT) adsandtaz (DOT) com> writing in
news:1116780942.791390.206940 (AT) o13g2000cwo (DOT) googlegroups.com:

I am currently studying for a Masters degree in Internet Systems
Development, and have chosen the area of website accessibility as
the subject for my dissertation.

As part of this, I have developed a simple ASP.NET tool that enables
users to change the appearance of a web page by clicking a link, but
would be very interested in getting a clearer understanding of some
of the difficulties that people with visual impairments experience
when using the Internet. I would like to get some feedback on what
I have produced already, both from users and experts in the area of
web accessibility, so that I may be able to determine whether or not
dynamically changing style sheets is a benefit, when it comes to web
accessibility.

Examples of this tool in use can be accessed via the following
links: http://www.adsandtaz.com/dynamiccss/csstest.aspx
http://www.adsandtaz.com/dynamiccss/paradisii.aspx

Well, with javascript disabled, there is no changing of the
stylesheet.


Clicking on the links in the top-right corner of the screen will
alter the appearance of the pages, without changing any of the
content. It is simply the presentation that has been affected.

In the first example, I have tried to use as basic a design as
possible; the intention is simply to demonstrate the effects of the
tool on a web page.

The second example is the home page for my company's website (albeit
one that hasn't changed for a while) which I have re-structured to
avoid using frames, as well as incorporating the tool to enable the
appearance of the page to be changed.

In both cases some of the code isn't particularly pretty and there
are certainly areas that could be improved so I would welcome any
comments on how this could be achieved. However, the focus is on
the ability to change the presentation of the page with the aim of
making it more accessible to users with visual impairments.

If you are interested in helping me in this matter, I'd be grateful
if you would get back to me as soon as possible.

Stop relying on javascript for something this important. There are
other ways to do this without javascript. For instance, set a session
variable, or for users who will not allow session cookies, use the
request.querystring method.


If anybody has any questions or requires any further information,
please don't hesitate to contact me.


Additionally, the font size on the second URL may be too small for
some users, especially those with low vision problems.

I would suggest running your sites through aDesigner available at
http://www.alphaworks.ibm.com/tech/adesigner/evaluation>. Run the
Blind test and the Low Vision test. You will not be pleasantly
surprised.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,
Adam
adam (AT) adsandtaz (DOT) com http://www.adsandtaz.com





--
Adrienne Boswell
http://www.cavalcade-of-coding.info
Please respond to the group so others can share

--
Adrienne Boswell
http://www.cavalcade-of-coding.info
Please respond to the group so others can share

Darth,

I have also been researching ways to make sure Web pages are accessible
to as many people as possible and, thanks to some really great people,
I have learned quite a lot. Although I still have so much to learn, I
am happy to share what I have discovered.

People with visual impairments may be using screen reader technology.
In using this technology, they may take a look at the list of headings
to find specific information. I noticed your company's home page has no
headings. For example, on one of the pages on my experimental site, I
have quite a lot of information.
http://www.the-bifurcation-point.com...nly/about.html I have
attempted to organize the information in small chunks with a
descriptive heading for each section. Someone using a screen reader can
get the list of headings, and navigate directly to a particular
section. If the piece of information someone is searching for is near
the bottom of the page, he or she can get to it without having to
listen to all the text before it.

They may also view the list of links. This means that links are removed
from the surrounding text that describes them. For example, your
company's home page has three links with the text "More >". When viewed
in a list, "More >" gives no indication as to where the link leads or
what information a person will find when he or she gets there.

Here's a link to a really good site: http://www.juicystudio.com/ ,
which is in the process of being converted from an ASP to a PHP
platform so the tools and tutorials will be coming back online slowly
but surely.

Here are some tools that can help you in your quest:
Fangs (a text version of what a screen reader reads) for Firefox:
http://www.standards-schmandards.com...ngs-release-05
Fire Vox (an actual screen reader) for Firefox:
https://webspace.utexas.edu/chencl1/clc-4-tts/
The instructions for Fire Vox:
https://webspace.utexas.edu/chencl1/...revox_doc.html

Hope this helps,
Pam

Darth,

Firstly congratulations on doing your dissertation on such an important
subject.

Take a look at: http://www.cata.co.uk.

It does a very similar thing to what you're attempting but uses server side
technology to achieve it (PHP) rather than JavaScript. It's also a
commercial site.

The problem with changing the CSS is that it will only really benefit
partially sighted users. The largest minority with disabilities using the
web will be blind, and therefore the visual formatting of the page is
irrelevant.

The semantic structure of the page (i.e. the HTML) is much more important.

2 things you've done which you need to watch out for.

a) identify the language of the page:
lang="en" in the html tag

b) don't turn two words into one - 'textonly'.
The corollaries would be 'watch your abbr.' and 'careful of your spelnigs'.

Remember, a blind user using your site is likely to have the site
mechanically read out to them by a speech reader or aural browser. If the
word isn't in the speach reader's dictionary it will guess at a
pronunciation. Sometimes it sounds ok. Sometimes not. Eg becomes egg Nr.
becomes ner. Abbr. becomes ubr.

--
Richard Quick
http://www.chocolatemagazine.co.uk


"DarthMcAdam" <adam (AT) adsandtaz (DOT) com> wrote

I am currently studying for a Masters degree in Internet Systems
Development, and have chosen the area of website accessibility as the
subject for my dissertation.

As part of this, I have developed a simple ASP.NET tool that enables
users to change the appearance of a web page by clicking a link, but
would be very interested in getting a clearer understanding of some of
the difficulties that people with visual impairments experience when
using the Internet. I would like to get some feedback on what I have
produced already, both from users and experts in the area of web
accessibility, so that I may be able to determine whether or not
dynamically changing style sheets is a benefit, when it comes to web
accessibility.

Examples of this tool in use can be accessed via the following links:
http://www.adsandtaz.com/dynamiccss/csstest.aspx
http://www.adsandtaz.com/dynamiccss/paradisii.aspx

Clicking on the links in the top-right corner of the screen will alter
the appearance of the pages, without changing any of the content. It
is simply the presentation that has been affected.

In the first example, I have tried to use as basic a design as
possible; the intention is simply to demonstrate the effects of the
tool on a web page.

The second example is the home page for my company's website (albeit
one that hasn't changed for a while) which I have re-structured to
avoid using frames, as well as incorporating the tool to enable the
appearance of the page to be changed.

In both cases some of the code isn't particularly pretty and there are
certainly areas that could be improved so I would welcome any comments
on how this could be achieved. However, the focus is on the ability to
change the presentation of the page with the aim of making it more
accessible to users with visual impairments.

If you are interested in helping me in this matter, I'd be grateful if
you would get back to me as soon as possible.

If anybody has any questions or requires any further information,
please don't hesitate to contact me.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,
Adam
adam (AT) adsandtaz (DOT) com
http://www.adsandtaz.com

For a very good example of what you're doing take a look at:

http://www.kent.ac.uk/guidance/disabilitysupport.htm

My girlfriend has poor eyesight and found the yellow background much easier
to read. I know people with Dyslexia often find green or orange tints
easier as well.

--
Richard Quick
http://www.chocolatemagazine.co.uk


"DarthMcAdam" <adam (AT) adsandtaz (DOT) com> wrote

I am currently studying for a Masters degree in Internet Systems
Development, and have chosen the area of website accessibility as the
subject for my dissertation.

As part of this, I have developed a simple ASP.NET tool that enables
users to change the appearance of a web page by clicking a link, but
would be very interested in getting a clearer understanding of some of
the difficulties that people with visual impairments experience when
using the Internet. I would like to get some feedback on what I have
produced already, both from users and experts in the area of web
accessibility, so that I may be able to determine whether or not
dynamically changing style sheets is a benefit, when it comes to web
accessibility.

Examples of this tool in use can be accessed via the following links:
http://www.adsandtaz.com/dynamiccss/csstest.aspx
http://www.adsandtaz.com/dynamiccss/paradisii.aspx

Clicking on the links in the top-right corner of the screen will alter
the appearance of the pages, without changing any of the content. It
is simply the presentation that has been affected.

In the first example, I have tried to use as basic a design as
possible; the intention is simply to demonstrate the effects of the
tool on a web page.

The second example is the home page for my company's website (albeit
one that hasn't changed for a while) which I have re-structured to
avoid using frames, as well as incorporating the tool to enable the
appearance of the page to be changed.

In both cases some of the code isn't particularly pretty and there are
certainly areas that could be improved so I would welcome any comments
on how this could be achieved. However, the focus is on the ability to
change the presentation of the page with the aim of making it more
accessible to users with visual impairments.

If you are interested in helping me in this matter, I'd be grateful if
you would get back to me as soon as possible.

If anybody has any questions or requires any further information,
please don't hesitate to contact me.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,
Adam
adam (AT) adsandtaz (DOT) com
http://www.adsandtaz.com

Pam,

Thanks for your comments. I've had to adjust my line of thinking as
far as my dissertation is concerned, since I'm finding it difficult to
scientifically prove that dynamically changing style sheets does
benefit accessibility. However, the tools that have been suggested by
both you and Adrienne will be extremely helpful in my research. If
you've anything else to add, I'd be very interested to hear it.

Adam (a.k.a. Darth)

Richard,

Thank you for your recommendations; I will look to incorporate these
into the final version of my artefact. As per my reply to Pam, I need
to take a slightly different approach for my dissertation, as it seems
that the crux of this matter is actually in how the original HTML is
coded, as you've rightly pointed out, and not the aspect of being able
to dynamically change the style sheet associated with the page.

I had hoped that the text only version would be more easily accessible
to screen readers (probably as a result of not knowing enough about how
they worked), but this has not proved to be the case. It has therefore
become apparent that the benefit is more applicable to partially
sighted users, as you've suggested.

Having looked at the source code for the default and text-only versions
of your site, am I right in thinking that you've actually delivered two
different pages? Although I was trying to utilise the same HTML code
in all instances, it's clear that this is not suitable unless it is
coded in such a way that it will be perfectly accessible where no style
sheets are associated with the page.

I look forward to your response.

Adam

Dear Pam, Darth and others

I've Been following your posts learning and tested your page Darth,
maybe try testing for three major forms of colour blindness

http://www.hereticpress.com/Dogstar/...ml#ColourBlind

Extra control variables, serif and sans-serif fonts. Changing text font
colours with each stylesheet. eg H1 Hypothesis: That red colourblind
users will find the text easier to read on the yellow blue stylesheet. I
am working on this as well as voice stylesheets(not much progress my
site a mess on voice stylesheet will get to it when) if they were ever
supported.

Just a newbie learning from you all, thanks I will make another post and
keep trying to improve my pages add infinitum.

Thanks for your group. Any feedback on my webpages would be appreciated
or how I can improve accessibility.

Tim
http://www.hereticpress.com/

DarthMcAdam wrote:

Pam,

Thanks for your comments. I've had to adjust my line of thinking as
far as my dissertation is concerned, since I'm finding it difficult to
scientifically prove that dynamically changing style sheets does
benefit accessibility. However, the tools that have been suggested by
both you and Adrienne will be extremely helpful in my research. If
you've anything else to add, I'd be very interested to hear it.

Adam (a.k.a. Darth)