Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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How can I make my instruction manual accessible? (self.Blind)
submitted by AllTheCreatures
Hi all --
I'm a sighted person who works in software engineering and I'm currently building a digital instruction manual to help members of my team use a certain program. My bosses are encouraging me to use a lot of screenshots, and that's fine, but I want to make sure there's no information that's only available through a picture. Currently I have image descriptions on all of my screenshots and diagrams, but I don't have a lot of familiarity with the specifics of how screen readers work or how partially sighted people interact with text I figured I'd ask people who actually know.
Some of my questions:
If I insert a text box over an image or in another part of the document, can a screen reader detect that text?
Does a screen reader tell you how text is formatted -- for example, when there's a line break or a bulleted list? Does it matter whether an outline uses bullet points versus numbers or letters?
Are there other technologies you use to access digital material, and if so, how does it work?
For partially sighted people, what if any features might I employ to make a document more accessible to you? Are there certain fonts or colors you find easier to work with?
What would a sighted person not know with regard to your experience in this situation (or the workplace generally, or the world at large)?
I really appreciate your time and any advice you can give me. Also, please let me know if any of my language is problematic.
Thank you!
edit: How much difference in functionality is there from one screen reader to another?
I'm a sighted person who works in software engineering and I'm currently building a digital instruction manual to help members of my team use a certain program. My bosses are encouraging me to use a lot of screenshots, and that's fine, but I want to make sure there's no information that's only available through a picture. Currently I have image descriptions on all of my screenshots and diagrams, but I don't have a lot of familiarity with the specifics of how screen readers work or how partially sighted people interact with text I figured I'd ask people who actually know.
Some of my questions:
If I insert a text box over an image or in another part of the document, can a screen reader detect that text?
Does a screen reader tell you how text is formatted -- for example, when there's a line break or a bulleted list? Does it matter whether an outline uses bullet points versus numbers or letters?
Are there other technologies you use to access digital material, and if so, how does it work?
For partially sighted people, what if any features might I employ to make a document more accessible to you? Are there certain fonts or colors you find easier to work with?
What would a sighted person not know with regard to your experience in this situation (or the workplace generally, or the world at large)?
I really appreciate your time and any advice you can give me. Also, please let me know if any of my language is problematic.
Thank you!
edit: How much difference in functionality is there from one screen reader to another?
SoapyRiley 7 points 1y ago
Screen readers do tell you there’s a bulleted list. Some of the more experienced users can comment better on the best formatting. For partially sighted, swirly or decorative fonts are not great. Block letters are best. High contrast is essential. I prefer light yellow text on black backgrounds as white on black triggers my photophobia and black on white is simply hard to read as the white blinds me. Bolder fonts and larger print are nice. Use as high a resolution photo/screenshot as possible since we will likely zoom in on it and if it becomes grainy, it’s worthless. If this is going to be an electronic document and you can make any screen shots high res and have a click to enlarge option that would be ideal. We can then enlarge the picture to full screen and further magnify it with zoom options.
OldManOnFire 4 points 1y ago
Light text on a black background is essential for some of us. White backgrounds cause our eyes to ache after a few minutes so please include an option for dark mode.
SeptemberJoy 2 points 1y ago
On a similar note, for some of us dark backgrounds with light text make it difficult to read (personally my nystagmus goes hyper and the text jumps) so options are a must.
AutomaticChair9 4 points 1y ago
I highly recommend taking a look at $1 as a first step. There are guidelines there for creating accessible documents. You are correct that all images should have alt text. For complex figures, you can also add long descriptions, which is basically text explaining the figure that lives in the main document and not in the alt text box.
I would avoid text boxes, extra line breaks, and the use of formatting as a means of communicating information. Screen readers can identify bulleted (unordered) and numbered (ordered) lists if you use the built-in list tools.
There are some differences in how screen readers function (the primary ones are JAWS, NVDA, and VoiceOver). Users can also adjust settings based on preference and that impacts how a screen reader will interpret content.
Once you gain some familiarity with the basic rules for creating accessible documents you'll feel much more comfortable with the process. Alternatively, you can outsource this task if you have a large number of documents to convert. Good luck!
I would avoid text boxes, extra line breaks, and the use of formatting as a means of communicating information. Screen readers can identify bulleted (unordered) and numbered (ordered) lists if you use the built-in list tools.
There are some differences in how screen readers function (the primary ones are JAWS, NVDA, and VoiceOver). Users can also adjust settings based on preference and that impacts how a screen reader will interpret content.
Once you gain some familiarity with the basic rules for creating accessible documents you'll feel much more comfortable with the process. Alternatively, you can outsource this task if you have a large number of documents to convert. Good luck!
[deleted] 2 points 1y ago
[deleted]
bossonboat 1 points 1y ago
when you're talking about users who do not use a mouse, scrolling web pages with the keyboard, what are you talking about? For example, are you saying when users down arrow over a button that there is no alt text? When users tab down a page with the keyboard how is that different from ising a mouse? How ia if different between keyboard and mouse?
I do accessibility for my company's documents and web pages and I am mostly obsessed with alt text and descriptions though most of my descriptions are fairly verbose.
I do accessibility for my company's documents and web pages and I am mostly obsessed with alt text and descriptions though most of my descriptions are fairly verbose.
[deleted] 2 points 1y ago
[deleted]
bossonboat 1 points 1y ago
when you're talking about users who do not use a mouse, scrolling web pages with the keyboard, what are you talking about? For example, are you saying when users down arrow over a button that there is no alt text? When users tab down a page with the keyboard how is that different from ising a mouse? How ia if different between keyboard and mouse?
I do accessibility for my company's documents and web pages and I am mostly obsessed with alt text and descriptions though most of my descriptions are fairly verbose.
I do accessibility for my company's documents and web pages and I am mostly obsessed with alt text and descriptions though most of my descriptions are fairly verbose.
TechnicalPragmatist 1 points 1y ago
As a screen reader user the simpler the better. Sometimes simpler stuff works the best. And if text is not in alt text it can’t be read in images mostly. Images embeded everywhere can also be a pain. Describe the screen shot in the text or else describe it with the alt text but be pretty detailed unless the text can be read without the screen shots.
[deleted] 1 points 1y ago
[removed]
retrolental_morose 1 points 1y ago
as a screen reader user, I would be sooo happy if everyone let me read instruction manuals in HTML. The full set of markup is available to assistive tech in HTML, unlike PDF. Of course people can also then apply their own colours/fonts/stylesheets etc.
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