Administrator Guide to Accessibility Google, Inc. 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043 www.google.
Version 1 September 2012 © Copyright 2012 Google, Inc. All rights reserved. Google, the Google logo, Google Apps, Google Apps Mail, Google Docs, Google Calendar, Google Sites, Google Video, Google Talk, Gmail, Google Message Filtering, Google Message Security, Google Message Discovery, Postini, the Postini logo are trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks of Google Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Contents Introduction .........................................................................................................................4 Who is this guide for? 4 What does this guide cover? 4 How to use this guide 4 Download this guide 5 Support 5 Provide feedback 5 Disclaimer for third-party product configurations 6 Our Approach to Accessibility ............................................................................................7 Google Apps Services & Accessibility........................
Introduction Who is this guide for? This guide provides information for technical administrators, CIOs, compliance officers, and accessibility specialists for prospective and current Google Apps for Business, Education, and Government customers. Also, accessibility training personnel may find the User resources sections useful in developing and delivering training to end users. What does this guide cover? This guide is designed to • Give readers a summary of accessibility information for Google Apps.
Introduction • Areas for development: Parts of the product that are not yet optimized for accessibility • VPAT documentation: A Voluntary Product Accessibility Template that describes how the product conforms to U.S. Section 508 requirements Depending on which products you’re planning to implement for your organization, you may want to read through the entire guide or skip directly to the sections for specific products. Note: Google Apps can help you meet U.S.
Introduction Disclaimer for third-party product configurations Parts of this guide describes how Google products work with third-party screen readers (including but not limited to JAWS and VoiceOver) and third-party browsers (including but not limited to Internet Explorer and Firefox) and the configurations that Google recommends. Google does not provide technical support for configuring third-party products. GOOGLE ACCEPTS NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIRD-PARTY PRODUCTS.
Our Approach to Accessibility Google’s mission is to make the world’s information more accessible for all users, including people with disabilities, such as blindness, visual impairment, color deficiency, deafness, and hearing loss.
Google Apps Services & Accessibility Recommended browsers and screen readers People using assistive technology to interact with Google Apps will have the best experience using Google Chrome with the ChromeVox screen reader extension. Most applications also support the following combinations of screen readers and browsers: Operating System Screen reader Browser Microsoft Windows JAWS Firefox 3.
Google Apps Services & Accessibility Gmail POP and IMAP access This feature is enabled by default in your control panel. It allows your users to continue accessing their email in their familiar email client. For instructions on how to enable/disable access, go to http://support.google.com/a/bin/ answer.py?answer=105694. For a full list of supported email clients, go to http:// support.google.com/mail/bin/answer.py?answer=75726. Themes This feature is enabled by default in your control panel.
Google Apps Services & Accessibility Gmail Gmail supports the use of screen readers and offers additional features for blind and lowvision users, including the ability to use existing email clients.
Google Apps Services & Accessibility Alternative ways to interact with Gmail and Contacts Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook This is a Microsoft Outlook plug-in that lets you use Microsoft Outlook as a client for Google Apps email, calendar, and contacts. Email, calendar events (including recurring meetings), and contacts are all synchronized between Google Apps and Microsoft Outlook. • Help and information for administrators: http://support.google.com/a/bin/ answer.
Google Apps Services & Accessibility Google Calendar Google Calendar has been enhanced to enable blind and low-vision users to view and edit the contents of their Google Calendar on the web with their existing screen reader. Users who prefer a desktop client can sync with an existing desktop program such as Microsoft Outlook.
Google Apps Services & Accessibility Areas for development • Views: Day, Week, Month, and Custom multi-day views have not been made accessible yet. In the meantime, Agenda view can be used, which has been optimized for accessibility. • Audible feedback: Audible feedback is not yet available for every action, such as deleting an event or removing a guest. • Navigation: General navigation requires additional tabbing or screen reader-enabled navigation.
Google Apps Services & Accessibility Google Docs: Documents Blind and low-vision users can use Google Documents to edit, view, and collaborate in the cloud with a screen reader.
Google Apps Services & Accessibility Google Docs: Spreadsheets Blind and low-vision users can use Google Spreadsheets to edit, view, and collaborate on spreadsheets in the cloud with a screen reader.
Google Apps Services & Accessibility Google Docs: Presentations Google Presentations was recently optimized for screen readers. It also supports the use of screen magnifiers and many tasks are accessible with keyboard shortcuts. Features and options • Supports the use of screen readers and screen magnifiers • Supports the use of keyboard shortcuts User resources • Screen reader instructions for Google Presentations: https://support.google.com/ docs/bin/answer.
Google Apps Services & Accessibility Google Sites Google Sites is mostly accessible for blind and low-vision users. In terms of screen readers, ChromeVox or JAWS can be used. Users can also navigate Google Sites by utilizing keyboard shortcuts. Features and options • Supports the use of screen readers • Many tasks are keyboard accessible User resources • Screen Reader instructions for Google Sites: http://support.google.com/sites/bin/ answer.
Google Apps Services & Accessibility Google Groups The new Google Groups user interface is in the final stages of development and will roll out to Google Apps for Business and Education users in 2012. The new Google Groups contains two primary features that are useful for assistive technology users. The first is a set of keyboard shortcuts that improves the ergonomics of common workflows, and the second is the presence of ARIA hints on most of the important screen elements.
Google Apps Services & Accessibility Google Chat Currently, the native chat client built directly into Gmail is not accessible by screen readers. Windows users can install the Google Talk client on their desktop. We recommend the Miranda client for Windows 7 JAWS users. Features and options • Some keyboard shortcuts • Best practices for screen reader support: • ChromeVox is best used with Chrome Browser • JAWS is best used with Firefox on Windows 7 with the Miranda client.
Google Apps Services & Accessibility Google Chrome browser The Chrome browser supports assistive technology, including some screen readers and magnifiers. It offers people with low vision a number of tools, including full-page zoom and high-contrast color. In addition, Chrome Extensions are extra features and functionality that you can easily add to your Chrome browser to customize it with functionality you need.
Google Apps Services & Accessibility Additional resources • Google Accessibility website: http://www.google.com/accessibility/ • Article in Apps Admin Help Center: http://support.google.com/a/bin/ answer.py?answer=1631886 • Using accessibility features in Google products: http://www.google.
