There is a lot to be said for built-in screen access, such as is provided on iOS, Android, Chrome OS, and Mac OS X. Even Windows has its built-in (albeit limited) offering, Narrator. On the other hand, there is also a lot to be said for third-party solutions, such as JAWS, Window-Eyes, and NVDA. The built-in solutions don't always play well with new software that relies on non-standard ways of doing things. They catch up when they can, but third-party screen readers remain in a constant race to see which one can be out of the gate first with new solutions to new problems.
Historically, one-on-one technical support has also been the province of the third-party access companies, though this has changed dramatically during the past several years as both Apple and Microsoft have begun offering telephone and email support for their accessibility products. (Google remains conspicuous by their absence: they still rely on crowd-sourced accessibility support.)
As any user of a screen reader can tell you, there is a difference between learning the functions of a screen reader's various commands and actually using them to compose documents, surf the web, and generally get work done. The major screen reader companies go to great lengths to provide resources to help their users, including this repository of free webinars from Freedom Scientific, and this roster of Window-Eyes webinars from Ai Squared.
For the built-in access solutions, the blindness community has needed to step up and crowd source their own resources, which include dozens of excellent podcasts, mailing lists, and websites devoted to helping one another with screen access needs. There are also a number of books that take deep dives into getting things done using accessibility. We've reviewed a number of these titles here at AccessWorld. One of my personal favorites is iOS Access for All by Shelly Brisbin (full disclosure: Ms. Brisbin has subsequently joined the AccessWorld writing team).
The latest addition to my personal access bookshelf is My Mac Pages: A VoiceOver Guide to Word Processing, by the husband and wife team of Anne and Archie Robertson. The couple has taught many classes on running Pages with VoiceOver, and Ann is a frequent and well-respected contributor to the MacVisionaries Google Groups list.
Formats and Contents
The downloadable .zip file contains three copies of the book: an ePub version, a Pages accessible file, and a PDF file. I opened the book on my iPhone using Voice Dream Reader. I like the way it handles searches. I also wanted to follow along as I read using my own copy of Pages.
My Mac Pages teaches the Mac version of Pages, available for free from the Mac App Store. The book does not cover the iOS version, which is a shame. I think a few tips and tricks would have made an excellent concluding chapter.
Another thing you will not find here is a VoiceOver tutorial. This book assumes that the reader has a fairly comprehensive working knowledge of how to use the Mac screen reader. There is little hand-holding when it comes to navigating text or issuing commands. A few examples: The authors instruct the user in any number of situations to "bring the mouse." Only once do they mention that this means synching the mouse cursor to the VO cursor, and that the key command to do so is VO + Command + F5. In another place the authors advise the reader to create Hotspots to help navigate quickly to certain screen controls, but a text review describing what a Hotspot is and how to create one is not provided. There is, however, a handy appendix listing the VoiceOver commands the user will need to work effectively with Pages.
I find this style of assuming the reader knows VoiceOver both respectful and quite refreshing. Most beginning VoiceOver users will likely as not confine their document creation and editing to the Mac Text Edit app, which is a fairly powerful word processor in its own right. Text Edit is a great arena to learn about VoiceOver; Pages is not. Indeed, most VoiceOver tutorials use Text Edit, Safari, and Mail to demonstrate the various VO features and commands. From laying out a company newsletter to composing a research paper with citations, users of Pages with VoiceOver usually have a specific set of tasks they need to accomplish. Many of these tasks can include some fairly complex document creation and layout options, including color selection, image placement, table creation and editing, and custom page and font layouts. Happily, with My Mac Pages in hand, you will be prepared to do all of these and more.
It would have been useful for the authors to publish the book's table of contents on the book's sales page, instead of providing just a summary of the topics covered. A sample chapter would also have been nice to find.
Needless to say, this is not the place to publish a complete table of contents, but here is my own sampling of chapter titles not otherwise discussed in this review:
- Making Placeholder Text
- Inserting a Signature
- Tables
- Charts
- Managing Footnotes
- Tracking Changes
- Audio Clips
- Movie Clips
- Password Protection
- Creating an ePub Document
The book concludes with five comprehensive appendices:
- Styles Preset Pickers
- Style Formatter Elements
- Chart Types
- Character Palette
- Essential VoiceOver Commands
Much of the information in these appendices is covered in the main text, but it is useful to have it all gathered here for quick reference when you need to know what a feathered brush line looks like, or which frame might look most attractive around an embedded image.
The book is divided into bite-size chapters, each focusing on a specific task or Pages feature. The first eight chapters focus on basic setup and document creation, taking the reader all the way from the Welcome screen to spell checking, saving, and printing a document. Along the way the authors describe how to accomplish these various tasks using VoiceOver. They offer any number of VoiceOver tips and tricks. For example, in the Preferences menu, they suggest the user increase the default zoom level from 125 to 200 to enable the VO command to announce the position of the insertion point more accurately. Later, while discussing the "Shadow Toggle" button, they note: "Although this claims to be a button, it is actually a sort of checkbox but you can only learn its state by bringing the mouse and pressing VO-F5 to speak the item under the mouse. When it's checked, a shadow is displayed above the text giving the appearance of solid letters, casting a shadow above and behind them." This is great stuff, and not just because of the VoiceOver tips.
Advanced Functions
As individuals with visual impairments, many of us are reluctant to delve into fancy effects such as font shadowing, line drawing, shape insertion, and image placement. But what if your job or grade depended on your being able to perform these tasks?
In My Mac Pages not only do the authors offer extensive, step-by-step instructions on how to accomplish these sight-intensive tasks without sight, they also point out problematic areas, offer workarounds when possible, and most importantly, they describe in detail what the results will look like in the document. This is one of the great strengths of a close collaboration between a sighted author and a blind author.
For example, the authors write: "Let's say you want an arrow pointing left with the word 'Home' in it, to point to a picture of your new house." This is a complex undertaking, involving image and text box creation and pinpoint placement, shape editing, and color selection. It can all be done accessibly, and step by step, the authors show you how. I do wish they made more use of bulleted lists, however, to make instructions just a bit easier to follow.
Nearly all of the elements available in Pages each have a dedicated "formatter" which does just that—formats the look and arrangement of everything from an individual chart to an entire style sheet. Each is discussed in detail in the book's final 15 chapters. Again, the authors do an outstanding job of combining features with physical descriptions. For example, from the Style Formatter chapter under "shadows:"
Reflection Applies to Image, Text Box, Shape, Line and Movie. When this checkbox is checked, a translucent inverted image appears below the object, fading into the background color with increasing distance. The visual effect is that of an image reflected in a pool of water. The higher the value set in the slider, the more visible the reflection, and any text below the object covers the reflection.
Final Thoughts
My Mac Pages is not a tutorial, it is a combination users' guide and reference book. Do not plan to work your way through this book in a single session, or even two or three. I learned new tricks to improve the look and layout of my documents from the very first chapter. I will definitely keep this book close to hand whenever I work in Pages.
To sum it up in a single sentence: If you work or plan to work with Pages with VoiceOver, you should definitely purchase this book.
Product Information
My Mac Pages: A VoiceOver Guide to Word Processing, by Anne and Archie Robertson
Cost: $35
Available from: Mosen Consulting
Related articles:
- iOS Access for All: Your Comprehensive Guide to Accessibility for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch, by Shelly Brisbin by Bill Holton
- Stream It! Music, Movies, and More with Apple TV and VoiceOver, by Jonathan Mosen: A Book Review by Jamie Pauls
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