Accessibility

Browser text-sizing tool

Most popular browsers feature a text resizing tool in the toolbar.

With this tool you can resize text on screen to a level you feel comfortable with. Just click on the icon, and select a new size.

This tool is also available in the menu of various browsers as follows:

• Internet Explorer 5, 5.5, 6 (PC): View > Text Size
• Firefox, Netscape 8: View > Text Size
• Opera: View > Zoom
• Netscape 6, 7, Mozilla: View > Text Zoom
• Safari (Mac): View > Make Text Bigger
• Internet Explorer 5 (Mac): View > Text Zoom

Access keys

The access key function allows you to navigate around a site without using your mouse to click on links.

Using your keyboard, it’s possible to jump directly to certain links or certain areas within a page, without having to move your mouse at all.

By typing alt+[accesskey] (PC) or ctrl+[accesskey] (Mac), a link becomes high-lighted. You can then hit the enter key to activate the link.

Please note that some assistive technology tools such as the IBM HomePage Reader and WindowEyes already make use of the Alt+[accesskey] combinations. As such, users of these tools will not be able to use these accesskeys.

Tab key

You can also use the Tab key on your keyboard to move between links on a page. A single press of Tab high-lights the next link, Shift+Tab high-lights the previous link.

Design and Code Standards

We designed to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0, which is a World Wide Web Consortium Recommendation dated May 5, 1999. Version 2.0 is currently a working draft and we have followed the WAI guidelines where possible.

• All code is XHTML/CSS standards compliant, well structured, and wellcrafted.
• The presentation is separate from structure.
• The website content will be device independent.

A note about Accessibility Badges

We do not display accessibility-standards approved badges. Tools such as Bobby do not give a complete picture of the site’s accessibility in practice. A website might pass all possible validators and still provide a very bad experience. The evaluation tools are a means, rather than an end to themselves.

Our target is to meet all WAI guidelines through Level 2 priority and Section 508 guidelines, which are a subset of the former. However, we use good design principles over specific technical guidelines that may apply only to current technology.