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Subject: RE: [user-assistance-discuss] Thoughts on Graphical Callouts


 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: marbux [mailto:marbux@gmail.com] 
> Sent: Monday, May 08, 2006 7:13 AM
> To: Paul Prescod
> Cc: user-assistance-discuss@lists.oasis-open.org
> Subject: Re: [user-assistance-discuss] Thoughts on Graphical Callouts
> 
>...
> 
> Graphic images if used at all should be confined to an 
> ornamental -- as opposed to informational -- role. But 
> because of the difficulties in discouraging Help authors' 
> informational use of graphic images in Help content if such 
> capabilities are possible, Help authoring systems should 
> block the use of graphic images until such issues can be 
> resolved (assuming that they can).

Are you saying that a help authoring format SHOULD NOT support graphics
AT ALL because they are so often (in your opinion) misused? I cannot
agree. Visually impaired people use software in different ways than
other people and therefore will focus on different parts of the help.
The visually impaired person will not care which button is to the right
of a particular text field. Instead they care about the keyboard hotkeys
on the dialog. Having a callout that describes the structure of the
visual user interface is appropriate for one group of users. Having a
page that describes keyboard commands is appropriate for a different
group. We should encourage the writing of both rather than discouraging
either.

I do appreciate your emphasis on accessibility, however, and will try to
incorporate ideas about that into any update to my callout roundup
message. That said, 

 Paul Prescod


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