Section 508 and Plug-Ins

[cyberRobot]

When it comes to linking to documents which may need a plug-in to view, PDF for example...does anyone know if the link to the plug-in needs to be on the same page in order to be 508 compliant?

It would be nice to instead list all the plug-ins on one page and then link to that page in the website footer. For example, see the Section 508 website:
http://www.section508.gov/

...in their website footer, they have a link for "Plug-Ins".


Note: Most of our PDFs are also in HTML format. We just keep the PDF out there for print purposes and in case someone wants to download it for later. The website is for a research company which has a lot of reports.

[weegillis]

For what this exercise is worth, it may have a point to it, in the end...

If you don't have it already, start by downloading Firefox then, with permission to install software allowed, visit the
Themes, Extensions and Plug-ins page and install Html Validator 0.7.6 By Marc Gueury (third page) or go directly to Marc's site and obtain HTML VALIDATOR (based on Tidy) from there.

Close and restart your browser then visit the page posted above. Not unlike WPW, there is a red circle with a white X in the lower right corner (on the status bar) of the browser. Double-click this to open the validator and witness the number of warnings and errors.

An my point is...?

Tidiness and validation are not everything, though to some of us it is the first step toward building an accessible site. The real issue is usability, and the sense your visitors have that you respect their level of intelligence and that you understand their need for your information (product, service, entertainment, &c.) well enough to offer it up to them in a manner that is clear and reasonably direct to access.

The number one barrier to access, in my own estimation is *too much* uniformity. I believe that some customization at a very basic level is required to keep your visitors looking in *the usual places* for navigation hints. Menus that never change go against this principle, though I would probably back myself into a corner trying to justify this opinion so it will suffice to remain a mere ascertion for all practical purposes, here.

The choice to create a separate page for the purpose of downloading plug-ins is purely an arbitrary choice. I prefer to see the plug-in link accompany, or be on the same page as the link requiring the plug-in. In your case, it may be just as well to include the extra page, since your site may contain a plethora of pdf circulars and reports in a wide range of fetched pages. More importantly, I feel, is the instruction of how to perform, or the ability to perform direct downloads for offline viewing in the Reader, itself, without the use of the plug-in. Let the web site serve to deliver these files, rather than display them.

Our site is only as usable as our visitors can make it, not the other way around. Our responsiblity is in keeping them informed of their choices, and allow for their own intuition to guide them easily through our content. By helping them to better understand the capabilities built into their UI and OS, we bring them to a point of enrichment and collective wherewithal that in turn benefits others--namely, other web sites. This is where standards have their largest payoff... collective wherewithal and common intuition. This is the uniformity we need to embrace and propagate.

Now, back to 508... apart from,
(1) the simple fact that our hyperlinks and interfaces should be explicit and easy to manipulate and understand, and
(2) the provision of alternative means of delivery that make our content accessible to the greatest number of users, there is nothing specific about the means by which we make third party plug-ins available. Furthermore, we don't have any explicit or implied responsibility in pointing the way to software any more than we would be required to point the way to UIs or OSs. It's all about usuability. How far do we want to go to this end?

[jp06]

I don't think it's your job to deliver software to be 508 compliant. Deliver content, and label it properly, and your job is done.

Though a page about resources with a link to a pdf reader might be a nice touch.

[spikee]

I'd have to agree with jp. Just write quality, well-structured content and markup. The rest will follow.

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