1. Maintaining Accessible Websites with Microsoft Word and XML Eoin Campbell, Technical Director, XML Workshop Ltd.

2. 8 May 2003© 2003 XML Workshop Ltd.2 Overview Much website content originates in a word-processor such as Microsoft Word This is copied and pasted into web editors, resulting in poor-quality, inaccessible HTML You can save Word content directly as high quality, accessible HTML, using XML as an intermediate format

3. 8 May 2003© 2003 XML Workshop Ltd.3 Background US: Section 508 –Legal obligation requiring federal departments and agencies to have accessible websites Europe: eEurope Action Plan –EU-level policy initiative recommending that public sector websites should be WAI-accessible UK, Portugal –National laws regarding accessibility of public sector websites

4. 8 May 2003© 2003 XML Workshop Ltd.4 Current Practice Website content –re-purposed from Word –created in Word for convenience Converting from Word to HTML is slow, manual and error-prone Adding accessibility would be nice, but costs too much Generally available tools do not help authors create accessible content

5. 8 May 2003© 2003 XML Workshop Ltd.5 Inaccessible HTML Inaccessible HTML markup Lists without list tags Unexpanded acronyms: TLA. Unmarked language changes: C ú pla focail as Gaeilge.

6. 8 May 2003© 2003 XML Workshop Ltd.6 Accessible HTML Accessible HTML markup Lists with list tags Expanded acronyms: TLA. Marked language changes: C ú pla focail as Gaeilge.

7. 8 May 2003© 2003 XML Workshop Ltd.7 Testing Accessibilty Bobby typically used to test website accessibility –Checks for inaccessible markup usage –Doesn’t check for absence of accessible markup –Easily fooled –But still a useful test Only visual inspection can decide whether page is accessible

8. 8 May 2003© 2003 XML Workshop Ltd.8 A Modest Proposal Do it right first time! Don’t create inaccessible content and then fix it at the editing stage Make authors responsible for marking up content properly It’s cheaper to do it right than to fix it

9. 8 May 2003© 2003 XML Workshop Ltd.9 Design Accessibility In Design a website maintenance process which creates and retains accessible HTML by default, without rework Authors are the most important resource, so design the process around them Streamline content creation, not publishing

10. 8 May 2003© 2003 XML Workshop Ltd.10 Applying Markup Marking up content can be done in Word, not just in a structured HTML editor Instead of HTML tags, use Word styles Convert styles to equivalent HTML tags

11. 8 May 2003© 2003 XML Workshop Ltd.11 Styles-Tag Mapping For HTML, there is a good mapping between Word styles and tags, e.g. Heading 1, 2, 3… –,, List Bullet, List Number – …, Word tables map to HTML table tags –(but extra styles needed for better accessibility)

12. 8 May 2003© 2003 XML Workshop Ltd.12 Benefits Reduce cost –No software licences, installation, etc. Speed up publishing –Enable staff to publish directly Improve quality –Better accessibility, consistency, timeliness

13. 8 May 2003© 2003 XML Workshop Ltd.13 Basic Architecture

14. 8 May 2003© 2003 XML Workshop Ltd.14 Process Description 1.Create/edit content in Word, using styles 2.Convert to XML 3.Convert XML to accessible HTML, adding appropriate HTML template wrapper 4.Publish to website

15. 8 May 2003© 2003 XML Workshop Ltd.15 Architecture Components Authoring interface Word to XML converter XSLT code for HTML generation XHTML templates for graphic design Other optional extras

16. 8 May 2003© 2003 XML Workshop Ltd.16 Authoring Interface Word template designed for authors to insert markup –Toolbar –Menu –Shortcuts –Styles and macros –Dialog box for metadata Training/guidelines required to use template

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18. 8 May 2003© 2003 XML Workshop Ltd.18 Metadata Dialog Box Use Dublin Core Metadata Element Set Authors enter metadata directly Can pre-configure default values May be able to generate some values automatically –E.g. Date modified = date of conversion

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20. 8 May 2003© 2003 XML Workshop Ltd.20 XHTML Template Provides common branding and navigational aids for all web pages Critical: Design to be as accessible as possible –Use XHTML 1.0 Strict DTD Contains placeholders for content from Word document

21. 8 May 2003© 2003 XML Workshop Ltd.21 XHTML Template Placeholders Document content Metadata fields –inside tag Content of tag –Used in browser history, bookmarks May include other placeholders for e.g. –Breadcrumb trail, last modified date, other dynamic info

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23. 8 May 2003© 2003 XML Workshop Ltd.23 Word to XML Conversion Any Word to XML converter can be used Many converters available (> 20) Basic requirements –Low-cost (<$500) –Configurable –Fully automatic But don’t use Word 2003, as WordML is too difficult to process

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25. 8 May 2003© 2003 XML Workshop Ltd.25 Converter Requirements Essential –Conversion from Word to XML –Automated conversion from XML to HTML using XSLT –Metadata (custom document property) support Desirable –Authoring support via menus, shortcuts, etc. –Publishing support via FTP, WebDAV

26. 8 May 2003© 2003 XML Workshop Ltd.26 Converter Selection Issues Platform and version requirements –E.g Word 98 (Mac), Word 95/97 support –Some conversion tools require WinWord 2000 or higher Level of integration –E.g Word plug-in or stand-alone application –Stand-alone applications may still require Word for Word-to-RTF conversion

27. 8 May 2003© 2003 XML Workshop Ltd.27 Converter Selection Issues (2) Service delivery location –Local conversion on each PC –Centralised internal conversion server –3 rd -party ASP service Customisation cost –Effort to configure Word to XML, and XML to HTML customisation costs depend on quality of XML output

28. 8 May 2003© 2003 XML Workshop Ltd.28 Suggested Converters Integrated with Word –XMLW YAWC Pro –Schultz eXportXML –Schema MarkupKit Stand-alone –UpCast RTF to XML converter –LogicTran RTF to XML converter –Docsoft W2XML

29. 8 May 2003© 2003 XML Workshop Ltd.29 Word Conversion Services Server model has many benefits –No local installation, configuration and support –Low support costs –Lower setup costs Not the same as a Web CMS

30. 8 May 2003© 2003 XML Workshop Ltd.30 WCMS Features May be internal or hosted Web-based form interface for editing –Poor support for copy & paste from Word –Requires online access for editing/review –Limited accessibility support Integrated file management May include: link management, version control, workflow

31. 8 May 2003© 2003 XML Workshop Ltd.31 Word to HTML Service Features Offline editing/review Good/excellent accessibility support No file management No version control No built-in workflow

32. 8 May 2003© 2003 XML Workshop Ltd.32 Word to XML/HTML Conversion Services YAWC Online Word to HTML converter Xcon Word to XHTML converter Metaverse Word to XML converter

33. 8 May 2003© 2003 XML Workshop Ltd.33 Xcon Provided by 3months.com, New Zealand Designed for NZ government sites Automatically splits long reports into multiple HTML pages, applies common HTML template Fixed output appearance, NZ-specific metadata added via web form on conversion ~NZD20 per conversion

34. 8 May 2003© 2003 XML Workshop Ltd.34 Metaverse Word to XML conversion Can configure XML to HTML conversion via XSLT No publishing support Volume-based charging

35. 8 May 2003© 2003 XML Workshop Ltd.35 YAWC Online http://www.yawconline.com/ Configurable for any website –Multiple configurable HTML templates Built-in publication service based on DC.Identifier and FTP Fixed monthly fee based on website size

36. 8 May 2003© 2003 XML Workshop Ltd.36 Publishing Options FTP direct to public site –OK when author = approver Submit for review/approval –Via email or staging server Insert into Web CMS –In XML or HTML format

37. 8 May 2003© 2003 XML Workshop Ltd.37 Case Study: Dublin City Council Disability services unit required AAA- compliant subsite Initial large HTML file imported into Word, split into smaller files HTML template re-designed for maximum accessibility Styled in Word, including marking up Irish language text Converted to HTML using YAWC Online

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39. 8 May 2003© 2003 XML Workshop Ltd.39 Summary Accessible websites are becoming a legal requirement, not just a nice idea Most existing web CMS solutions cannot help maintain accessibility cost-effectively and easily Using Word effectively can save time and money, and improve website accessibility

40. Maintaining Accessible Websites with Microsoft Word and XML XML Europe 2003, London Q&A