Factsheet for employers and employment professionalsTesting the compatibility of access software and IT applications
About this factsheet
If your organisation employs, or is due to take on, a person who is blind or partially sighted, they may need to use access software. This factsheet is designed to guide IT staff needing to test the compatibility of access software and your organisation's IT applications.
Contents
1. Introduction
2. How to test compatibility
3. Problem software environments
4. Thin client e.g. Citrix or Terminal Services
5. Java
6. Terminal emulations
7. Sources of help and further information
1. Introduction
Sometimes it is necessary to test that access software such as magnification or screen reader software works properly with the IT applications that someone wants to use. You are looking for two main things here. You need to check that the access software doesn't make the systems crash or run slowly, but you also need to check that it does what it should do.
2. How to test compatibility
If the user is an experienced access software user, they will know what to look for, but if they are new to it they won’t. There are some software environments that raise specific problems, but regardless of that the following is always needed:
- Check the systems don’t crash or run slowly.
- For magnification, check that the user can alter the magnification levels while the mainstream program is loaded.
- For magnification software, check the colour changing feature works.
- Check that magnification tracks the typing cursor and menus. When using magnification software only part of the screen is visible at anyone time. For example, with x2 magnification a quarter of the screen will be visible. If the software tracks properly, the focus of attention will always be visible, because the visible area will move so that it displays the typing cursor, the highlighted menu option, the active dialogue box button or whatever. It will nearly always track the mouse pointer, but also needs to track controls and the cursor. Test this by setting the magnification reasonably high, then (a) going into a dialogue box or database screen and moving round the screen using Tab and typing until the focus of attention would have moved off screen unless the screen moves, and (b) moving round a document or similar using the arrow keys until the screen is forced to move or loses the cursor, in both cases without using the mouse.
- For checking that there is some speech output, e.g. in support of magnification, the IT department and user can probably tell if it works by listening to what it says when they type, and what the menus and field labels say as they tab or arrow to them.
- For checking serious screenreader usage, it is always likely to be necessary to bring in someone like the access software suppliers or Action for Blind People/RNIB.
It is worth noting that sometimes problemswith access software only show up after a couple of reboots or more than a couple of days’ usage (for whatever obscure reasons).
3. Problem software environments
There are some software environments which means it is highly likely that either access software won’t work at all, or that it will only work if the environment is altered in some way. The main things to look out for are:
- Thin client e.g. Citrix or Terminal Services
- Java. This is not the Java script you get on web pages. It is a complete development environment.
- Terminal emulations.
4. Thin client e.g. Citrix or Terminal Services
The problem here is that the processing all happens on the server, whereas the access software is on the PC. All the access software gets is graphical information it cannot interpret, so while magnification will probably work to the extent that you can magnify your application and the magnification software will track the mouse, and you may be able to modify the colour scheme, it will not track any keyboard actions, nor will it give any speech output. There are several options for dealing with this:
- Provide the user with a PC with all the applications installed on it, so they don’t have to use thin client at all. This is the simplest option from the access software viewpoint, and may or may not be acceptable to the IT department.
- Install the access software on the server. For speech users, you can get versions of screenreaders (JAWS, Hal/Supernova and Window-Eyes) that you can install on the server, so they can work with thin client. This does not work so well with magnification as there can be a delay, but MAGic and Lunar/Supernova work up to a point, subject to having sufficient bandwidth. In this situation, if the user has some applications such as MS Office that can be installed directly onto the PC rather than the server, it may be worth doing this and installing a copy of the access software onto the PC as well as on the server, so that for those applications the delay does not arise.
- For a mouse user who only wants a low level of magnification (x2 or less), using thin client but installing the magnification software on the PC may be acceptable. They will have to manually move the displayed image with the mouse, but they may find this acceptable.
There is more information on this at
and for Lunar/Hal/Supernova at :
and for MAGic and JAWS at:
5. Java
The user is probably not aware they are using a Java based application, but the IT department will be. Tell tale signs are running a program using Jinitiator or Java. Oracle applications are often written using Java. Looking at the program menus or going into the application, then Help/About may indicate a Java based application.
The problem is that Java applications do not provide any information that access software can hook into, so the screen often appears as one large graphic. There is some free software called Java Access Bridge that greatly improves the accessibility of Java applications and can be downloaded from
Java Access Bridge may be all that is needed, and installing it is always the first step before doing any compatibility testing with Java based applications. Accessibility still depends on how far the developer conformed to accessibility standards, but installing Java Access Bridge often works well.
6. Terminal emulations
These are less common than they used to be but do still exist. You can often modify the colours using the emulation options, and this may be preferable to using the magnification software options. If the access software doesn't track the cursor, you may be able to resolve this by altering the cursor shape, or whether it blinks, again using the options within the emulation. ZoomText has a caret detect feature that often resolves the problem of visual tracking, but it is unusual for it to speak at all in emulation programs (except using the mouse hover feature). If none of the above work, you may find that using a different emulation program does work.
7. Sources of help and further information
7.1 RNIB and Action for Blind People
Employment services for employers
We can help you retain a current employee who is losing their sight, and we can help you to take on someone who is visually impaired.
Advances in technology mean that visually impaired people can now overcome many of the barriers to work that they faced in the past, and government schemes like Access to Work mean that many of the costs can be met.
We provide a number of services that can be directly commissioned by employers. These include:
- Work-based assessments - a visit to a workplace, by one of ourspecialists, to evaluate the potential for equipment, software, and adjustments that would better allow an employee to fulfil their role.
- 1 to 1 access technology training. Our technology specialists can visit your workplace and provide training tailored to suit your employee's needs.
- Visual and disability awareness training.
- Allied Health Professions Support Service - we provide consultancy services to NHS employers and disabled Allied Health Professionals.
For further information about any of these services, please contact us via our website or directly via our employment services mailbox:
Web site:
Email:
Employment factsheets
We currently produce the following factsheets for employers and employment professionals:
- Access to Work
- RNIB work-based assessment services
- Blind and partially sighted people at work - Guidance and good practice for RiskAssessors
- Testing the compatibility of access software and IT applications
- Guidelines on meeting the needs of visually impaired delegates on training courses
In addition to this you may like to check out our 'This IS Working' documents, which showcase blind and partially sighted people working in a range of occupations, and include testimonials from employers, as well as our 'Vocational rehabilitation' document, which sets out the business case for retaining newly disabled staff.
All of these factsheets and documents can be found in the employment professionals section of our website which also contains the latest research in the field, as well as information on IT and accessibility, the Equality Act, success stories, and more.
We also produce a number of factsheets aimed at blind and partially sighted people, on a range of employment related issues. These can be found at
RNIB Helpline
The RNIB Helpline can refer you to an employment specialist for further advice and guidance.RNIB Helpline can also help you by providing information and advice on a range of topics, such as eye health, the latest products, leisure opportunities, benefits advice and emotional support.
Call the Helpline team on 0303 123 9999 or email
7.2 Access to Work
Access to Work is a scheme run by Jobcentre Plus. The scheme provides advice, grant funding, and practical support to disabled people and employers to help overcome work related obstacles resulting from a disability. Read our Access to Work factsheet, or visit the Access to Work pages at to learn more about qualifying for the scheme. Further details are also available at
7.3 Guide Dogs
The best place to find out information relating to guide dogs. Visit:
7.4 The Health and Safety Executive
HSE is responsible for enforcing health and safety at workplaces. Visit:
7.5 Equality and Human Rights Commission
The Equality and Human Rights commission have a statutory remit to promote and monitor human rights; and to protect, enforce and promote equality across the nine "protected" grounds - age, disability, gender, race, religion and belief, pregnancy and maternity, marriage and civil partnership, sexual orientation and gender reassignment. The website includes a section on employment.
Factsheet updated: June 2012
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