AutoCAD 2007 White Paper Working With AutoCAD 2007 and Section 508

8/2/2019 AutoCAD 2007 White Paper Working With AutoCAD 2007 and Section 508

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AUTOCAD

2007

Working with AutoCAD 2007

and Section 508Section 508 requires that federal agencies' electronic and information technology is

accessible to people with disabilities. The Center for Information Technology

Accommodation (CITA), in the U.S. General Services Administration's Office of

Government-wide Policy, has been charged with the task of educating federal employees

and building the infrastructure necessary to support Section 508 implementation.

With this white paper, Autodesk offers background information to help our customers

understand the accessibility features of Autodesks AutoCAD

2007 software, in the

context of the Section 508 standards. This was done with the intent to enable agencies to

be compliant with the Section 508 regulations.

The document contains subsets of the Electronic and Information Technology AccessibilityStandards as published in 36 CFR Part 1194 and provides an analysis of AutoCAD as

compared to these standards.

For the purposes of this paper, AutoCAD refers to AutoCAD 2007 and all Autodesk

industry products that are based upon the AutoCAD 2007 platform, including AutoCAD

LT 2007.

The first table of the Template provides a summary view of the section 508 Standards.

The subsequent tables provide more detailed views of each subsection.

There are three columns in each table. Column one of the Summary Table describes the

subsections of subparts B and C of the Standards. The second column describes the

supporting features of the product or refers you to the corresponding detailed table, "e.g.,

equivalent facilitation." The third column contains any additional remarks and explanations

regarding the product. In the subsequent tables, the first column contains the lettered

paragraphs of the subsections. The second column describes the supporting features of

the product with regard to that paragraph. The third column contains any additional

remarks and explanations regarding the product.

This document is not intended to be a certification of compliance. This template is based

upon version 1.2 (5/6/2004) supplied by the U.S. Government.

More information on Section 508 can be found on the Governments website located at:

http://www.section508.gov/
http://www.section508.gov/http://www.section508.gov/


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WORKING WITH AUTOCAD 2007 AND SECTION 508

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Summary Table

CriteriaSupporting

FeaturesRemarks andexplanations

Section 1194.21Software Applications and Operating Systems

Completed

Section 1194.22

Web-based Internet Information andApplications

Not Applicable

Section 1194.23

Telecommunications ProductsNot Applicable

Section 1194.24

Video and Multi-media ProductsNot Applicable

Section 1194.25

Self-Contained, Closed ProductsNot Applicable

Section 1194.26

Desktop and Portable ComputersNot Applicable

Section 1194.31

Functional Performance CriteriaCompleted

Section 1194.41

Information, Documentation and Support

Completed


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Section 1194.21 Software Applications and Operating Systems

Criteria Supporting FeaturesRemarks andexplanations

(a) When software is designed to run on asystem that has a keyboard, product functionsshall be executable from a keyboard where thefunction itself or the result of performing afunction can be discerned textually.

Keyboard navigation is provided forall Menu commands. Also, aCommand Line allows the user totype in commands and other input.

(b) Applications shall not disrupt or disableactivated features of other products that areidentified as accessibility features, where thosefeatures are developed and documentedaccording to industry standards. Applicationsalso shall not disrupt or disable activated

features of any operating system that areidentified as accessibility features where theapplication programming interface for thoseaccessibility features has been documented bythe manufacturer of the operating system andis available to the product developer.

Testing* has indicated that AutoCADand AutoCAD LT software programsdo not disrupt the accessibilityfeatures of other products on the end-users system.

(c) A well-defined on-screen indication of thecurrent focus shall be provided that movesamong interactive interface elements as theinput focus changes. The focus shall beprogrammatically exposed so that Assistive

Technology can track focus and focuschanges.

Focus is programmatically exposedthrough command line scripting, VBAand C++ programming interface.

(d) Sufficient information about a user interfaceelement including the identity, operation andstate of the element shall be available toAssistive Technology. When an imagerepresents a program element, the informationconveyed by the image must also be availablein text.

AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT provideinformation to the user via theMicrosoft

Active Accessibility

Application

(e) When bitmap images are used to identifycontrols, status indicators, or otherprogrammatic elements, the meaning assignedto those images shall be consistent throughoutan application's performance.

Bitmap images and actionsassociated with them are consistent.


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(f) Textual information shall be providedthrough operating system functions fordisplaying text. The minimum information thatshall be made available is text content, textinput caret location, and text attributes.

A text window records the log of whatis being done. Also this log file can besaved.

(g) Applications shall not override userselected contrast and color selections andother individual display attributes.

Application does not override contrastand color selections. Testing* showsthat the application performs wellunder High Contrast settings. Also theuser has the ability to change colorsettings.

(h) When animation is displayed, theinformation shall be displayable in at least onenon-animated presentation mode at the optionof the user.

Animated displays are only includedwithin the products Help System. Thesame information is documented withtext and images.

(i) Color coding shall not be used as the onlymeans of conveying information, indicating anaction, prompting a response, or distinguishinga visual element.

Color-coding is not used as the onlymeans of conveying information. Theuser has the ability to enter a colorindex or in certain cases a RGBvalue. Users can also use pre-definednamed colors as described byPANTONE, RAL, and DIC colorsystems.

(j) When a product permits a user to adjustcolor and contrast settings, a variety of colorselections capable of producing a range of

contrast levels shall be provided.

AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT provide awide variety of color selections. Theuser has the ability to customize the

application window. Users can alsouse pre-defined named colors asdescribed by PANTONE, RAL, andDIC.

(k) Software shall not use flashing or blinkingtext, objects, or other elements having a flashor blink frequency greater than 2 Hz and lowerthan 55 Hz.

AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT do notuse flashing or blinking text.

(l) When electronic forms are used, the formshall allow people using Assistive Technologyto access the information, field elements, andfunctionality required for completion andsubmission of the form, including all directionsand cues.

Microsoft Active Accessibilityapplications like the Narrator can beused to access particulars of thecomponents of a form/dialog box.


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Section 1194.31 Functional Performance Criteria

Criteria Supporting FeaturesRemarks andexplanations

(a) At least one mode of operation andinformation retrieval that does not require uservision shall be provided, or support forAssistive Technology used by people who areblind or visually impaired shall be provided.

Not Applicable

(b) At least one mode of operation andinformation retrieval that does not requirevisual acuity greater than 20/70 shall beprovided in audio and enlarged print outputworking together or independently, or supportfor Assistive Technology used by people who

are visually impaired shall be provided.

No audio is available in the product.Keyboard navigation is provided forall Menu commands. Also, aCommand Line allows the user totype in commands and other input.This text input can be enlarged

through our product options. MicrosoftActive Accessibility applications likethe Narrator can be used to accessparticulars of the components of aform/dialog box.

(c) At least one mode of operation andinformation retrieval that does not require userhearing shall be provided, or support forAssistive Technology used by people who aredeaf or hard of hearing shall be provided.

AutoCAD does not require userhearing in order to operate thesoftware.

(d) Where audio information is important for theuse of a product, at least one mode ofoperation and information retrieval shall beprovided in an enhanced auditory fashion, orsupport for assistive hearing devices shall beprovided.

AutoCAD does not require userhearing in order to operate thesoftware.

(e) At least one mode of operation andinformation retrieval that does not require user

speech shall be provided, or support forAssistive Technology used by people withdisabilities shall be provided.

AutoCAD does not require userspeech in order to operate the

software.

(f) At least one mode of operation andinformation retrieval that does not require finemotor control or simultaneous actions and thatis operable with limited reach and strengthshall be provided.

Keyboard navigation is provided forall menu commands in AutoCAD.


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Section 1194.41 Information, Documentation and Support

CriteriaRemarks andexplanations

Supporting Features

(a) Product support documentation provided toend-users shall be made available in alternateformats upon request, at no additional charge.

Support documentation is availablewithin the product, as hardcopy, or asAdobe PDF.

(b) End-users shall have access to adescription of the accessibility and compatibilityfeatures of products in alternate formats oralternate methods upon request, at noadditional charge.

This document is posted on ourwebsite at http://www.autodesk.com .Search for Section 508

(c) Support services for products shallaccommodate the communication needs ofend-users with disabilities.

Support services options areavailable via webpage, e-mail, fax, orphone. Direct, in-person support isalso available through resellers.

* Testing was performed by or commissioned by Autodesk and conducted over a controlled network in whichparticipants with varying levels of expertise with AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT performed selected tasks designedto simulate day-to-day production drafting. As with all performance tests, results may vary based on machine,

operating system, filters, and even source material. While every effort has been made to make the tests as fairand objective as possible, your results may differ.

Autodesk, AutoCAD, and AutoCAD LT are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or othercountries. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice, and is notresponsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.

2006 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.
http://www.autodesk.com/http://www.autodesk.com/

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AutoCAD 2007 White Paper Working With AutoCAD 2007 and Section 508