I'm pasting the text of the official announcement regarding the release
of version 4.1 of OpenOffice. I'm really thrilled about the new
accessibility improvements. I plan to write a post with some details of
exactly how OpenOffice is working with the current crop of screen
readers and will upload it when it's completed. I haven't done a ton of
testing and so it may not be as detailed as I'd like.
TUESDAY APR 29, 2014
The Apache OpenOffice project announce the release of Apache OpenOffice 4.1
Improvements to graphics, charts, forms, text annotations and
accessibility feature in this 23rd release of the 14-year old
community-run open source project
29 April 2014– The Apache OpenOffice project, a Top Level Project (TLP)
of the Apache Software Foundation (ASF), announced today the release of
Apache OpenOffice 4.1, now available for free download from
http://www.openoffice.org. A highlight of this release is support for
the IAccessible2 interface, an open standard for communicating with
assistive technologies, enabling more effective use of OpenOffice by
persons with visual impairments. Other additions to OpenOffice 4.1
include in-place editing of text fields, interactive crop on transformed
graphics, text selection annotations, support for 64-bit Mac and
translations for six new languages.
Apache OpenOffice is the leading open-source office software suite for
word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and
more. Apache OpenOffice has been downloaded over 100 million times. It
is available in many languages and works on all common computers. It
stores all your data in an international open standard format and can
also read and write files from other common office software packages. It
can be downloaded and used completely free of charge for any purpose.
"After a long wait, OpenOffice 4.1 is finally released!" said Marlin
Rodrigues from Brazil. Marlin is one of the early testers of OpenOffice
4.1 as well as a translator of the NVDA screen reader into Portuguese.
"This release has great significance for blind people, representing much
more than a simple application update. This update will bring
long-awaited support for IAccessible2. This means that we will finally
have a free, accessible and quality office suite, without relying on the
infamous Java Access Bridge! I’ve tested the development and beta
versions, and it’s so good in several ways. Finally, we can say that we
have the a great office application, with full accessibility and, even
better, without hacking or paying a fortune for it!"
David Goldfield, a Computer Technology Instructor who works with the
blind, and who also helped test OpenOffice 4.1, explained the
significance of IAccessible2: "Computer users who are blind use software
packages known as screen readers, which allow the user not only to hear
keys which are typed but also to use the keyboard to read and review
everything which is on the screen. Before OpenOffice 4.1, a blind user
could use OpenOffice only if the Java Access bridge was installed and
enabled. In addition, the user had to navigate to OpenOffice's
accessibility options to ensure that the built-in assistive technology
support was enabled. For some users, performing these tasks was a
challenge. With the new IAccessible2 code, OpenOffice should be
accessible to screen readers right out-of-the-box, right when the
program starts. Blind users with a screen reader that supports
IAccessible2 will be able to access documents, spreadsheets as well as
items which are in the menus and various dialog boxes without the need
to manually enable accessibility or install any additional components."
Along with feature additions and enhancements, OpenOffice 4.1 includes
six new translations, including Bulgarian, Hebrew, Danish, Hindi,
Norwegian Bokmål and Thai, as well as improvements to the existing
Basque, Dutch, German, Lithuanian, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish and
Turkish translations.
These and many other enhancements are detailed in the Release Notes.
Availability and Oversight
As with all Apache products, Apache OpenOffice is released under the
Apache License v2.0, and is overseen by a self-selected team of active
contributors to the project. A Project Management Committee (PMC) guides
the Project's day-to-day operations, including community development and
product releases. To learn how to become involved with Apache
OpenOffice, visit http://openoffice.apache.org/get-involved.html.
Apache OpenOffice 4.1 can be downloaded from
http://www.openoffice.org/download. OpenOffice supports Microsoft
Windows, Apple OS X and Linux, in 38 languages. Users are encouraged to
consult the System Requirements and Release Notes for additional details.
About Apache OpenOffice
"Apache" and "OpenOffice" are trademarks of The Apache Software
Foundation. All other brands and trademarks are the property of their
respective owners. Follow Apache OpenOffice on Twitter, Facebook and
Google+.
# # #
Posted at 11:23AM Apr 29, 2014 by robweir in General | Comments[0] |
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--
David Goldfield,
Assistive Technology specialist
---------
Visit my Web site at
http://davidgoldfield.info
Feel free to visit my LinkedIn profile at
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/david-goldfield/12/929/573
visit my blog at
http://davidgoldfield.wordpress.com
Follow me on Twitter
http://www.twitter.com/davidgoldfield
--
Feel free to visit my new Web site at
http://DavidGoldfield.info
Feel free to visit my LinkedIn profile at
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/david-goldfield/12/929/573
visit my blog at
http://davidgoldfield.wordpress.com
Follow me on Twitter at
http://www.twitter.com/davidgoldfield
David Goldfield,
Founder and Peer Coordinator
Philadelphia Computer Users' Group for the Blind and Visually Impaired
VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
Archived on the World Wide Web at
http://listserv.icors.org/archives/vicug-l.html
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