Corel Corporation (http://www.corel.com) has ben showing an
increased interest in making its products and services accessible
to people with disabilities. Mainly from the web, I have compiled
various information on access to its suite of business applications,
WordPerfect Suite 8. To begin with, here is a section from the
latest "White Paper" on this package, published in January 1998.
Corels Commitment to Accessibility
Corel WordPerfect Suite 8 provides powerful tools that enable
people to create, collaborate and connect in a whole new way. It is
important that these powerful tools are accessible to
everyone, including those with special needs (for example,
visual, hearing, mobility, language and speech impairments). Corel
is committed to making it easier for people who have
difficulties performing certain tasks, such as using a mouse or
reading small text, to do their work.
One of Corels goals in developing Corel WordPerfect Suite 8 was to
meet or exceed the requirements for accessible software design as
outlined by the U. S. Department of Education. Corel is also
committed to working with other software and hardware vendors to
ensure that their accessibility aids work well with Corel
WordPerfect Suite 8. The following table outlines the U. S.
Department of Education requirements and Corels efforts to meet or
exceed those specifications in this suite.
U. S. Department of Education Keyboard Access Corel WordPerfect
Suite 8 Keyboard Access
Provide access to all functions from the keyboard. The majority of
functions have keyboard access.
Provide clear and precise instructions for the use of all
keyboard functions.
The Help dialog includes a list of the keystrokes required to move
the insertion point, insert features, select items, delete items
and move within a dialog box.
Provide logical tabbing order among fields, text boxes and other
dialog/interface elements.
The tabbing order in dialog boxes and menus is left to right, top
to bottom.
Follow the keystroke focus. The insertion point reflects the
location as the arrow keys navigate.
Do not interfere with existing accessibility features built into
the operating system.
All standard operating system keystrokes and functions are
supported.
Avoid using timed responses. No messages time-out without any
response.
Indicate key status for Number Lock, Shift/Caps Lock and Scroll
Lock keys.
The Application Bar at the bottom of the screen can be adjusted to
display Num Lock state, Caps Lock state and Scroll Lock state. In
addition, the Application Bar can display Insert Mode and Select
On/Off.
U. S. Department of Education Icons Corel WordPerfect Suite
8 Icons
Label all icons with precise text, provide text-only option and use
tooltips.
The Property Bar and toolbar settings can be changed to display
only the text labels by rightclicking on the bar, then on
Settings.
Make all icons consistent. The same icons are used for similar
features in all applications in the suite.
Provide pull-down menu equivalents.
Most functions have keyboard access.
Provide keyboard access to all pull-down menus.
Pressing Alt+x accesses the pulldown menus (where x is the first
letter of the menu title).
Avoid painted text. Screen readers cannot interpret painted text.
All text is drawn with system tools.
U.S. Department of Education Sounds Corel WordPerfect Suite
8 Sounds
Provide visual clue for all audio alerts.
There are no audio alerts.
Support the operating systems sound feature.
Fully supports the operating system sound events (turn on/off
sound, adjust volume).
Allow the user to disable or adjust sound volume.
If the user adjusts the operating systems sound feature, Corel
WordPerfect Suite 8 will reflect the changes.
Avoid using sound as the only way to communicate information.
Sounds are not used as the primary form of communication.
U.S. Department of Education Display Corel WordPerfect Suite
8 Display
Do not use color-coding as the only means of conveying
information.
There are no features that rely on color to communicate.
Support user-defined color settings system-wide.
Supports the color settings of the operating system.
Do not use patterned backgrounds behind text or important
graphics.
All backgrounds are plain.
Support user-defined fonts for printing and text display.
Supports the font settings of the operating system.
Allow user to adjust flashing, rotating or moving displays. There
are no flashing, rotating or moving displays that
interfere.
U. S. Department of Education Field Labeling Corel WordPerfect
Suite 8 Field Labeling
Position the descriptions of labels immediately next to the field.
All text labels of fields in dialog boxes are placed immediately to
the right of the field.
U. S. Department of Education Documentation Corel WordPerfect
Suite 8 Documentation
Provide all documentation in electronic format as an ASCII file.
All documentation is in Envoy format, but can be saved as ASCII
text. All documentation is also available from Recordings for the
Blind.
Provide Print to ASCII file from any generated reports.
Export as ASCII or EDGAR.
Export prints files to ASCII.
Additional Accessibility Features of Corel WordPerfect Suite 8 P
Reduced number of keystrokes required to accomplish most tasks P
Different views of the document provided, including zoom, draft
and page P Controls are labeled consistently and clearly P Proper
color combinations are used P Consistent interface layouts are
used (following Windows guidelines) P Standard Windows controls
are used wherever possible P All
application windows are labeled P Line width is adjusted
according to monitor P Single-click access to many features is
provided to avoid dragging and double-clicking as the only way to
access information P Mouse events triggered by mouse pointer
location have been avoided P Customizing of key commands and menus
is supported
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Here is a description of pricing options, including an upgrade from
WordPerfect 5.1 for DOS (probably the most common word processor
licensed by blind computer users).
You are entitled to purchase the upgrade version of Corel(R)
WordPerfect(R) Suite 8 if you own any of the following software
products:
* Corel WordPerfect Suite
* Corel® Office Professional
* CorelDRAWTM 7
* Corel VENTURATM 7
* Any word processor, spreadsheet or office suite (standard or
professional) from Microsoft, Lotus, Novell or Borland
Pricing Information*
| Canadian Dollars | U.S. Dollars
Full CD-ROM version† | $545 | $395
Competitive Upgrade CD-ROM Version | $109 | $89
*Suggested retail prices. Dealer may sell for less. Prices are
subject to change without notice.
† 3.5" disks available at extra cost. Disks contain Corel
WordPerfect 8 module only. CD-ROM drive required to access all
applications, fonts and clipart.
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Here is pricing information on the recently released version that
adds integrated voice input.
You are eligible to purchase the upgrade version of Corel®
WordPerfect® Suite 8 with Dragon NaturallySpeaking™ if you own any
of the following software products:
* Corel WordPerfect Suite†
* Corel® Office Professional
* CorelDRAW™
* Corel VENTURA™
* Any word processor, spreadsheet, presentations package or
office suite (standard or professional) from Microsoft, Lotus,
Novell or Borland
†Owners of Corel WordPerfect Suite 8 are eligible to purchase the
Customer Service Speech Upgrade (see below) which includes Dragon
NaturallySpeaking speech recognition technology
integrated into Corel WordPerfect. This suite, Dragon
NaturallySpeaking and a high-quality microphone are available
through Corel Customer service by calling 1-800-772-6735. Owners of
Corel WordPerfect Suite version 7 or earlier are eligible for the
competitive upgrade listed below.
| Canadian Dollars | U.S. Dollars
Full CD-ROM version | $595 | $425
Competitive upgrade | $169 | $129
Customer Service Speech Upgrade | $59.95 | $39.95
Prices subject to change without notice. Dealer may sell for
less.
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Here are the URL's for directly retrieving patches available for
WordPerfect Suite 8.
ftp://ftp.corel.com/pub/WordPerfect/wpwin/8/wp8sp1.exe = Service
Pack 1
ftp://ftp.corel.com/pub/WordPerfect/wpwin/8/WP8SP2.EXE = Service
Pack 2
ftp://ftp.corel.com/pub/WordPerfect/wpwin/8/wp8sp4.exe = Service
Pack 4 (Service Pack 3 was removed and is no longer needed)
ftp://ftp.corel.com/pub/WordPerfect/wpwin/8/WP8CNV97.EXE = adds
ability to convert Word 97 and Excel 97 files
ftp://ftp.corel.com/pub/WordPerfect/wpwin/8/wp8acc.EXE = enhances
accessibility
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Here is an explanation of changes made by the accessibility patch.
Release notes for WP8ACC.EXE
===========================================
This patch will update Corel WordPerfect Suite 8 (REV D). Please
see the Patch Notes section if you receive an error message when
installing this patch.
Changes Included in this Patch
===========================================
COREL WORDPERFECT
1. Improves the interaction with speech synthesizers and screen
readers.
2. Enhances accessibility in "High Contrast" mode.
===========================================
The patch consists of the following file:
<drive>:\corel\suite8\programs (by default)
WPWPEN.DLL
===========================================
Patch Notes:
Please note that this patch will only install on the Program
Release 8.0.0.390. To determine if you are using another version,
in WordPerfect, click Help | About Corel WordPerfect. Also note
that installing this patch will turn off the Preselect feature
within WordPerfect.
This install will rename the WPWPEN.DLL file that was previously
installed on the computer to WPWPEN.OLD.
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Here is the title and shelf number of an electronic text book
available for 15 from Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic
(http://www.rfbd.org).
WordPerfect Suite 8 for Dummies
EB750
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Here is the title and publisher of a $75 tutorial on using
WordPerfect 8 with speech access.
Speaking of Corel WordPerfect
CrissCross Technologies (http://www.crisscrosstech.com)
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Finally, here are the names and descriptions of plain text
documentation available on the empowerment Zone web site.
http://www.empowermentzone.com/wp8guide.zip = 11 user guides
included with WordPerfect Suite 8, Professional Edition
http://www.empowermentzone.com/wp8misc.zip = Many other,
miscellaneous help files included with WordPerfect Suite 8,
Professional Edition
http://www.empowermentzone.com/wp8paper.zip = Collection of white
papers on Corel WordPerfect Suite 8
http://www.empowermentzone.com/wp8macro.zip = Guide to the macro
language of the WordPerfect 8 suite of applications
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End of Document
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