Corel Corporation (http://www.corel.com) has ben showing an increased interest in making its products and services accessible to people with disabilities. I have compiled some 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 ---------- Here is a description of pricing options, including an upgrade from the WordPerfect 5.1 for DOS (which is still probably the most popular word processor among 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. ---------- 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. ---------- 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 ---------- 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: :\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. ---------- 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 ---------- Here is the title and publisher of a $75 tutorial on using WordPerfect 8 with speech access. Speaking of WordPerfect Criss Cross Technologies (http://www.crisscrosstech.com) ---------- 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 ---------- End of Document