Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

International Conference on Computers for Handicapped Persons

ICCHP 2012: Computers Helping People with Special Needs pp 602–609Cite as

Developing Text Customisation Functionality Requirements of PDF Reader and Other User Agents

  • Conference paper

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNISA,volume 7382))

Abstract

This paper addresses the text customisation needs of people with low vision, dyslexia, and related conditions that impact reading, including people with declining eyesight due to ageing. It reports on a literature review and an initial study that explores the aspects of text that users customize (e.g., size, colour, leading, linearization/reflow, and more) for reading RTF and PDF documents, in operating system settings, and in web browser settings. It presents the gap between users’ needs and PDF user agent (primarily Adobe Reader) functionality. The existing literature and this exploratory study indicate that with the technology currently available, PDF is not sufficiently accessible to many people with low vision, dyslexia, and related conditions that impact reading. This paper aims to encourage additional text customisation functionality in Adobe Reader; and to encourage more rigorous studies to understand, document, and communicate how to better meet users’ text customisation needs through mainstream user agents.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. Reading Rights Coalition. The definition of “print disabled”, http://www.readingrights.org/definition-print-disabled

  2. Hanson, V.: The user experience: designs and adaptations. In: Proceedings of the 2004 International Cross-Disciplinary Workshop on Web Accessibility (W4A 2004), pp. 1–11. ACM, New York (2004)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  3. Tracy, W.: Letters of Credit: A View of Type Design. Gordon Fraser, London (1986)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Tinker, M.: Legibility of Print. Ames. Iowa State University Press, Iowa (1963)

    Google Scholar 

  5. Carmichael, L., Dearborn, W.F.: Reading and Visual Fatigue. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston (1947)

    Google Scholar 

  6. World Health Organization. Fact Sheet # 282: Visual Impairment and Blindness. Geneva (2011), http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs282

  7. Steinmetz, E.: Americans with disabilities: 2002 U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC: (Current Population Reports, P70–107) (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  8. International Dyslexia Association. Dyslexia Basics (2008), http://www.interdys.org/ewebeditpro5/upload/BasicsFactSheet.pdf

  9. Poole, A.: Which Are More Legible: Serif or Sans Serif Typefaces? (2008), http://alexpoole.info/which-are-more-legible-serif-or-sans-serif-typefaces

  10. McCarthy, J., Swierenga, S.: What we know about dyslexia and Web accessibility: a research review. Univers. Access Inf. Soc. 9(2), 147–152 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Hanson, V., Richards, J.: A web accessibility service: update and findings. In: Proceedings of the 6th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets 2004), pp. 169–176. ACM, New York (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Dickinson, A., Gregor, P., Newell, A.F.: Ongoing investigation of the ways in which some of the problems encountered by some dyslexics can be alleviated using computer techniques. In: Proceedings of the 5fth International ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies, pp. 97–103. ACM Press, Edinburgh (2002)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  13. Gregor, P., Dickinson, A., Macaffer, A., Andreasen, P.: SeeWord—a personal word processing environment for dyslexic computer users. British Journal of Educational Technology 34, 341–355 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Gregor, P., Newell, A.: An empirical investigation of ways in which some of the problems encountered by some dyslexics may be alleviated using computer techniques. In: Proceedings of the Fourth International ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets 2000), pp. 85–91. ACM, New York (2000)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  15. US Access Board. Section 508 Homepage: Electronic and Information Technology, http://www.access-board.gov/508.html

  16. Santana, V.F., Oliveira, R., Almeida, L.D.A., Baranauskas, M.C.C.: Web Accessibility and People with Dyslexia: A Survey on Techniques and Guidelines. In: Proceedings of the International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A 2012). ACM, New York (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  17. Calabrèse, A., Bernard, J.B., Hoffart, L., Faure, G., Barouch, F., Conrath, J., Castet, E.: Small effect of interline spacing on maximal reading speed in low-vision patients with central field loss irrespective of scotoma size. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 51(2), 1247–1254 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Hartley, J.: What does it say? Text design, medical information, and older readers. In: Park, D.C., Morrell, R.W., Shifren, K. (eds.) Processing of Medical Information in Aging Patients, pp. 233–248. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Bix, L.: The Elements of Text and Message Design and Their Impact on Message Legibility: A Literature Review. Journal of Design Communication (4) (2002), http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JDC/Spring-2002/bix

  20. Kitchel, J.E. APH Guidelines for Print Document Design, http://www.aph.org/edresearch/lpguide.html

  21. Arditi, A.: Making Text Legible: Designing for People with Partial Sight. Lighthouse International, New York (1999, 2002)

    Google Scholar 

  22. British Dyslexia Association. Dyslexia Style Guide, http://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/about-dyslexia/further-information/dyslexia-style-guide.html

  23. CCLVI. Best Practices and Guidelines for Large Print Documents used by the Low Vision Community, http://www.cclvi.org/large-print-guidelines.html

  24. Morrell, R.W., Dailey, S.R., Feldman, C., Mayhorn, C.G., Echt, K.V.: Older adults and information technology: A compendium of scientific research and Web site ac-cessibility guidelines. National Institute on Aging, Bethesda (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  25. The Center for the Partially Sighted. Print Guidelines, http://low-vision.org/en/Print_Guidelines

  26. Holt, B.: Creating Senior-Friendly Web Sites. Center For Medicare Education Issue Brief 1(4), 1–8 (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  27. Rainger, P.: A Dyslexic Perspective on e-Content Accessibility. JISC TechDis. (2003), http://www.jisctechdis.ac.uk/techdis/resources/detail/learnersmatter/Jan03_Dyslexia

  28. About Adobe Reader X, http://help.adobe.com/en_US/reader/using/WS4bebcd66a74275c3-7d28390112a81b3ebff-8000.html

Download references

Authors
  1. Shawn Lawton Henry
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institut Integriert Studieren, University of Linz, Altenbergerstraße 69, 4040, Linz, Austria

    Klaus Miesenberger

  2. University of San Francisco, 2130 Fulton St., 94117, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Arthur Karshmer

  3. Support Centre for Students with Special Needs, Masaryk University, Botanická 68A, 602 00, Brno, Czech Republic

    Petr Penaz

  4. Institute "integriert studieren", Vienna University of Technology, Favoritenstr. 11/029, 1040, Vienna, Austria

    Wolfgang Zagler

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this paper

Cite this paper

Henry, S.L. (2012). Developing Text Customisation Functionality Requirements of PDF Reader and Other User Agents. In: Miesenberger, K., Karshmer, A., Penaz, P., Zagler, W. (eds) Computers Helping People with Special Needs. ICCHP 2012. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 7382. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-31522-0_91

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-31522-0_91

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-31521-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-31522-0

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation