August 2008

Web Accessibility Toolbar

By Brian Hardy, National Manager Market Development, Vision Australia

Vision Australia Web Accessibility Toolbar

The Web Accessibility Toolbar is a toolbar for Internet Explorer. It was created by Steve Faulkner in 2005 when he worked for Vision Australia.

The toolbar primarily helps you to inspect the code of an existing Web page by showing parts of the code together with the usual view of the page.

This is clearer than viewing the source code alone because you only show the segments of code that are of interest and they are shown in the visual context of the page.

For example, pressing the "Headings" button shows the headings on the page:

In addition to the code showing functions, the toolbar can:

• Facilitate the use of third party online applications.
• Simulate user experiences.
• Provide links to references and other resources.

For example, simulations can show how a Web page looks for a person that has Diabetic Retinopathy: