http://www.pws-ltd.com/index.html PWS Ltd, web editorial services – articles on web editorial, technical and accessibility issues en-gb Wed, 26 Mar 2008 10:15:00 GMT Fri, 01 Jan 2010 10:55:00 GMT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss ted@pws-ltd.com (Ted Page) ted@pws-ltd.com (Ted Page) http://www.pws-ltd.com/sections/articles/2010/pdf_footnotes.html This article explains how to make footnotes accessible in PDFs using a technique that can also be applied to fix many other common PDF accessibility problems. Fri, 01 Jan 2010 10:55:00 GMT http://www.pws-ltd.com/sections/articles/2010/pdf_footnotes.html http://www.pws-ltd.com/sections/articles/2009/job_application_forms.html A friend was recently job hunting. Twelve organisations that she applied to sent job application forms in inaccessible Word documents. The 12 included government departments, universities, professional organisations and one disability-related charity. The following sets out in detail both the nature of the problem and the solution. Thu, 15 Oct 2009 08:40:00 GMT http://www.pws-ltd.com/sections/articles/2009/job_application_forms.html http://www.pws-ltd.com/sections/articles/2009/pdf_conversion_tools.html We tested 14 PDF creation tools for their ability to generate accessible output. The results were highly polarised. A few produced excellent results, but the rest performed poorly, if at all. Sat, 12 Sep 2009 16:23:00 GMT http://www.pws-ltd.com/sections/articles/2009/pdf_conversion_tools.html http://www.pws-ltd.com/sections/articles/2009/justified_text.html Justified text can cause serious readability problems. However, handled with care, and with the aid of the right software, it can work well in PDF-based content. But it may be some time before it can be made to work as well in web pages. Sat, 13 Jun 2009 16:20:00 GMT http://www.pws-ltd.com/sections/articles/2009/justified_text.html http://www.pws-ltd.com/sections/articles/2009/domain_names.html A client recently reported paying a four-figure sum for a keyword-rich domain name. He did so on the assumption that it would provide a return on investment through increased search engine traffic to his website. But will it? Wed, 06 May 2009 19:30:00 GMT http://www.pws-ltd.com/sections/articles/2009/domain_names.html http://www.pws-ltd.com/sections/articles/2009/pdf_and_word_forms.html Many websites contain forms that cannot be filled in online – they can only be printed and completed by hand. This article explains why such forms don't meet the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act, and how to fix the problem. Fri, 20 Mar 2009 12:40:00 GMT http://www.pws-ltd.com/sections/articles/2009/pdf_and_word_forms.html http://www.pws-ltd.com/sections/articles/2009/pdf_conversion.html Adobe's online PDF to HTML conversion tool does not provide the accessibility safety net that it is so often assumed to ... the real solution is to make the PDFs themselves accessible. Thu, 15 Jan 2009 10:00:00 GMT http://www.pws-ltd.com/sections/articles/2009/pdf_conversion.html http://www.pws-ltd.com/sections/articles/2008/accessible_forms.html There are many excellent tutorials on how to create accessible forms. This article takes a different approach. Its principal focus is on the pitfalls of accessible form design and how to work around them (both in HTML and PDF). Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:25:00 GMT http://www.pws-ltd.com/sections/articles/2008/accessible_forms.html http://www.pws-ltd.com/sections/articles/2008/accessibility_downturn.html Speech by PWS Director, Ted Page, to the Law Society of Scotland's Nothing But The Net conference, 7 October 2008. "In any economic downturn there are opportunities for firms willing to seek them out. An accessible website is a great way to exploit such opportunities ..." Wed, 08 Oct 2008 09:55:00 GMT http://www.pws-ltd.com/sections/articles/2008/accessibility_downturn.html http://www.pws-ltd.com/sections/articles/2008/accessible_pdf_tables.html Generally speaking, making PDFs accessible is relatively straightforward. However, one of the least well understood aspects of PDF accessibility is handling data tables correctly. The following highlights some common pitfalls and explains how to make even the most complex data tables fully accessible. Fri, 26 Sep 2008 15:20:00 GMT http://www.pws-ltd.com/sections/articles/2008/accessible_pdf_tables.html http://www.pws-ltd.com/sections/articles/2008/italics.html Many style guides advocate strictly limiting or even banning on-screen italics because of their relatively poor legibility. However, used with care, italics should present no problems and can add meaning and clarity to web copy in several distinct and important ways. Tue, 26 Aug 2008 10:45:00 GMT http://www.pws-ltd.com/sections/articles/2008/italics.html http://www.pws-ltd.com/sections/articles/2008/effective_copy_structure.html This article focuses primarily on one of the most overlooked aspects of web content production: the structure of copy. Wed, 30 Jul 2008 21:05:00 GMT http://www.pws-ltd.com/sections/articles/2008/effective_copy_structure.html http://www.pws-ltd.com/sections/articles/2008/survey.html Between September 2007 and April 2008 we conducted research into the accessibility of just over 1,500 professional services firms across the UK. Fri, 30 May 2008 08:45:00 GMT http://www.pws-ltd.com/sections/articles/2008/survey.html http://www.pws-ltd.com/sections/articles/2008/marketing_in_a_recession.html Firms often respond to the onset of economic downturns by cutting operating costs. However, there is evidence from previous recessions that firms that increase spending in these key areas significantly outperform their competitors. Wed, 23 Apr 2008 10:16:00 GMT http://www.pws-ltd.com/sections/articles/2008/marketing_in_a_recession.html http://www.pws-ltd.com/sections/articles/2008/wake_up.html We've got a really simple anti-discrimination law in the UK that basically means all sites must be accessible to disabled users. – technology lawyer, Struan Robertson. However ... Wed, 26 Mar 2008 10:15:00 GMT http://www.pws-ltd.com/sections/articles/2008/wake_up.html