Accessibility

Welcome to the Phoenix Engineering MazeTech web site. When requested, Phoenix is incorporating into web sites accessibility standards issued by the Federal access board on December 22, 2000.

We are pleased to provide an alternative medium for accessing information for our clients and about our products and services. If you have any suggestions for improving the accessibility features of these web sites, or If there is any information (or form) that is not accessible please call contact us.

Instructions for users who are hearing impaired:
We provide some Real Audio files on our server, and are incorporating the SMIL format into these audio files to provide for captioning and/or text transcripts. If you encounter a Real file which does not have alternative text for the audio portion, please contact us.

Evaluate Accessibility
Phoenix Engineering is constantly conducting research and compliance suggestions with regard to internet and web accessibility for persons with disabilities. Not all of our web products and services have accessibility features, however, it is a major part of our corporate charter to continue to enhance accessibility to our services, portals, web sites, and internet products.

There are many concepts and accessibility tools that we have learned over the years; and we intend to train and empower our clients with some of that knowledge, especially some of the excellent accessibility rules and configurations.

There are hundreds of concepts that have evolved over the years, but making accessibility and editing work takes time and diligence. Examples of some:

Most important of all: An Accessibility web map, glossary and help section

Print-this page in text, View-or-Print-in-Adobe, Link to Text to Speech and similar redirects that allow visitors to quickly detour and return using options that are specifically designed for accessibility functions.

Text enlargement options from the web or desktop

Braille Embosser output file options

Using the power and scope of MS Office tools to make pre-press and pre-web publication libraries in multi-access formats and versions.

File naming conventions that help both the viewer and the web master find them now, and find them months later.

Using MetaTags correctly in every page – still a dinosaur, but still necessary.

Adding and using embedded controls and doctypes on WebPages

If used on a site, making sure that JavaScript cookie support is activated on a visitors or client's browser.

Making sure other features such as Flash or Adobe are active or available on a visitor’s or client’s browser.

Using the power of Style Sheets - and making sure using global and external style sheet values in HTML and DHTML correctly

Text and Adobe Reader Pages together when and where alternatives are needed.

Instructions for users who have a color vision deficiency:
If you encounter any page which is difficult to read due to color contrast or hue, please contact us.

Instructions for users with other visual disabilities
Our Text Version Pages concepts are designed for a speedier entry into the major areas of our web sites. In addition, our Alphabetical Index or Search Pages assist in finding information more quickly.

We recommend IBM Home Page Reader for screen reading. This program, as the name implies, is actually more than a screen reader. It checks behind the scene and reads past what is displayed on the screen, accessing all of the information on the page, regardless of what is showing on the screen.

Some of our online documents are in portable document format (.pdf). To read these documents, download Adobe Acrobat Reader. In addition, Adobe has a free downloadable accessibility plug-in, called Adobe Access. This plug-in helps to overcome some of the problems which screen readers have reading PDF documents. Adobe also has a free online Access translation service available.

Accessibility File Concepts and Formats:
Bigger Text

First - review our LARGER TEXT NOTES...

Different Ways to Present web content and change text size:
There are a number of ways to change the size of the text you’re viewing.
Use Your Browser Settings

If you look under View on your browser’s main menu at the top of your screen, you’ll find an option with one of these names:
• Text Size
Often you will see a list of font sizes - Largest, Larger, Medium, Smaller, and Smallest, where Medium is usually the default.
• Text Zoom
• Text Magnification, or
• Font Size.
Using those options, you can choose how much larger (or smaller) the text will be.
Sample Text Sizes
In 10 point type - Aa
In 24 point type...
from 36 or larger...
What is the Web Eyes Plug-in?

Web Eyes is an Internet Explorer plug-in that allows you to adjust type size instantly and eliminate scrolling. WEB EYES software plug-in will allow you to increase text size from 10 to 144 points in two point increments. Visit Web Eyes web site: www.ionwebeyes.com or call their technical support line at 1.800.983.6397.

Note: Phoenix Engineering LLC recommends accessibility solutions such as Web Eyes as a courtesy only. We assume no responsibility for such software compatibility or use on your computer system. You must contact the vendors for their specific produce licensing and support requirements.

Adobe Acrobat Document Format:
About PDF Formatted Files
Portable Document Format (PDF)
PDF format is completely device and resolution independent. Forms and publications in PDF format can be viewed, navigated and printed from a workstation using Acrobat Reader software from Adobe Systems Inc. Versions of Acrobat Reader are freely available and run universally on DOS, Windows, Macintosh and Unix systems. To provide a consistent reference for web viewers, Phoenix and our clients suggest utilizing a familiar and recognizable logo and link whenever Adobe Acrobat Reader files are utilized on a web site.

ATTENTION Internet Explorer Users
Should you experience PDF files appearing as a blank window within Internet Explorer after downloading, follow the appropriate steps below to resolve the issue:

Adobe Acrobat Reader
If you are using Adobe Acrobat Reader version 3.0 or earlier, we recommend you upgrade to a later version.
Internet Explorer
Please see Article ID: Q177321 in the Microsoft Support Online database for a possible resolution.
Use "Save Target As..." Option
Select "PDF File Format" if necessary.
Select the file(s) you wish to download.
Click the "Review Selected Files" button.

When presented with the Results page use the "Save Target As.." option to download the file. This can normally be accomplished by right clicking on the title link then selecting "Save Target As.." when presented with a menu (If your mouse is configured for left handed operation use the left mouse button). Use Adobe Acrobat Reader to open the file after downloading.

About SGML Formatted Files
Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML)
SGML is a Federal (FIPS 152) and international (ISO 8879) standard for identifying the structure and content of documents. SGML files are ASCII text files that contain "element identifiers" similar to the tags used in an HTML file. An SGML application also contains a Document Type Definition (DTD) file that defines the document structure and content. Although transparent to viewers and correspondents, SGML is an acronym that you will often see in Web Page HTML documentation.

About Accessible Products
Most modern accessible products are executable files that now consist of text-only and computer Braille (.brf) files.

Text-Only (.txt) Files
These files are versions of web pages and presentation that contain only ASCII text to allow compatibility with expanding accessibility and adaptive technology. Tables and graphical content are presented in text-only format to assist viewers / correspondents who are visually impaired or blind. Text-only files can be opened by any word-processing program, including Microsoft Word, Notepad, Wordpad, and other ASCII text editors. Although these files cannot be filled out or submitted to a correspondent, they present the information in an universal and accessible manner.
Braille (.brf) Files.

These files are specially formatted for printing through a readers Braille Embosser to assist correspondents who are visually impaired or blind. Simply sending these files to a embosser will produce a Braille version of the form or document. Although correspondents cannot actually submit modified .brf files or hard copy Braille to their correspondents, they provide valuable information in an alternative Braille accessible format. We will see more .brf file format options in the future as Braille Embossers become prevalent.