The purpose of the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template is to assist Federal contracting officials in making preliminary assessments regarding the availability of commercial Electronic and Information Technology products and services with features that support accessibility. It is assumed that offerers will provide additional contact information to facilitate more detailed inquiries.
The first table of the Template provides a summary view of the section 508 Standards. The subsequent tables provide more detailed views of each subsection. There are three columns in each table. Column one of the Summary Table describes the subsections of subparts B and C of the Standards. The second column describes the supporting features of the product or refers you to the corresponding detailed table, "e.g., equivalent facilitation." The third column contains any additional remarks and explanations regarding the product. In the subsequent tables, the first column contains the lettered paragraphs of the subsections. The second column describes the supporting features of the product with regard to that paragraph. The third column contains any additional remarks and explanations regarding the product.
Date: May 16, 2011
Name of product: Adobe® After Effects® CS5.5
Contact for more information: access@adobe.com
Summary Table
| Guideline | Applicable | Compliance |
|---|---|---|
Section 1194.21 Software Applications and Operating Systems |
Applicable |
Supports with exceptions |
Section 1194.22 Web-based Intranet and Internet Information and Systems |
Not applicable |
— |
Section 1194.23 Telecommunications Products |
Not applicable |
— |
Section 1194.24 Video and Multimedia Products |
Applicable |
Supports |
Section 1194.25 Self-Contained, Closed Products |
Not applicable |
— |
Section 1194.26 Desktop and Portable Computers |
Not applicable |
— |
Section 1194.31 Functional Performance Criteria |
Applicable |
Supports with exceptions |
Section 1194.41 Information, Documentation, Support |
Applicable |
Supports |
| Criteria | Supporting Features | Remarks and explanations |
|---|---|---|
(a) When software is designed to run on a system that has a keyboard, product functions shall be executable from a keyboard where the function itself or the result of performing a function can be discerned textually. |
Supports with exceptions |
Customizable keyboard navigation is provided for all menu commands, as well as for selecting and invoking tools, commands, and functions in After Effects CS5.5. However, some controls in dialog boxes, including tabs and tree controls, such as the tabs in the New Composition dialog box, are not keyboard accessible. Many controls in panels, such as the toolbar in the Timeline panel, are not reachable using the keyboard alone. Many timeline operations require the use of a mouse. |
(b) Applications shall not disrupt or disable activated features of other products that are identified as accessibility features, where those features are developed and documented according to industry standards. Applications also shall not disrupt or disable activated features of any operating system that are identified as accessibility features where the application programming interface for those accessibility features has been documented by the manufacturer of the operating system and is available to the product developer. |
Supports |
After Effects CS5.5 does not interfere with or deactivate accessibility features of the operating system. |
(c) A well-defined on-screen indication of the current focus shall be provided that moves among interactive interface elements as the input focus changes. The focus shall be programmatically exposed so that Assistive Technology can track focus and focus changes. |
Supports with exceptions |
With the exception of some controls in dialog boxes and panels, such as buttons and combo boxes, most elements in the After Effects CS5.5 interface provide a well defined on-screen indication of focus. When focus is on some controls in panels and dialog boxes, such as the tree menu in the Effects and Presets panel and controls in the Welcome dialog box, it is not programmatically exposed to assistive technology. |
(d) Sufficient information about a user interface element including the identity, operation and state of the element shall be available to Assistive Technology. When an image represents a program element, the information conveyed by the image must also be available in text. |
Does not support |
With the exception of application menus, sufficient information is not available for most controls in the After Effects CS5.5 interface. |
(e) When bitmap images are used to identify controls, status indicators, or other programmatic elements, the meaning assigned to those images shall be consistent throughout an application's performance. |
Supports |
Toolbars and other icons and images are consistent throughout the application. |
(f) Textual information shall be provided through operating system functions for displaying text. The minimum information that shall be made available is text content, text input caret location, and text attributes. |
Supports with exceptions |
With the exception of text that is created on the Canvas using the Text tool, textual information is programmatically exposed to assistive technologies. |
(g) Applications shall not override user selected contrast and color selections and other individual display attributes. |
Does not support |
After Effects CS5.5 does not support Windows High Contrast Mode. |
(h) When animation is displayed, the information shall be displayable in at least one non-animated presentation mode at the option of the user. |
Not applicable |
After Effects CS5.5 does not use animation in the user interface. |
(i) Color coding shall not be used as the only means of conveying information, indicating an action, prompting a response, or distinguishing a visual element. |
Supports |
The After Effects CS5.5 user interface does not use color as the only means of conveying information with some exceptions, including: Colors can be used for labeling layers, but the information about layer types is also available in the Timeline panel. |
(j) When a product permits a user to adjust color and contrast settings, a variety of color selections capable of producing a range of contrast levels shall be provided. |
Supports with exceptions |
After Effects CS5.5 allows users to change the contrast settings of the interface, but while there is variety in the brightness settings there is no option to select different color combinations with different contrast levels. |
(k) Software shall not use flashing or blinking text, objects, or other elements having a flash or blink frequency greater than 2 Hz and lower than 55 Hz. |
Supports |
The After Effects CS5.5 user interface does not use flashing or blinking text, objects, or other elements. |
(l) When electronic forms are used, the form shall allow people using Assistive Technology to access the information, field elements, and functionality required for completion and submission of the form, including all directions and cues. |
Supports with exceptions |
Most form fields in dialog boxes, such as the Preferences dialog box, are keyboard accessible but do not provide sufficient information to assistive technology. Many form fields in panels, such as the Preview panel, are not reachable with the keyboard alone and do not provide sufficient information. |
| Criteria | Supporting Features | Remarks and explanations |
|---|---|---|
a) All analog television displays 13 inches and larger, and computer equipment that includes analog television receiver or display circuitry, shall be equipped with caption decoder circuitry which appropriately receives, decodes, and displays closed captions from broadcast, cable, videotape, and DVD signals. As soon as practicable, but not later than July 1, 2002, widescreen digital television (DTV) displays measuring at least 7.8 inches vertically, DTV sets with conventional displays measuring at least 13 inches vertically, and stand-alone DTV tuners, whether or not they are marketed with display screens, and computer equipment that includes DTV receiver or display circuitry, shall be equipped with caption decoder circuitry which appropriately receives, decodes, and displays closed captions from broadcast, cable, videotape, and DVD signals. |
Not applicable |
|
(b) Television tuners, including tuner cards for use in computers, shall be equipped with secondary audio program playback circuitry. |
Not applicable |
|
(c) All training and informational video and multimedia productions which support the agency's mission, regardless of format, that contain speech or other audio information necessary for the comprehension of the content, shall be open or closed captioned. |
Supports |
Authors exporting video from After Effects CS5.5 can supply captions through a separate process, which depends on the destination of the video. |
(d) All training and informational video and multimedia productions which support the agency's mission, regardless of format, that contain visual information necessary for the comprehension of the content, shall be audio described. |
Supports |
Authors can include an additional audio track for audio description information that will be included as part of the video file, or authors can provide audio description through a separate process. |
(e) Display or presentation of alternate text presentation or audio descriptions shall be user-selectable unless permanent. |
Not applicable |
Captions and audio descriptions can be set to be user controllable in a separate process depending on the final export format. For instance, Flash video can be set up with user controllable captions in Flash Professional CS5.5 or Encore CS5.5. |
| Criteria | Supporting Features | Remarks and explanations |
|---|---|---|
(a) At least one mode of operation and information retrieval that does not require user vision shall be provided, or support for Assistive Technology used by people who are blind or visually impaired shall be provided. |
Does not support |
With the exception of application menus and some controls, elements in the After Effects CS5.5 user interface are not accessible to screen readers. Most controls in dialog boxes, such as the Preferences dialog box, are keyboard accessible but do not provide sufficient information to assistive technology. Most controls in panels, such as the Preview panel, are not reachable with the keyboard alone and do not provide sufficient information. |
(b) At least one mode of operation and information retrieval that does not require visual acuity greater than 20/70 shall be provided in audio and enlarged print output working together or independently, or support for Assistive Technology used by people who are visually impaired shall be provided. |
Supports with exceptions |
After Effects CS5.5 supports the use of screen magnifiers but for some controls there is not a clear indication of current focus and focus is not exposed programmatically in some cases. After Effects CS5.5 does not support Windows High Contrast Mode. |
(c) At least one mode of operation and information retrieval that does not require user hearing shall be provided, or support for Assistive Technology used by people who are deaf or hard of hearing shall be provided |
Supports |
|
(d) Where audio information is important for the use of a product, at least one mode of operation and information retrieval shall be provided in an enhanced auditory fashion, or support for assistive hearing devices shall be provided. |
Supports |
|
(e) At least one mode of operation and information retrieval that does not require user speech shall be provided, or support for Assistive Technology used by people with disabilities shall be provided. |
Supports |
|
(f) At least one mode of operation and information retrieval that does not require fine motor control or simultaneous actions and that is operable with limited reach and strength shall be provided. |
Supports with exceptions |
Some actions in the After Effects CS5.5 interface require simultaneous mouse and keyboard actions, such as constraining shape tools. |
| Criteria | Supporting Features | Remarks and explanations |
|---|---|---|
(a) Product support documentation provided to end-users shall be made available in alternate formats upon request, at no additional charge. |
Supports |
Adobe provides electronic versions of all product support documentation. |
(b) End-users shall have access to a description of the accessibility and compatibility features of products in alternate formats or alternate methods upon request, at no additional charge. |
Supports |
Adobe provides information on accessibility features in the documentation. Electronic versions of all product support documentation are provided. |
(c) Support services for products shall accommodate the communication needs of end-users with disabilities. |
Supports |
Product support for Adobe products is available in a variety of formats and from a number of online sources available from Adobe Systems. |
