Flash Article

Creating self-voicing puzzles in Flash

You're probably asking yourself: What is a self-voicing Flash application? An application is self-voicing when it relies on system-level voices, rather than an external tool—like a screen reader—to read the content aloud.

A screen reader is a type of assistive technology that makes content accessible to users with visual impairments. Screen readers read the content of an HTML page with help from software running inside the web browser (Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 and later) called Microsoft Active Accessibility (MSAA). MSAA pulls the content out of the SWF file and puts it in what is called a data tree. From there, the screen reader sounds out the content in a linear fashion.

Because screen readers need the browser to be able to read the content, they cannot read stand-alone applications, such as executables in kiosk presentations. Screen-reader software also comes with a learning curve, so children usually do not start using them until fourth grade or later. Therefore, if you want to make an application truly accessible for young children, or for stand-alone applications, self-voicing is a great solution.

Macromedia Director MX has a built-in text-to-speech solution (TTS) called Speech Xtra. It allows you to author accessible, stand-alone media because the voice inside Director reads the content much as a screen reader would, and the content does not have to be in a web browser. Flash, however, does not have a built-in TTS tool yet.

In this article, you will learn how to make a Flash puzzle accessible by using self-voicing techniques.

Requirements

To complete this tutorial you will need to install the following software and files:

Flash Professional 8

• Try
• Buy

Sample files:

• frog_life_cycle.zip (ZIP, 5 MB)

Prerequisite knowledge

Basic knowledge of Flash and ActionScript 2.0.

© 2006 Snert Studios

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