# Tips for creating 508 compliant Captivate SWF files

While Captivate Section 508 output is compliant for navigation, you should also make sure other elements are compliant in your topics. Assistive software needs to be able to "read" elements on the screen to visually impaired users. Use these tips to help you design accessible projects.

- Write a meaningful name and description for your Captivate projects in the Movie Properties dialog box.

- Add text equivalents for visual elements. For example, when delivering narrative audio, it is important to provide captions at the same time. (When adding captions, use the Timeline to check that the captions are synchronized with the audio.) Alternatively, if your project contains visual multimedia, provide information about the multimedia. If a name and description are given for visual elements, Captivate can send the information to the user through the screen reader.

- Ensure that information that relies on color is also available without color. For example, active links that use a blue font color to indicate that they are active should also use another type of formatting (such as bold or italics).

- If mouse movement is critical in your Captivate project, consider changing the mouse pointer so it is double the normal size for easier viewing.

- Document methods of accessibility for users.

- Avoid looping objects. When a screen reader encounters Flash content on a page, the screen reader notifies the user with audio, such as “Loading….load done”. As content in a movie changes, the Flash Player sends an event to the screen reader notifying it of a change, which causes the screen reader to return to the top of the page and begin reading again. Therefore, a looping text animation on a slide, for example, might cause the screen reader to continually return to the top of the page. This could be annoying for users relying on a screen reader.

Notes:
Output generated with the Section 508 option will be displayed with all supported browsers. However, your output may not be Section 508 compliant unless it is viewed with Internet Explorer. Internet Explorer is the only browser with support for MSAA (Microsoft Active Accessibility).
To access Flash content using a screen reader, users need to have Flash Player 6 or later installed.