Web²Access

Results for Microsoft Office Outlook

Description

Microsoft Office Outlook is part of the Office suite and offers more features when compared to Outlook Express. It is a Personal Information Management Application that includes e-mail, contacts with addresses for mail merge, calendar that can be shared and synchronised with most handheld personal digital assistants and mobile phones. There are notes and to do lists.

Accessibility Testing Results

This application is really useful and is generally accessible. It can be used with the in-built accessibility options presented in the 'Ease Of Access' center, as well as the external tools such as the screen reader NVDA. Links to calendars, contacts and email provided by other services is also helpful e.g. hotmail and Google. Microsoft have VPATs (Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates) for their products.

#	Test	Score	Summary
16	Built in accessibility checks		Contrast options are good and at all times the user can read the content on the screen. Most of the keyboard shortcuts work well and the applications can be browsed with tab navigation. The built in accessibility tools work well as it is part of the Microsoft Office suite. The 'On Screen' magnifier, plus sticky key option work successfully but Narrator appears to only read titles and not the content of messages.
17	Application works with External Assistive Technologies		All the menu options work well with external assistive technologies trialled. However, Outlook Express works better with Thunder rather than Office Outlook and if working with NVDA within Office Outlook it helps to work across the screens using the tab and down arrow keys and to make use of the Windows key or other shortcut keys for easier controls.
18	Text or other alternatives for image elements.		Where icons are used these have text equivalents and if graphics are added to emails they have to be tagged by the user.
19	Keyboard / Alternative input with focus		All the keyboard shortcuts and navigation options worked well with Microsoft Outlook with clear focus. Keyboard Shortcut hints are also easily accessible and understandable.
20	Labels for objects, fields or controls		Labels can be viewed and work well with an external screen reader. The only problem is if somebody tries to listen the content of the mail message body with built-in screen reader 'Narrator', when nothing is read aloud.
21	Audio alerts have visual cues		Audio alerts like appointments and schedules and new emails can be customised. Sound Sentries work with all dialog alerts.
22	Alternatives for Video / Animation		Not applicable
23	Media events offer user control		Not Applicable
24	Textual Information for screen reader		All features are readable with most screen reader tools i.e. Menus, Options, Labels, Frames etc.
25	Keyboard shortcut keys offered		The application is easy to use with keyboard only access as it is with a mouse. All actions that can be achieved by dragging and dropping can also be achieved via keyboard shortcuts and the Windows key.
26	Save user preferences for style and zoom		It is easy to modify the settings to suit user preferences and it is possible to save those settings to be linked with a login so that the specific user will get the same settings every time they use the application.
27	Timed events can be altered		There is no constraint on time limits in the MS Outlook. Where times can be set they do not impact on typing time or message creation.
28	Change colours and contrast		Built in operating system support for Accessibility tools and additional tools for the application are good and colour changes can be created for a profile as well as via the desktop settings. High Contrast mode is available.
29	Uniform and standardised presentation		All the menus are easy to access and the presentation is good. The program follows a standard Windows presentation mode with a ribbon for navigation.
30	Documentation		Built-in help files are clear, easy to read and useful support is also available online. It is possible to print out files and down load more information from the Microsoft website.

Disability-Tailored Results

The following table shows how well the product performs for people with disabilities, as listed in the Disabilities section.

Percentages do not indicate how much of a site is accessible. They indicate the average figure of test results relevant to each disability. Select a disability to see which tests are relevant to it.

Activities you can do with Microsoft Office Outlook

• Appointment Creation and Sharing
• Group Discussion
• Asynchronous communication (e.g.email)