Accessibility kit for SharePoint
Accessibility kit for SharePoint
March 12, 2009: HiSoftware and Microsoft have announced the release of an accessible development framework for Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) environments.
Accessibility Kit for SharePoint (AKS) v2.0 includes a series of Smart Control Adapters to reduce customisation, HiSoftware’s Compliant Code Engine (HCCE) to assist organizations in creating code that is compliant to standards-based HTML or XHTML, and support for additional regulatory standards.
Tom Rizzo, Senior Director of SharePoint for Microsoft Corporation says, “ It is Microsoft’s goal to deliver better accessibility for all SharePoint content and we believe that the AKS v2.0 moves us in the direction of this goal.”
More than 4,000 organizations from fifty countries have downloaded AKS v1.x which is available under the Microsoft Public License. AKS is intended to be a community based project to which other organisations can contribute.
AKS v2.0 introduces the following:* Smart Control adapters which greatly reduce the amount of custom configuration previously required for AKS control adapters.* The Web Part Zone Control Adapter, a special Smart Adapter that modifies the output of SharePoint so that it does not use tables for layout of the Web parts.* HiSoftware’s Compliant Code Engine (HCCE) to assist organizations in creating code that is compliant to standards-based HTML or XHTML.* Additional requirements under Canadian Common Look and Feel 2.0 (CLF 2.0) guidelines.* Examples of remediation to comply with WCAG 2.0 Level AA.* French language version of AKS components.
Beyond AKS, HiSoftware provides end-to-end solutions to address accessibility and other Web governance issues during the development process and to provide ongoing Web compliance testing through an integrated SharePoint work flow process. HiSoftware solutions for MOSS provide an integrated, full Web project life cycle approach that allows customers to start accessible and stay accessible.
HiSoftware President and CEO, Kurt A. Mueffelmann, said, “We are pleased to release AKS v2.0. With more than 4,000 downloads of AKS 1.x during the past year, we look forward to the continued commitment of the Microsoft SharePoint community towards creating a more accessible solution.
"This latest release of AKS 2.0 makes it easier than ever for SharePoint users to create a more accessible Web site with new features that improve ease-of-use and support for additional standards. Paired with HiSoftware's commercial offerings for MOSS, the tools allow organizations to not only start accessible - but stay accessible - despite constantly changing and evolving content with an end-to-end solution.”
AKS v2.0 is available immediately at no charge under the Microsoft Public License through Codeplex at https://aks.hisoftware.com.