| Accessibility Object | Flash 6 (ActiveX for Windows IE only) |
| tools for developing advanced accessible UI components |
Indicates whether an accessibility aid program (generally a screen reader) is communicating with the Flash Player.
Sends an event notice to Microsoft Active Accessibility (MSAA).
The Accessibility object manages communication between the Flash Player and screen readers or accessibility aids such as GW Micro's Window-Eyes (http://www.gwmicro.com). The isActive( ) method checks whether an accessibility aid is communicating with the Flash Player. It is useful when dynamically generating content in a movie based on the presence of accessibility support. The sendEvent( ) method allows you to send information about UI component events to accessibility aids and is intended for developers of accessible UI components.
At the time of this writing, the Macromedia ActionScript Component Accessibility (MASCA) API works with Microsoft Active Accessibility (MSAA) only; hence, only the ActiveX version of Flash Player 6 supports communication with an external accessibility application. In the future, more versions of the Flash Player are likely to include support. Use of the MASCA API requires some knowledge of MSAA. To determine whether the current Player has accessibility support, use capabilities.hasAccessibility.
Note that Accessibility is a predefined object, not a class. Its properties, methods, and event handlers are accessed directly, as in:
Accessibility.isActive();
Many of the Accessibility implementation details have yet to be fully exposed to the developer community. In general, ActionScript accessibility is required only by advanced interface components. For examples, see the Flash UI Components included in the Flash MX authoring tool. As third-party component development proliferates, Macromedia plans to publish accessibility specifications and tutorials.
For more information on accessibility in Flash, see:
