Service Overview
SensusAccess is a tool that allows the quick automated conversion of documents between various file types to improve their accessibility and usability.
SensusAccess Accessibility Status
The SensusAccess service is generally compliant with CU Boulder Accessibility Policy and Standards. A linear version of SensusAccess was released in August 2017 to address several issues with the older version that stemmed from the use of Javascript. Known issues with the new version are listed below.
Please note: Statements on this page about the accessibility of SensusAccess are based on accessibility testing done in July 2017, and may no longer represent the current status of the software.
Information for Users
Issues with Screen Readers
Screen reader users may encounter issues with focus after selecting each next step. The focus typically lands at the bottom of the newly-loaded page rather than the top.
When uploading a file for conversion, users have to activate two separate buttons. The first one is visually labeled “Browse”, but JAWS and NVDA read it out as “Upload files”. This button should be selected to choose the file to upload. The second button is just labeled “Upload”. This button should be selected once the correct file is chosen, and then the file will be uploaded to the website.
Users may encounter issues with the combo boxes for selecting Language and Speed for audio file output.
Character Recognition Issues
SensusAccess is configured to recognize a variety of languages in documents; as a result, the service will, for example, recognize documents as well as text fragments within documents in French, German and Spanish. The downside of this is that the service may identify fragments of text in documents as non-English, based on the spelling and/or use of national characters (e.g., æ, ø, å, ä, ö, é) and/or faulty recognition caused by poor scan quality, even in cases where the best would have been to have everything marked as being in English. To ensure that screen readers read the document in the correct language, those creating documents should use the language features in the application the document is being created in, to remove unwanted language codes. Usually it will be enough to select all contents and then explicitly set it to the preferred language (e.g., US English).
Vendor Accessibility Information
Get Help or Provide Feedback
OIT has partnered with Disability Services to provide assistance for accessibility issues related to OIT supported services and we want to hear from you about this service. If you need assistance using this service or you have more information about the accessibility of this service that we should share with others, please contact the IT Service Center at oithelp@colorado.edu or at 303-735-4357.
You can also give SensusAccess feedback regarding the accessibility of their application via email.
