For the Visually Impaired

Many visually impaired persons use screen readers and other assistive technologies to help them use their computers. The design of A&D is ideal for these individuals because of its character set, symmetry, and avoidance of graphic images.

A&D screens are displayed using standard text characters from Code Page 437, Character Set 2 —also called the IBMPC or PC-8 character set. The entire interface is presented with screens that are 80-characters wide and 26-rows high.

A unique screen ID number is always at the top left after the word "Screen" and the screen title is at the top center in row 1. All data-entry fields in A&D are consistently numbered and identified. Most error messages are displayed in the center of row 25.

The 80 main functions of A&D are accessed from a symmetrical menu structure. Function keys provide a shortcut and alternative access method for 12 functions—as do standard word commands.

A&D runs on all Intel-based operating systems in a totally consistent manner—whether DOS, OS/2, or Windows 3.1, 95, 98, or NT. A&D's screens normally occupy the entire display in a fixed position. Although A&D can also be shown in one, two, or four windows within the Windows' desktop, those display modes are not recommended for the visually impaired because they make it much more difficult for the screen readers to read the screen, and may cause A&D to run more slowly.

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