MultiWeb Improves Access From: Real Times September - November, 1998 Page 1 Gaining access to the World Wide Web poses unique problems for people with disabilities. This is because the Web browsers such as Netscape or Internet Explorer were not primarily designed with accessibility in mind. Although there are techniques for making commercial web browsers more accessible (see http://www.el.net/CAT/access1.html), this is a complicated process. For many people, a better approach would be to surf the Web with a special Web browser, designed for adapted access An example of such a program is PwWebSpeak, a specialized browser for blind people. This program accesses the same information on the Web, but ignores graphics, reads text and links aloud, and provides a set of controls designed for easy use by a non-sighted user. Now there is MultiWeb, another specialized browser designed for sighted people with a variety of access requirements. It was developed by the Disability Access Research Team at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia. The program is free, and can be obtained at the Center or downloaded, along with a very comprehensive manual, from the Deakin University Web site at http://mis.deakin.edu.au/multiweb/download.htm MultiWeb is a self-contained browser. It does not support frames or Java; however, it does support video and audio files. It provides the standard browser controls and special features to customize input and display of information. Multi Web creates a named icon for each user containing his or her access and display preferences; clicking on an icon will start MultiWeb with the appropriate settings for that person. MultiWeb features five operating modes: mouse or keyboard; keyboard only; menu-based; switch input; and touch screen. In all modes except keyboard only, the program displays a set of function buttons which can be positioned along the top, bottom, or sides of the screen. These buttons allow the user to scroll, move from page to page, jump from link to link within a page, and control other browser functions. The size of the buttons is adjustable; the touch screen mode features especially large buttons. The scanning mode uses the mouse buttons for the switch signal, which means that an extemal switch can be used with a switch-adapted mouse as the switch interface, instead of more expensive special switch interfaces. Both the touch screen mode (which would also be suitable for someone accessing the program only by mouse), and the switch access mode, incorporate an onscreen keyboard for entering text such as search terms or Web page addresses Other options include large print (which also enlarges the mouse pointer), talking buttons, built-in text-to-speech (which will read Web pages aloud if your computer is equipped with a sound card), and a feature that highlights the text as it is read. Foreground and background colors can also be specified, as can the font. MultiWeb does have a few drawbacks. The synthesized speech is not great, although it’s intelligible once you get used to it. The onscreen keyboard feature offers only the standard "qwerty" keyboard layout, which is not ideal for some users. The scanning functions, although well thought out in some respects, are not designed for efficiency; items are scanned one by one, rather than in groups, which can slow down an experienced switch user. Overall, however, this is a very powerful, versatile program. It provides effective access to the Web while incorporating a range of features helpful to users with disabilities that could only be implemented on a standard Web browser with extensive, complicated customizing and the purchase of additional access software. Its features are well integrated, its easy to set up and operate, and the price is right. (Thanks to Sarah Clutterbuck, Education Advisor for Adaptive Technology Services at Education Queensland in Brisbane, Australia,for telling us about Multi Web.)