accessibility options not working in Office 2007

[Michael S. Wall]

I have a user that needs to have a Windows desktop color scheme of High
Contrast Black. This worked for her in Office 2003 because it appears that
Office 2003 used the Windows settings. It does not work for her in Office
2007. The 3 color schemes provided in Office 2007 do not work for her. She
cannot see highlighted text for one thing. Why did Microsoft make this
change with Office 2007? This is a 508 compliance issue that we have to deal
with to make reasonable accommodations for this user. What options are
available? Our whole organization has moved to Office 2007 so it is not an
option to have her just keep using Office 2003 indefinitely. Are there 3rd
party products that can resolve this issue? Surely others must be in the
same boat.

 

[mezzodiva]

What operating system are you using?

 

[Michael S. Wall]

The problem occurs with Windows XP. It does not occur with Vista. We have
no plans to move ahead with Vista for the foreseeable future, so I need to
find a solution for Windows XP.

 

[Bob Buckland ?:-\)]

Hi Michael,

In Windows XP for Office 2007 the High Contrast Schemes work on computers here. Try using a different high contrast scheme then
switching back to the one you want, after restarting the computer. You may also want to try on a different profile to see if it
works then. Note that in the high contrast mode the ribbon icons can be even more difficult to see.

===========
The problem occurs with Windows XP. It does not occur with Vista. We have
no plans to move ahead with Vista for the foreseeable future, so I need to
find a solution for Windows XP. <<
--

Bob Buckland ?
MS Office System Products MVP

*Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*

 

[Michael S. Wall]

I have tried this on different computers and with different profiles. I just
went back and tried all of the high contrast schemes. I see no difference
for the problem this user is experiencing. Highlighted text is not visible
to her. It is using a gray scale highlight that is barely visible to me, and
I'm not vision impaired. It was working fine in Office 2003, so clearly this
is an Office 2007 problem. I don't believe it is related to the computer or
the profile or the Windows settings.

 

[Bob Buckland ?:-\)]

Hi Michael,

It's not clear what you're finding that doesn't work. In a quick test in Word 2007...

I used the 'Marine (high) color' scheme as an example. That puts text in normal 'automatic' color (black) and when highlighting
text I get white text on black highlighting. Using 'Windows classic', 'High Contrast white, selected (highlighted text on white on
black background; 'High Contrast #1' Normal is yellow on black, highlighted (selected) text is blue on white background.

Without the high contrast the highlighted text shading is a faint blue.
==============
I have tried this on different computers and with different profiles. I just
went back and tried all of the high contrast schemes. I see no difference
for the problem this user is experiencing. Highlighted text is not visible
to her. It is using a gray scale highlight that is barely visible to me, and
I'm not vision impaired. It was working fine in Office 2003, so clearly this
is an Office 2007 problem. I don't believe it is related to the computer or
the profile or the Windows settings. >>
--

Bob Buckland ?
MS Office System Products MVP

*Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*

 

[Michael S. Wall]

Marine (high) color shows black text. The highlighted text is black with a
faint blue highlight color. I am not sure how you are getting what you're
getting, but that is not what is shown on multiple computers here. What she
needs is High Contrast Black. Normal text is white on a black background.
Highlighted text should be black text with white highlight color. What we
are seeing with Office 2007 is white text on black background. Highlighted
text is still white and the highlight color is faint blue or gray scale,
which is not visible to her.

 

[Bob Buckland ?:-\)]

Hi Michael,

I'm not sure what else to suggest other than to check the color depth (right click desktop and set to 32 bit) or to create a new
profile on the computer. I get the result you're looking for and the ones I mentioned on 3 different machines. If the machines all
have the same graphics card driver you may also want to check the settings and driver versions for that adapter.

The light blue shading is what you normally only get when the high contrast settings are not in effect (i.e. the Office button in
'normal' is colored, with high contrast turned on through Windows XP Control Panel=>Accessibility Options, it's High contrast black
it's white on a black background.

==========
Marine (high) color shows black text. The highlighted text is black with a
faint blue highlight color. I am not sure how you are getting what you're
getting, but that is not what is shown on multiple computers here. What she
needs is High Contrast Black. Normal text is white on a black background.
Highlighted text should be black text with white highlight color. What we
are seeing with Office 2007 is white text on black background. Highlighted
text is still white and the highlight color is faint blue or gray scale,
which is not visible to her. <<
--

Bob Buckland ?
MS Office System Products MVP

*Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*