[MUSIC PLAYING]
JIMMY TRAN: Hi, there.
Welcome back to "The G Suite Show."
I'm super excited about today's episode.
DREA ALPHONSO: Me too, especially
since it's a topic we haven't covered just yet.
So today, we're talking about accessibility with G Suite.
JIMMY TRAN: That's right.
At Google, we believe in making accessibility
a core consideration of our product designs.
DREA ALPHONSO: And that's why our G Suite
apps come with a variety of accessibility features.
So let's check out some of the basics.
JIMMY TRAN: So let's take a look at screen readers
and how G Suite works with them.
DREA ALPHONSO: In general, we recommend
using Chrome with VoiceOver if you're on a Mac.
JIMMY TRAN: NVDA with Firefox.
DREA ALPHONSO: JAWS with Windows.
JIMMY TRAN: And Chrome with ChromeVox
if you're on a Chromebook.
DREA ALPHONSO: So let's set this up in Gmail.
JIMMY TRAN: In Gmail, it works best if we turn on shortcuts.
For example, I open the Settings menu
in the upper right corner, select Settings,
scroll to Keyboard Shortcuts, and select Keyboard Shortcuts
On.
I can use keyboard shortcuts to do just about anything.
And to see a complete list of them at any time,
I just press the question mark key while in Gmail.
DREA ALPHONSO: It might also help to convert button labels
from images to text.
Just go back to Settings, and under the General label,
scroll to Button Labels and check the box for text.
JIMMY TRAN: If I'm using a screen
reader with Google Calendar, it's the same process.
I go to Settings and turn Keyboard Shortcuts on.
DREA ALPHONSO: Also, screen readers in Calendar
work best in agenda view.
So in the same Settings tab, I scrolled
to Default View and change it to Agenda.
JIMMY TRAN: One of our coolest accessibility
features available in Google Docs
and Slides is voice dictation and speaker notes.
That's ability to write and edit with your voice.
DREA ALPHONSO: And it works for dozens of languages,
and we're adding more all the time.
If I'm in Google Docs, I make sure my microphone is on,
and then go to Tools, then Voice Typing.
A small microphone icon will appear.
When I'm ready to record, I click on it.
And when I'm ready to stop, I click it again.
While recording, comma, anything I say
will be converted to text, exclamation point.
And I can make changes with my keyboard and cursor
without stopping the recording, period.
I can also use voice commands to do just about anything,
from selecting a line, creating a table or list, copy, paste,
and scroll, you name it.
I can also say "voice typing help"
to get a list of the available voice commands.
JIMMY TRAN: Jimmy is the best.
Bold.
Highlight.
Underline.
DREA ALPHONSO: That's a little much.
JIMMY TRAN: Font size 72.
Yeah, you're right.
That's a little too much.
Outside of voice typing, Google and
other third-party developers have
developed a wide array of Chrome extensions
to improve accessibility.
To search for different extensions,
I go to the Chrome Web Store at chrome.google.come/webstore.
There, I can search for extensions
that allow me to zoom in on web sites, set a minimum font size,
create a high-contrast color scheme, and plenty more.
When I find an extension I like, I just click Add to Chrome.
DREA ALPHONSO: Chrome always lets me zoom in on web pages
by selecting the More icon in the upper right-hand corner
and choosing Zoom or by pressing Control and Plus or Control
and Minus.
And Chrome automatically remembers my zoom settings
for each unique domain.
Another useful feature is that Google Drive now
offers automatic OCR.
JIMMY TRAN: OCR stands for Optical Character Recognition.
So now it can convert images and PDFs into text.
OCR is a breakthrough in machine learning to analyze images.
DREA ALPHONSO: And there's this really cool link
here if you want to learn how to convert your PDF and photo
files to text.
All the stuff we talked about is just the tip
of the accessibility iceberg.
For a more comprehensive list, visit the G Suite user guide
to accessibility.
JIMMY TRAN: And support for accessibility
extends beyond our products.
Google funds dozens of academic research projects and education
initiatives across the world that
directly strive to improve the lives of people
with disabilities.
You can learn more about our efforts here.
DREA ALPHONSO: And that's it for today.
We'll see you later.
JIMMY TRAN: Check out last week's episode
to learn how Gmail Smart Reply uses machine learning
to make answering your emails on the go easier than ever.
[MUSIC PLAYING]