The VISUAL Web Authoring Tool (VWAT) is an accessible web authoring tool (designed to be accessible from the beginning) that can be used both by visually impaired and sighted people to produce accessible content.
The VWAT creates accessible web pages - clean structural mark-up - and encourages the use of Style Sheets - separate content from presentation. VWAT integrates a CSS editor. VWAT provides built-in validation for 1) XHTML syntax 2) CSS level 2 and 3) accessibility ratio of Web pages VWAT provides automatic conversion of valid HTML to XHTML It validates and guides users to repair accessibility errors. It provides 2 editing modes 1) source code 2) tree view.
As a unique feature, VWAT integrates voice 1) into web pages (using the ConPalabras object) and in the tool itself (self-voicing mode). Moreover, VWAT provides a set of wizards to create XML/QTI tests/questions. VWAT supports user Help (off line in HTML format), Manuals (off line in HTML format), Quizzes (off line in HTML format) and Wizards that guide the user in the creation of web content, making it very difficult to create invalid or inaccessible web pages. The VWAT supports multi-language (currently available in English and Spanish) and provides advanced environment configuration options to change the look and feel of the GUI.
Within VISUAL, four partners developed different parts and modules that were assembled into the VISUAL Web Authoring Tool. VISUAL results HTML Validation, HTML Accessibility Checking, CSS Validation, XHTML Course, QTI Wizard eTIP are some of those modules. SCT assembled to create the VWAT. SCT developed the accessible XHTML editing module, which is the core of the VISUAL tool, and designed and developed the accessible GUI to be compatible with assistive technologies and to provide built-in voice interaction.
This is the global result of several developments made within the Visual project. Sufficiently knowledge has been gathered by the project partners to develop a fully functioning web authoring tool that takes into account all present WAI guidelines on accessible web-design. For more information, cf. the more specific Visual results.