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Google works to improve the accessibility of its products and has been launching tools for a long time to improve the lives of people with special needsLive Transcribe or Sound Amplifier are some of the proposals that have been recently launched and the latest one that they have presented is much more powerful than the previous ones and can even improve the lives of many people without special needs.
Starting today, you can see real-time edition updates in Google DocsLive edits can not only be viewed in real time but can also work in conjunction with screen readers such as ChromeVox, NVDA, JAWS or VoiceOver. They may even work with Braille displays as well. A new sidebar pops up with this update and lets you see real-time updates from everyone who is working on the document.
What data do real-time updates in Google Docs give us?
The new bar allows us to see in each entry the name of the user who is editing, the avatar of the profile with the corresponding color of the edition, time stamps and the type of change that is being carried out such as "Add", "Replace", etc. All changes can be read in real time aloud by whatever type of assistive device the user needs. In addition, it is possible to distinguish between following a single collaborator or seeing what everyone working together on a file is doing.
This feature is very important for people with special needs and joins the existing screen reader in Google Docs, as well as other Google Drive apps that work in a similar way. This new real-time editions sidebar has started rolling out today and will be available for all editions of G Suite in the coming weeks. Nothing needs to be enabled, real-time editing will be on by default and can be enabled or disabled in Google Docs settings.
To see the editions in real time you just have to enter the Google Docs settings in Tools – Accessibility settings and check the option “Activate screen reader support” and then check “Show live edits” in the same accessibility menu.
