# Enhancing LibreOffice Accessibility Across Platforms > [! note]- > The content of this page is generated by audio/video transcription and text transformation from the content and links of this source. Source: [https://fosdem.org/2025/schedule/event/fosdem-2025-6144-libreoffice-accessibility-on-linux-windows-and-macos/](https://fosdem.org/2025/schedule/event/fosdem-2025-6144-libreoffice-accessibility-on-linux-windows-and-macos/) <video src="https://video.fosdem.org/2025/h2213/fosdem-2025-6144-libreoffice-accessibility-on-linux-windows-and-macos.av1.webm" controls></video> ## Summary & Highlights: The session at FOSDEM 2025, led by Michael Weghorn, focuses on enhancing LibreOffice's accessibility across various platforms, including Linux, Windows, and macOS. It highlights the necessity of implementing platform-specific accessibility APIs to ensure that LibreOffice remains usable for individuals with disabilities. **Introduction to Accessibility** Accessibility refers to designing products and services to be usable by people with disabilities. This session emphasizes the importance of both direct access (unassisted) and indirect access (compatibility with assistive technologies like screen readers). **Platform-Specific Implementations** LibreOffice's approach to accessibility involves implementing different protocols and APIs on various platforms. On Windows, it supports IAccessible and IAccessible2, while on macOS, it uses NSAccessibility. On Linux, it primarily uses the AT-SPI2 protocol via GTK3 and Qt plugins. **Challenges and Solutions** The session outlines the challenges faced in maintaining accessibility across different platforms, particularly with GTK4's incomplete API. It also discusses the collaborative efforts required among various projects to ensure effective accessibility. **Future Prospects** The talk introduces new developments, such as the Newton accessibility stack on Linux, and emphasizes the importance of continued collaboration with other projects to enhance accessibility. ## Importance for an eco-social transformation The session underscores the importance of accessibility in fostering an inclusive digital environment, which is crucial for eco-social transformation. By ensuring that software like LibreOffice is accessible to all, including those with disabilities, we promote social equity and digital inclusivity. Eco-social designers can apply these principles by integrating accessibility features into their designs, using open-source tools and platforms that prioritize inclusivity. Challenges include keeping up with evolving accessibility standards and ensuring compatibility across various assistive technologies. Addressing these challenges requires collaboration across technical, social, and political domains to create a more accessible and equitable digital world. ## Slides: | | | | --- | --- | | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/LibreOffice-Accessibility-on-Linux-Windows-and-mac/preview_001.jpg\|300]] | The first slide introduces the topic of the session, focusing on LibreOffice's accessibility across Linux, Windows, and macOS. Michael Weghorn, representing The Document Foundation, presents this at FOSDEM 2025. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/LibreOffice-Accessibility-on-Linux-Windows-and-mac/preview_002.jpg\|300]] | The second slide provides a definition of accessibility, emphasizing the importance of designing products and services that are usable by people with disabilities. It highlights the need for both direct and indirect access, referencing Wikipedia for further context. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/LibreOffice-Accessibility-on-Linux-Windows-and-mac/preview_003.jpg\|300]] | The third slide presents a sample scenario illustrating how a screen reader interacts with LibreOffice. It describes the process where a user navigates a dialog using the Tab key, and how the application communicates with the screen reader to announce the focused object, such as a 'Cancel' button. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/LibreOffice-Accessibility-on-Linux-Windows-and-mac/preview_004.jpg\|300]] | The fourth slide outlines a simple accessibility scenario not specific to LibreOffice. It describes how an application uses a UI toolkit to interact with assistive technologies across different operating systems, such as Linux, Windows, and macOS. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/LibreOffice-Accessibility-on-Linux-Windows-and-mac/preview_005.jpg\|300]] | The fifth slide provides a simplified overview of how LibreOffice handles accessibility. It explains the use of different UI toolkits and protocols like GTK3, AT-SPI2, IAccessible2, and NSAccessibility, and how they integrate with LibreOffice's internal accessibility API. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/LibreOffice-Accessibility-on-Linux-Windows-and-mac/preview_006.jpg\|300]] | The sixth slide focuses on how LibreOffice implements accessibility on Windows and macOS. It discusses the use of IAccessible/MSAA and IAccessible2 on Windows, and NSAccessibility on macOS, noting the lack of native UIA support. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/LibreOffice-Accessibility-on-Linux-Windows-and-mac/preview_007.jpg\|300]] | The seventh slide discusses the accessibility features of the gtk3 VCL plugin on Linux. It highlights the use of native GTK widgets and the AT-SPI2 protocol, noting that gtk3 is currently the most accessible variant on Linux. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/LibreOffice-Accessibility-on-Linux-Windows-and-mac/preview_008.jpg\|300]] | The eighth slide addresses the gtk4 VCL plugin on Linux, explaining its direct implementation of the AT-SPI2 protocol and the experimental nature due to incomplete GTK accessibility APIs. It mentions that gtk3 remains the default due to these limitations. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/LibreOffice-Accessibility-on-Linux-Windows-and-mac/preview_009.jpg\|300]] | The ninth slide examines the Qt-based VCL plugins on Linux, noting improvements in Qt6 that enhance accessibility. It discusses ongoing work to use native Qt widgets and highlights the QAccessible API's role in bridging to AT-SPI2. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/LibreOffice-Accessibility-on-Linux-Windows-and-mac/preview_010.jpg\|300]] | The tenth slide introduces Newton, a new proof-of-concept accessibility stack on Linux. It emphasizes the importance of collaboration among projects to ensure a seamless user experience and thanks contributors for their efforts. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/LibreOffice-Accessibility-on-Linux-Windows-and-mac/preview_011.jpg\|300]] | The eleventh slide provides resources for further involvement in LibreOffice accessibility, including links to the Wiki, mailing lists, and Bugzilla for tracking accessibility issues. | ![[FOSDEM 2025/assets/LibreOffice-Accessibility-on-Linux-Windows-and-mac/preview_012.jpg\|300]] | The twelfth slide concludes the presentation with a thank you note to the audience for their attention. ## Links [LibreOffice website](https://www.libreoffice.org) [Video recording (AV1/WebM) - 42.5 MB](https://video.fosdem.org/2025/h2213/fosdem-2025-6144-libreoffice-accessibility-on-linux-windows-and-macos.av1.webm) [Video recording (MP4) - 257.2 MB](https://video.fosdem.org/2025/h2213/fosdem-2025-6144-libreoffice-accessibility-on-linux-windows-and-macos.av1.mp4) [Video recording subtitle file (VTT)](https://video.fosdem.org/2025/h2213/fosdem-2025-6144-libreoffice-accessibility-on-linux-windows-and-macos.vtt) [Chat room(web)](https://fosdem.org/2025/chat) [Chat room(app)](https://fosdem.org/2025/chat/app) [Slides of the talk](https://fosdem.org/2025/events/attachments/fosdem-2025-6144-libreoffice-accessibility-on-linux-windows-and-macos/slides/237833/2025-02-0_olHMg5Z.pdf)