ZoomText

General Information

Technologies must be operated and maintained in accordance with Federal and Department security and privacy policies and guidelines. More information on the proper use of the TRM can be found on the TRM Proper Use Tab/Section.

Website:	Go to site
Description:	ZoomText is a screen magnifier designed for visually impaired individuals. This technology allows users to see everything on the computer screen as well as providing access to applications, documents, email, and web browsing. This technology has dual monitor support, can magnify the screen up to 36 times, and allows users to choose which part of the screen is magnified. Additionally, this technology provides navigation capabilities that enable users to launch programs and find documents on the screen along with the hypertext links and controls on a web page. This technology is available in two editions: ZoomText Magnifier and ZoomText Magnifier/Reader. ZoomText Magnifier is the base product. ZoomText Magnifier/Reader is an integrated solution that provides magnification and screen reading functionalities. This assessment covers all editions. This technology is also bundled with JAWS and is offered as Fusion. There is no difference in the ZoomText standalone and the bundled Fusion version. This technology does not utilize a database, nor does it store data.
Technology/Standard Usage Requirements:	Users must ensure their use of this technology/standard is consistent with VA policies and standards, including, but not limited to, VA Handbooks 6102 and 6500; VA Directives 6004, 6513, and 6517; and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards, including Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). Users must ensure sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. Prior to use of this technology, users should check with their supervisor, Information Security Officer (ISO), Facility Chief Information Officer (CIO), or local Office of Information and Technology (OI&T) representative to ensure that all actions are consistent with current VA policies and procedures prior to implementation.
Section 508 Information:	This technology has not been assessed by the Section 508 Office. The Implementer of this technology has the responsibility to ensure the version deployed is 508-compliant. Section 508 compliance may be reviewed by the Section 508 Office and appropriate remedial action required if necessary. For additional information or assistance regarding Section 508, please contact the Section 508 Office at Section508@va.gov.
Decision:	View Decisions

Decision Source:	TRM Mgmt Group
Decision Process:	One-VA TRM v23.11
Decision Date:	11/16/2023 at 20:31:12 UTC
Aliases:	ZoomText Magnifier, ZoomText Reader, Fusion
Introduced By:	TRM Request
Vendor Name:	Freedom Scientific

Vendor Release Information

The Vendor Release table provides the known releases for the TRM Technology, obtained from the vendor (or from the release source).

Version	Release Date	Vendor End of Life Date	Vendor Desupport Date
9.1	03/31/2009
9.19	03/31/2011
10.0	11/30/2011
10.1	08/31/2013
11.0.x	01/25/2017
11.2	03/16/2017
11.4	06/30/2017
11.5	08/03/2017
11.6	10/17/2017
11.7.x	12/01/2017
11.8.x	05/01/2018
2018.x	02/28/2018
2019.x	10/18/2018
2020.x	02/01/2020
2021.x	11/01/2020
2022.x	11/01/2021
2023.x	10/28/2022
2024.x	10/26/2023

Current Decision Matrix (11/14/2023)

Users must ensure their use of this technology/standard is consistent with VA policies and standards, including, but not limited to, VA Handbooks 6102 and 6500; VA Directives 6004, 6513, and 6517; and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards, including Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). Users must ensure sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. Prior to use of this technology, users should check with their supervisor, Information Security Officer (ISO), Facility Chief Information Officer (CIO), or local Office of Information and Technology (OI&T) representative to ensure that all actions are consistent with current VA policies and procedures prior to implementation.

The VA Decision Matrix displays the current and future VA IT position regarding different releases of a TRM entry. These decisions are based upon the best information available as of the most current date. The consumer of this information has the responsibility to consult the organizations responsible for the desktop, testing, and/or production environments to ensure that the target version of the technology will be supported. Any major.minor version that is not listed in the VA Decision Matrix is considered unapproved for use.

Legend:

White	Approved: The technology/standard has been approved for use.
Yellow	Approved w/Constraints: The technology/standard can be used within the specified constraints located below the decision matrix in the footnote[1] and on the General tab.
Gray	Unapproved: This technology or standard can be used only if a POA&M review is conducted and signed by the Authorizing Official Designated Representative (AODR) as designated by the Authorizing Official (AO) or designee and based upon a recommendation from the POA&M Compliance Enforcement, has been granted to the project team or organization that wishes to use the technology.
Orange	Divest: VA has decided to divest itself on the use of the technology/standard. As a result, all projects currently utilizing the technology/standard must plan to eliminate their use of the technology/standard. Additional information on when the entry is projected to become unapproved may be found on the Decision tab for the specific entry.
Black	Prohibited: The technology/standard is not (currently) permitted to be used under any circumstances.
Blue	Planning/Evaluation Constraint:The period of time this technology is currently being evaluated, reviewed, and tested in controlled environments. Use of this technology is strictly controlled and not available for use within the general population. If a customer would like to use this technology, please work with your local or Regional OI&T office and contact the appropriate evaluation office displayed in the notes below the decision matrix. The Local or Regional OI&T office should submit an inquiry to the TRM if they require further assistance or if the evaluating office is not listed in the notes below.

Release/Version Information:

VA decisions for specific versions may include a ‘.x’ wildcard, which denotes a decision that pertains to a range of multiple versions.

For example, a technology approved with a decision for 7.x would cover any version of 7.(Anything) - 7.(Anything). However, a 7.4.x decision would cover any version of 7.4.(Anything), but would not cover any version of 7.5.x or 7.6.x on the TRM.

VA decisions for specific versions may include ‘+’ symbols; which denotes that the decision for the version specified also includes versions greater than what is specified but is not to exceed or affect previous decimal places.

For example, a technology approved with a decision for 12.6.4+ would cover any version that is greater than 12.6.4, but would not exceed the .6 decimal ie: 12.6.401 is ok, 12.6.5 is ok, 12.6.9 is ok, however 12.7.0 or 13.0 is not.

<Past

CY2022

CY2023

CY2024

Future>

Release

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

9.1

Unapproved

9.19

Unapproved

10.0

Unapproved

10.1

Unapproved

11.0.x

Unapproved

11.2

Unapproved

11.4

Unapproved

11.5

Unapproved

11.6

Unapproved

11.7.x

Unapproved

11.8.x

Unapproved

2018.x

Unapproved

2019.x

Unapproved

2020.x

Divest
[2, 4, 5, 6]

Unapproved

2021.x

Divest
[2, 4, 5, 6]

Divest
[2, 4, 6, 7]

Divest
[2, 7, 8, 9]

Unapproved

2022.x

Approved w/Constraints
[2, 4, 5, 6]

Divest
[2, 4, 6, 7]

Divest
[2, 7, 8, 9]

Divest
[2, 9, 10, 11]

Unapproved

2023.x

Unapproved

Approved w/Constraints
[2, 4, 6, 7]

Approved w/Constraints
[2, 7, 8, 9]

Divest
[2, 9, 10, 11]

2024.x

Unapproved

Approved w/Constraints
[2, 9, 10, 11]

Decision Constraints


[1]	If free trialware is utilized, the software must be purchased or removed at the end of the trial period.

[2]	Technology must remain patched and operated in accordance with Federal and Department security policies and guidelines in order to mitigate known and future security vulnerabilities.

[3]	Veterans Affairs (VA) users must ensure VA sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed by the local ISO (Information Security Officer) to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500.

[4]	Veterans Affairs (VA) users must ensure VA sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed by the local ISO (Information Security Officer) to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500.

[5]	If free trialware is utilized, the software must be purchased or removed at the end of the trial period. This technology requires using a Universal Service Bus (USB) technology to transfer data into the records. As such, proper precautions need to be taken to protect data. Users must Divest the use of Internet Explorer with this technology. Other approved internet browsers are available. See Category Tab for details. Users must ensure that Microsoft Internet Explorer and Google Chrome are implemented with VA-approved baselines. (refer to the ‘Category’ tab under ‘Runtime Dependencies’)

[6]	Users should check with their supervisor, Information Security Office (ISO) or local OIT representative for permission to download and use this software. Downloaded software must always be scanned for viruses prior to installation to prevent adware or malware. Freeware may only be downloaded directly from the primary site that the creator of the software has advertised for public download and user or development community engagement. Users should note, any attempt by the installation process to install any additional, unrelated software is not approved and the user should take the proper steps to decline those installations.

[7]	If free trialware is utilized, the software must be purchased or removed at the end of the trial period. This technology requires using a Universal Service Bus (USB) technology to transfer data into the records. As such, proper precautions need to be taken to protect data. Users must utilize approved internet browsers, as Microsoft Internet Explorer has reached End of Life status. See Category Tab for details.

[8]	Veterans Affairs (VA) users must ensure VA sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed by the local ISSO (Information System Security Officer) to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500.

[9]	Users should check with their supervisor, Information System Security Officer (ISSO) or local OIT representative for permission to download and use this software. Downloaded software must always be scanned for viruses prior to installation to prevent adware or malware. Freeware may only be downloaded directly from the primary site that the creator of the software has advertised for public download and user or development community engagement. Users should note, any attempt by the installation process to install any additional, unrelated software is not approved and the user should take the proper steps to decline those installations.

[10]	If free trialware is utilized, the software must be purchased or removed at the end of the trial period. This technology requires using a Universal Service Bus (USB) technology to transfer data into the records. As such, proper precautions need to be taken to protect data.

[11]	Veterans Affairs (VA) users must ensure VA sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed by the local ISSO (Information System Security Officer) to ensure compliance with both VA Handbook 6500 and VA Directive 6500.

Note:

At the time of writing, version 2024.2310.25 is the most current version, released 11/14/2023.

References

The following reference(s) are associated with this entry:
Type	Name	Description
Vendor Provided*	Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT)	This document is a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) for the ZoomText product.
Vendor Provided*	User Guides	This webpage outlines the User Guides notes for the technology.
Vendor Provided*	System Requirements	This webpage outlines the System Requirements notes for the technology.
Vendor Provided*	New features and improvements	This webpage describes the new features and improvements for the technology.
*NOTE: Vendor provided information is subject to the accuracy of the manufacturer.

Technology Components

Note: This list may not be complete. No component, listed or unlisted, may be used outside of the technology in which it is released. The usage decision for a component is found in the Decision and Decision Constraints.
Name	Description
Speech Engine	ZoomText comes with four different speech synthesizers and enables users to select from a variety of male and female voices and adjust their speaking rate, pitch, and volume.

VA Categories View the VA Categorization Framework

Domain Area	Category	Customer Guidance	Category Locked By ELT Date
Collaboration and Electronic Workplace Productivity Software	Miscellaneous Productivity Tools and Utilities

Operating Systems Supported by the Technology

Windows Client - Approved w/Constraints
Windows Server - Approved w/Constraints

Technologies/Standards Relationships

Runtime Dependencies:

DirectX

Comparable Technologies:

Companion Technologies/Supported Standards:

General Analysis

Adoption Benefits

At the time of writing, no National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) vulnerabilities had been reported and no VA Cyber Security Operations Center (CSOC) bulletins had been issued for the latest versions of this technology.
This technology provides optical character recognition (OCR) for graphics on the screen and can recognize entire Portable Document Format (PDF) documents.
This technology may improve productivity for specific staff with reading difficulties and vision impairments.
This technology has a comprehensive set of documentation.

Adoption Risks

Due to the rapid release schedule of this product, VA may be unable to update to the most recent patch and may require a deployment model requiring the use of specific versions.
This software has a free trial period, which carries the potential for the disruption of service delivery and inaccurate financial planning.
There are other approved solutions that provide similar functionality available on the TRM. The use of several similar solutions may increase organization requirements for support and maintenance.
The potential exists to store Personally Identifiable Information (PII), Protected Health Information (PHI) and/or VA Sensitive data and proper security standards must be followed in these cases.
This technology involves the use Universal Serial Bus (USB) connections and proper security precautions must be taken when used.
This technology is available as freeware. As such this technology may be without clearly defined support options which may result in suboptimal enterprise level support.

Architectural Benefits

This technology enables integration with a variety of VA-supported applications including Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Acrobat Reader, and Job Access With Speech (JAWS). Additionally, this technology is compatible with multi-touch-enabled devices such as laptop and desktop monitors.

Architectural Risks

This technology is portable as it runs on multiple TRM-approved operating systems.

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Current Decision Matrix (11/14/2023)

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VA Categories View the VA Categorization Framework

Operating Systems Supported by the Technology

Technologies/Standards Relationships

Runtime Dependencies:

Comparable Technologies:

Companion Technologies/Supported Standards:

General Analysis

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Architectural Benefits

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