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| <TITLE>Checking the accessibility of a webpage containing Flash content in the Flash Accessibility mode</TITLE> |
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| <H1>Checking the accessibility of a webpage containing Flash content in the Flash Accessibility mode</H1> |
| |
| <ul> |
| <li><a href="#flashGuideline">Accessibility Guidelines for Flash Content</a> |
| <li><a href="#checkProcess">Checking Process for Each Check Items</a> |
| <OL> |
| <LI><a href="#textInfo">Provide Text Equivalents</a></LI> |
| <LI><a href="#siteInfo">Provide Context</a></LI> |
| <LI><a href="#voiceControl">Control Reading Order</a></LI> |
| <LI><a href="#animationControl">Control Animation</a></LI> |
| <LI><a href="#keyboardOP">Ensure Keyboard Access</a></LI> |
| <LI><a href="#progDisc">Progressive Disclosure</a></LI> |
| <LI><a href="#componentAcc">Enable Component Accessibility</a></LI> |
| <LI><a href="#caption">Provide Captions</a></LI> |
| <LI><a href="#controlAudio">Provide Control over Audio Playback</a></LI> |
| <LI><a href="#color">Use Color Wisely</a></LI> |
| <LI><a href="#color">Support Users with Low Vision</a></LI> |
| </OL> |
| </ul> |
| |
| <P> |
| The aDesigner simulates how webpages containing Flash content are read out by screen readers that visually |
| impaired people use, and modifies any accessibility problems. |
| </P> |
| |
| <H2 id="flashGuideline">Accessibility Guidelines for Flash Content</H2> |
| <P> |
| There are no established and well-known accessibility guidelines for Flash content, |
| but Adobe® has published a best practices document: |
| <blockquote cite="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/solutions/downloads/accessibility/"> |
| <a href="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/solutions/downloads/accessibility/best_practices_acc_flash.pdf">Bob Regan, "Best Practices for Accessible Flash Design", August 2005, Adobe Systems, Inc. (PDF file)</a> |
| </blockquote> |
| In this document the following 11 items are listed as best practices: |
| </P> |
| <OL> |
| <LI>Provide Text Equivalents</LI> |
| <LI>Provide Context</LI> |
| <LI>Control Reading Order</LI> |
| <LI>Control Animation</LI> |
| <LI>Ensure Keyboard Access</LI> |
| <LI>Progressive Disclosure</LI> |
| <LI>Enable Component Accessibility</LI> |
| <LI>Provide Captions</LI> |
| <LI>Provide Control over Audio Playback</LI> |
| <LI>Use Color Wisely</LI> |
| <LI>Support Users with Low Vision</LI> |
| </OL> |
| <P> |
| In this section how to check these items using aDesigner's Flash Accessibility mode (and other modes) is described. |
| Note that the Adobe document is only best practices and not guidelines. |
| That is because it is hard to automatically check these items, and they mostly call for checks by human beings. |
| However, the aDesigner efficiently supports people in performing these checks. |
| </P> |
| |
| <h2 id="checkProcess">Checking Process for Each Check Items</H3> |
| <P> |
| The following checks are performed in the Flash Accessibility mode unless another mode is explicitly specified. |
| See <a href="workspaceFlash.html#mode">Switch Mode</a> to switch modes. |
| Before starting check, the webpage to be checked should be displayed in the <b>Browser</b> view. |
| </P> |
| |
| <H3 id="textInfo">Checking for "1. Provide Text Equivalents"</H3> |
| <UL class="space"> |
| <LI>Accessibility checking automatically starts when the webpage is shown in the <b>Browser</b> view. |
| The checking process requires a short time to be completed. |
| |
| <LI>Analyzing automated accessibility checking result: |
| <BR>The results of the tests are shown in the <B>GUI Report</b> view (Figure 1). |
| See <A href="checkGui.html#guiProblems">Problems reported in the GUI Accessibility mode</A> |
| for the details of the problems. |
| Currently, all of the problems are related to some lack of text information. |
| <UL class="space"> |
| <LI>The entire webpage is the target of the check. |
| If you want to check just the Flash content in the page, select <b>Show Flash Items Only</b> in the <b>GUI Summary</b> view. |
| <LI>To change the type of problems reported (Error, Warning, or Information), Use the view menu (Ctrl+F10) to change |
| the display settings. The selected results are shown immediately. |
| <LI>When you select a line of the report, the problematical area is highlighted in the <b>Browser</b> view, |
| and the object icon in the <b>GUI Outline</b> view is also selected. Please verify the cause of the problem. |
| <LI>For example, a button without text information is shown as "<number> Button" in the |
| <b>GUI Summary</b> view (Figure 2), which means the specified screen reader will read the button in this way. |
| It is shown as "Nameless (button)" in the <b>GUI Outline</b> view (Figure 3). |
| </UL> |
| </uL> |
| <DIV class="figure"> |
| <IMG src="images/flash/checkreport.png" alt=""><BR> |
| <SPAN>Figure 1. Automatic accessibility check results</SPAN> |
| </DIV> |
| <DIV class="figure"> |
| <img src="images/flash/check_noalt_summary.png" alt="" class="border"><BR> |
| <SPAN>Figure 2. Buttons without text information (in GUI Summary view)</SPAN> |
| </DIV> |
| <DIV class="figure"> |
| <IMG src="images/flash/check_noalt_outline.png" alt="" class="border-nopad"><BR> |
| <SPAN>Figure 3. Buttons without text information (in GUI Outline view)</SPAN> |
| </DIV> |
| |
| |
| <H3 id="siteInfo">Checking for "2. Provide Context"</H3> |
| <ul class="space"> |
| <li>Verify that the content provides its own description and exposes its state in the <b>GUI Summary</b> and the |
| <b>GUI Outline</b> view. |
| <LI>Use the <b>Refresh</b> function in either view when the application screen changes due to scrolling or some other operation. |
| <LI>If necessary, use the <b>Read Entire Text</b> function in the <b>GUI Summary</b> view to check the listenability with synthetic speech. |
| </ul> |
| |
| |
| <H3 id="voiceControl">Checking for "3. Control Reading Order"</H3> |
| <ul class="space"> |
| <li>Verify that reading order of the content is appropriate in the <b>GUI Summary</b> view, |
| where text content and order simulates the text that will be read aloud by MSAA-based screen readers. |
| <LI>Use the <b>Refresh</b> function in either view when application screen changes due to scrolling or some other operation. |
| <LI>If necessary, use the <b>Read Entire Text</b> function in the <b>GUI Summary</b> view to check the listenability using synthetic speech. |
| </ul> |
| |
| |
| <H3 id="animationControl">Checking for "4. Control Animation"</H3> |
| <ul> |
| <li>Verify that animated objects are invisible from the screen readers in the <b>GUI Summary</b> and the |
| <b>GUI Outline</b> view. |
| <li>Perform a visual check in the <b>Browser</b> view for the visual check items such as blinking. |
| </ul> |
| |
| <H3 id="keyboardOP">Checking for "5. Ensure Keyboard Access"</H3> |
| <ul> |
| <li>Verify that all operations can be performed by using the keyboard in the <b>Browser</b> view or in a standard browser. |
| </ul> |
| |
| |
| <H3 id="progDisc">Checking for "6. Progressive Disclosure"</H3> |
| <ul class="space"> |
| <li>Verify that user interface of the content offers a limited number of options at the top |
| and more as the user drills down, using the <b>GUI Summary</b> or the <b>GUI Outline</b> view. |
| <ul> |
| <LI>Use the <b>Refresh</b> function in either view when the application screen changes due to scrolling or some other operation. |
| <LI>If necessary, use the <b>Read Entire Text</b> function in the <b>GUI Summary</b> view to check the listenability using synthetic speech. |
| </ul> |
| </ul> |
| |
| |
| <H3 id="componentAcc">Checking for "7. Enable Component Accessibility"</H3> |
| <ul class="space"> |
| <li>Find the Component objects in the <b>Flash Outline</b> view: |
| If you select a row in this view, the corresponding details are shown in the <B>GUI Properties</B> view. |
| Component objects are those whose <code>isUIComponent</code> property value is <code>true</code> (Figure 4). |
| The following hints will help in finding them: |
| <ul> |
| <li>If an instance name provided at authoring time is known, |
| look for objects with that name in the <b>Flash Outline</b> view. |
| <li>If the instance name is not known, look for the objects in the highlighted rectangle in the <b>Browser</b> view when the entry is selected in the <b>Flash Outline</b> view. |
| </ul> |
| <li>Verify that an appropriate role is assigned to each Component: |
| The Component type (class) should correspond to the <code>className</code> property value. |
| In the example of Figure 4 the object belongs to <code>CheckBox</code> class. |
| Verify that an <b>accInfo</b> property exists and that its <b>role</b> subproperty |
| corresponds to the Component class in the <b>GUI Properties</B> view. |
| Figure 4 also shows an example where the role is set properly. |
| If a Component is not accessible, then its button icon appears and is marked with a red box as shown in Figure 5. |
| When the correct role is set, a separate icon (for each Component type) is shown in the <b>Flash Outline</b> view (Figure 6). |
| </ul> |
| |
| <DIV class="figure"> |
| <IMG src="images/flash/check_isui.png" alt=""><BR> |
| <SPAN>Figure 4. GUI properties of a Component</SPAN> |
| </DIV> |
| <DIV class="figure"> |
| <IMG src="images/flash/check_component_bad.png" alt="" class="border"><BR> |
| <SPAN>Figure 5. Components with accessibility not enabled (in the Flash Outline view)</SPAN> |
| </DIV> |
| <DIV class="figure"> |
| <IMG src="images/flash/check_component_good.png" alt="" class="border"><BR> |
| <SPAN>Figure 6. Components with accessibility enabled (in the Flash Outline view)</SPAN> |
| </DIV> |
| |
| <H3 id="caption">Checking for "8. Provide Captions"</H3> |
| <ul> |
| <li>Verify that captions are properly provided in the <b>Browser</b> view or in a standard browser. |
| </ul> |
| |
| <H3 id="controlAudio">Checking for "9. Provide Control over Audio Playback"</H3> |
| <ul> |
| <li>Manually verify the sound can be controlled in the <b>Browser</b> view or in a standard browser. |
| </ul> |
| |
| <H3 id="color">Checking for "10. Use Color Wisely" and "11. Support Users with Low Vision"</H3> |
| <ul class="space"> |
| <li>This is the only check item that is performed in the <b>Low vision</b> tab in the <b>HTML Accessibility mode</b>. |
| See related topics for the Low Vision simulation.</li> |
| <LI>Based on the results of the checks, verify that color is not the sole means of providing information and that |
| the content incorporates options that allow users to modify the text size of an application. |
| <LI>Check the content again when the application screen changes due to scrolling or some other operation. |
| </ul> |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| <H1 class="related">Related topics</H1> |
| <UL class="related"> |
| <LI><A href="workspaceFlash.html">Exploring the Flash Accessibility mode</A> |
| <LI><A href="viewsFlash.html">Flash Accessibility mode panel</A> |
| <LI><A href="checkLv.html">Checking the accessibility and usability of a document in low vision tab</A> |
| </UL> |
| |
| <P> |
| <A href="index.html">Go to Index</A> |
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