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Page History
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Ways to Test Your Output | For more information, see |
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Refer to the HHS accessibility checklists. | |
In ePublisher, run the accessibility report. Ignore errors about missing long descriptions and table summaries. If you use alternate text for graphics and include either a text introduction or caption for tables, you're covered on those. | |
Download the WAVE Firefox toolbar and view the help in Text-only view. | |
Download an evaluation copy of JAWS and read the document out loud. | |
Use the Adobe Read Out Loud feature to simulate what it would be like for other assistive technology (such as JAWS) to read your PDFs out loud. |
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Turn off your monitor when you use either JAWS or Adobe Read Out Loud (this takes some practice with each tool) to simulate what it is like not to see what you are doing. |
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Tab through the output to make sure that the reading order is logical. |
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The Problem with Automated Tools
Credit for the content of the this section belongs to WebAIM.
In the same ways in which we don't always accept the results of a spell and grammar check (or they don't catch the real errors we have because words are spelled correctly), web accessibility requires more than just accessibility tools; it requires human judgment. All accessibility tools vary slightly in their interpretation of WCAG 1.0 and Section 508, and depending on the interpretation, accessibility tools can give users some automated results that require human judgment.
Here is an example. WCAG 1.0 Priority 3 checkpoint 5.5 states, "Provide summaries for tables." Interpreted strictly, this checkpoint could mean, every table in a web page should have a summary attribute. In practice, putting summary attributes into both data tables (which should have summaries) and layout tables (which do not need them) just gives individuals using screen readers more distracting information to read through.
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You can use the WebWorks ePublisher Accessibility report to identify accessibility warnings or errors in your online help files.
To view the accessibility report, do the following.
- Generate your ePublisher project.
- In the Document Manager panel in the upper left, click the project name such as caBIO Portlet Online Help. Items appear in the Output Explorer below.
- In the Reports folder, which should already be open, double-click Accessibility Report.The content of the report appears to the right.
The accessibility errors and warnings that appear in this report are determined by the settings specified in the Format Settings dialog box (Format > Format Settings). The format settings in our current stationery are as follows, though a future version of our stationery may not generate warnings for images without long descriptions and tables without summaries, since those features do not seem to carry over from FrameMaker, and have alternatives.
If you are missing any alternate text for your images, add it to your source files, generate your ePublisher project, and view the accessibility report to confirm that you have made your project as accessible as possible.
The Problem with Automated Tools
Credit for the content of the this section belongs to WebAIM.
It is important to remember that accessibility tools can only partially check accessibility through automation. Of the sixteen standards in Section 508, only seven standards can be partially evaluated automatically. Similarly, of the combined 65 checkpoints in WCAG 1.0 Priority 1 through Priority 3, only nineteen can be partially evaluated automatically. The real key is to learn and understand the web accessibility standards rather than relying on a tool to determine if a page is accessible or not.
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In the same ways in which we don't always accept the results of a spell and grammar check (or they don't catch the real errors we have because words are spelled correctly), web accessibility requires more than just accessibility tools; it requires human judgment. All accessibility tools vary slightly in their interpretation of WCAG 1.0 and Section 508, and depending on the interpretation, accessibility tools can give users some automated results that require human judgment.
Here is an example. WCAG 1.0 Priority 3 checkpoint 5.5 states, "Provide summaries for tables." Interpreted strictly, this checkpoint could mean, every table in a web page should have a summary attribute. In practice, putting summary attributes into both data tables (which should have summaries) and layout tables (which do not need them) just gives individuals using screen readers more distracting information to read through.
Accessibility Tools Need Human Judgment
Credit for the content of the this section belongs to WebAIM.
It is important to remember that accessibility tools can only partially check accessibility through automation. Of the sixteen standards in Section 508, only seven standards can be partially evaluated automatically. Similarly, of the combined 65 checkpoints in WCAG 1.0 Priority 1 through Priority 3, only nineteen can be partially evaluated automatically. The real key is to learn and understand the web accessibility standards rather than relying on a tool to determine if a page is accessible or not
You can use the WebWorks ePublisher Accessibility report to identify accessibility warnings or errors in your online help files.
To view the accessibility report, do the following.
- Generate your ePublisher project.
- In the Document Manager panel in the upper left, click the project name such as caBIO Portlet Online Help. Items appear in the Output Explorer below.
- In the Reports folder, which should already be open, double-click Accessibility Report.The content of the report appears to the right.
The accessibility errors and warnings that appear in this report are determined by the settings specified in the Format Settings dialog box (Format > Format Settings). The format settings in our current stationery are as follows, though a future version of our stationery may not generate warnings for images without long descriptions and tables without summaries, since those features do not seem to carry over from FrameMaker, and have alternatives.
If you are missing any alternate text for your images, add it to your source files, generate your ePublisher project, and view the accessibility report to confirm that you have made your project as accessible as possible.
Other Resources
Adobe~®~ Accessibility Blog http://blogs.adobe.com/accessibility/2008/03/reference_card_for_accessible.html
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