Skip to main content
J
jwyner341
Participant
February 14, 2017
Question

HTML5 published course - 508 compliance issues

  • February 14, 2017
  • 1 reply
  • 267 views

I am currently creating a 508 compliant eLearning training for a client and it must be in HTML5. I have come across the following issues and wanted to know if anyone had any ways to get around them:

  • All on-screen items are labeled "clickable" by text-to-speech reader
  • Text to speech reader reads "blank" between every on-screen item
  • Buttons are labeled "clickable on mouse over" by text-to-speech reader even though the buttons are not clickable
This topic has been closed for replies.

1 reply

Justenuf2bdangerous
Justenuf2bdangerous
Inspiring
February 15, 2017

What screen reader are you using to test the project? Best guesses for each of the bullets based on assumed generalizations below:

 

The identification of the objects as "clickable" is just a method of signalling to the user that the item is built in an interactive shell (smart shapes, buttons, etc.). Some readers pick up text captions and images as interactives - as long as it doesn't affect the content, it should still be compliant.

 

Reading "blank" between each item on the screen may be related to your background images, or it may be because you entered a blank line below each text entry.  If you hit enter and start a new line, a screen reader will read the blank line.

 

Buttons read as "clickable on mouse over" sounds like a default label for the button. Why are you using a button if it isn't clickable? Even a button with "no Action" selected will still show up as an interactive in most cases.

J
jwyner341Author
Participant
February 16, 2017

We are using the JAWS screen reader for the project.

  1. That is good to know about the "clickable", but I have not seen this being done in the past and wondering if it is an HTML5 thing vs. a SWF (which I am more familiar with).
  2. I'll check the "Blanks", but don't think that is the case since it happens for every item on screen
  3. So I described the issue wrong previously. The issue is that the buttons are clickable using the mouse, however, the screen reader is not picking them up and showing that they are interactive. Hence, I am unable to use keyboard controls to open or "click" my button interactions.
Justenuf2bdangerous
Justenuf2bdangerous
Inspiring
February 16, 2017

1. Since you're using JAWS, I'm not sure what's causing the "clickable" statement - that's a new one from my experience. There's nothing in the alt text name and description area that a says that, correct? You may want to apply the Inspect Object (I'm using 7.0.2.0) in the Windows SDK package and see if there is some kind of default labeling getting attached to the objects.

 

2. The only other idea I have for "blank" is it may be reading your screen background description - using the Inspect Object may clear up what the focus is when the reader says it.

 

3. The only button I know works consistently for 508 is the text button. The only button I know that will never work for 508 is a button created using a smart shape (known limitation - has not ever been able to be accessed by any type of shortcut or tab/enter). If you're using anything but a text button, you're rolling the dice on whether or not it will work. I tend to use transparent text buttons and place them on top of the icon or object I want to trigger since they're a pain to customize otherwise.

Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices