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W3C

HTML Techniques for WCAG 2.0

W3C Working Draft 30 June 2005

This version:
http://www.w3.org/TR/2005/WD-WCAG20-HTML-TECHS-20050630/
Latest version:
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20-HTML-TECHS/
Previous version:
http://www.w3.org/TR/2004/WD-WCAG20-HTML-TECHS-20041119/
Editors:
Michael Cooper, Watchfire
Wendy Chisholm, W3C

Abstract

This document provides information to Web content developers who wish to satisfy the success criteria of "Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0" [WCAG20] (currently a W3C Working Draft). The techniques in this document are specific to Hypertext Markup Language content [HTML4], [XHTML1] although some techniques contain Cascading Style Sheet [CSS1] and ECMAScript solutions. Use of the illustrative techniques provided in this document may make it more likely for Web content to demonstrate conformance to WCAG 2.0 success criteria (by passing the relevant tests in the WCAG 2.0 test suite - to be developed) than if these illustrative techniques are not used.

There may be other techniques besides those provided in this document that may be used to demonstrate conformance to WCAG 2.0; in that case, it is encouraged to submit those techniques to the WCAG WG for consideration for inclusion in this document, so that the set of techniques maintained by the WCAG WG is as comprehensive as possible. Deprecated examples illustrate techniques that the Working Group no longer recommends, but may be applicable in some cases.

This document is part of a series of documents published by the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) to support WCAG 2.0.

Status of this Document

This section describes the status of this document at the time of its publication. Other documents may supersede this document. A list of current W3C publications and the latest revision of this technical report can be found in the W3C technical reports index at http://www.w3.org/TR/.

This version of HTML techniques has not significantly changed since the 19 November 2004 Working Draft. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Working Group (WCAG WG) has focused on addressing issues related to Guidelines and Success Criteria. This publication demonstrates how the different documents may link to each other. As the focus of the WCAG WG returns to techniques and test suites, the structure and presentation of the techniques documents will likely change to reflect the relationships between Guidelines, Techniques, and testing documents. In future revisions, we expect to distinguish between techniques required for conformance versus those that are optional. Please refer to Issue tracking for WCAG 2.0 Techniques for HTML/XHTML for a list of open issues related to this Working Draft. The History of Changes to HTML Techniques for WCAG 2.0 Working Drafts is also available.

Please send comments about this document to public-comments-wcag20@w3.org. The archives for the public comments list are publicly available. Archives of the WCAG WG mailing list are also publicly available.

Publication as a Working Draft does not imply endorsement by the W3C Membership. This is a draft document and may be updated, replaced or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is inappropriate to cite this document as other than work in progress. The WCAG WG intends to publish this as a Working Group Note at the time that WCAG 2.0 becomes a Recommendation.

This document has been produced as part of the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). The goals of the WCAG WG are discussed in the Working Group charter. The WCAG WG is part of the WAI Technical Activity.


Table of Contents

Appendix


Introduction

This is the HTML Techniques for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0). The guidelines provide a generic description of the requirements for a Web site that is accessible to people with disabilities. The HTML techniques provide an interpretation of the guidelines as applied to HTML and XHTML. This interpretation represents the best thinking of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines working group and as such is a good guide to achieve conformance to WCAG 2.0. The Working Group encourages authors to implement these techniques where appropriate. Additionally the Working Group strongly encourages manufacturers of authoring tools to support the process of authoring content that conforms to these techniques, and encourages manufacturers or user agents, including assistive technologies, to implement the behaviors described by these techniques. However, these techniques do not provide a final definition of WCAG conformance and it is possible to meet guideline requirements without following these techniques. As new methods of conforming to the guidelines come to the attention of the Working Group, these techniques will be updated.

These techniques are intended for use both with HTML 4.01 and with XHTML 1.0/1.1. To encourage migration to newer technologies, examples for techniques are XHTML unless there is a specific reason to present an HTML example. Some references have not yet been updated to point preferentially to XHTML. This will be adjusted in a future draft of this document.

Note: Techniques in this document are known to contain errors. Recommendations will be rendered obsolete by future drafts. The purpose of this document is to receive feedback about the content of the techniques to ensure that future drafts are more accurate and useful. These techniques should not be implemented by people attempting to attain WCAG conformance at this time.

Future Work

User agent support information is not included in this draft. In future drafts, the WCAG WG intends to provide this information to help authors decide which techniques to implement. Providing this information requires extensive user agent and assistive technology testing. The WCAG WG welcomes submissions of test result information that demonstrates user agent or assistive technology support (or lack of support) of existing techniques. Submissions of additional techniques are also welcome.

As work on the technology-specific checklists progresses, we expect to clearly distinguish between techniques required for conformance versus those that are optional. That distinction is not made in this Working Draft. The issue is captured as Issue #772 -"How do we make it clear that there are some techniques that are sufficient and some that are optional?"

Techniques need to identify how they should be applied in various baselines as discussed in the question of baseline. It is proposed that a set of baselines will be described and each technique indicate whether it is sufficient, optional, or not recommended in that baseline.

1. Metadata

This section discusses how to use metadata to increase the accessibility of Web content. Metadata is information about the content rather than the content itself. For example, the author, the creation date, expiration date, or primary language of the document. Metadata can be used by search engines to help users find content that has been made accessible or it can be used by the user agent (browser) to render the presentation in a way that fits the user's needs.

For more general information about Metadata refer to:

Editorial Note: The WCAG WG anticipates that a separate techniques document will focus on metadata, semantic web issues, and RDF and will be referenced from this section.

Test suite: Test files for Metadata

1.1 The !doctype statement

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use the !doctype statement to define the HTML or XHTML version of your document.

Validating to a published formal grammar and declaring that validation at the beginning of a document lets the user know that the structure of the document is sound. It also lets the user agent know where to look for semantics if it needs to. The W3C Validation Service validates documents against a whole list of published grammars.

It is preferable to validate to grammars that have been designed with accessibility in mind.

Example:

This is an example defining an English-language document as using the HTML 4.01 Transitional DTD.

 
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"     
     "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd"> 
<html>   
   <head>     
      ...   
   </head>   
   <body>  
      ...   
   </body> 
</html>

1.2 The title element

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use the title element to describe the document.

All documents, including individual frames in a frameset, should have a title element that defines in a simple phrase the purpose of the document. This helps users to orient themselves within the site quickly without having to search for orientation information in the body of the page.

Note that the (mandatory) title element, which only appears once in a document, is different from the title attribute, which may be applied to almost every HTML 4.01 element.

Example:

This example defines a document's title.

 
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">   
   <head>     
      <title>The World Wide Web Consortium</title>     
   </head>   
   <body>     
      ...   
   </body> 
</html>

1.3 The address element

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use the address element to define a page's author.

Editorial Note: Describe how to use address to indicate contact information on the Web page.

Editorial Note: Question whether there is a particular accessibility benefit to this. If not, we should remove.

Editorial Note: Link to General technique about semantic markup.

Example:

This element can be used to provide information about the creator of the page.

 
<address>   
   This document was written by    
   <a href="mailto:yourname@example.com">Your Name</a> 
</address>

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Provide a reference to a glossary.

If your page uses terms that are defined in a glossary document, use link rel = "glossary" to reference the glossary of terms used on the page. This enables users to access the glossary quickly using user agent features.

Resources:

2. Navigational Supports

Test suite: Test files for Navigation

2.1 Meta redirect

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Do not create a timed redirect.

meta http-equiv of "{timeout}; url=... " is often used to automatically redirect users. The meta element should be used to specify metadata for a document such as keywords and information about the author.

Editorial Note: MC: I think we should clearly separate out the "surprise" problem from the misuse of meta problem, which isn't actually a violation.

It is acceptable to use the meta element to create a redirect when the timeout is set to zero. However, it is preferable to use server-side methods to accomplish this.

Editorial Note: Refer to HTTP techniques here.

Deprecated Example:

This is a deprecated example which, using the meta element, forwards the user from one page to another after a timeout. However, this markup is non-standard, it disorients users, and it can disrupt a browser's history of visited pages.

 
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
   <head>     
      <title>Don't use this!</title>     
      <meta http-equiv="refresh"
      content="5; url=http://www.example.com/newpage" />   
   </head>   
   <body>     
      <p>       
         If your browser supports Refresh, you'll be       
         transported to our        
         <a href="http://www.example.com/newpage">new site</a>        
         in 5 seconds, otherwise, select the link manually.     
      </p>   
   </body> 
</html>

Example:

The meta element is used here to create an immediate redirect. Similar effects can be achieved using server-side techniques and are recommended over the use of the meta element.

 
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
  <head>     
    <title>Meta Redirect Example</title>     
    <meta http-equiv="refresh" content="0; url=http://www.example.com/newpage" />
  </head>   
  <body>     
    <p>Please view our <a href="http://www.example.com/newpage">new site</a>.</p>
  </body> 
</html>

Example:

Editorial Note: Are there any examples we can use that are not deprecated? .htaccess is a server-side technique, perhaps point to that (after a server-side techniques document exists)

To be completed.

2.2 Meta refresh

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Do not cause a page to refresh automatically.

meta http-equiv of "refresh" is often used to periodically refresh pages. If the time interval is too short, people who are blind will not have enough time to make their screen readers read the page before the page refreshes unexpectedly and causes the screen reader to begin reading at the top.

Deprecated Example:

This is a deprecated example that changes the user's page at regular intervals. Content developers should not use this technique to simulate "push" technology. Developers cannot predict how much time a user will require to read a page; premature refresh can disorient users. Content developers should avoid periodic refresh and allow users to choose when they want the latest information.

 
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">   
  <head>     
    <title>HTML Techniques for WCAG 2.0</title>     
    <meta http-equiv="refresh" content="60" />   
  </head>   
  <body>
    ...     
  </body> 
</html>

Resources:

2.3 Site map

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Provide a site map and a description of accessibility features of the site.

Site maps can help all users find a page more readily when they already have a general idea of what they are looking for. If your site is highly visual in nature, the structure might be harder to navigate if the user can't form a mental map of where they are going or where they have been. The site map will help users discover the navigation mechanisms you have provided. Site maps are often presented as outlines, composed of nested lists, showing the hierarchy of pages. It may help to provide a summary of the contents of each page in the outline.

Resources:

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

For collections of documents, use the link element to identify each document's position in the collection.

The link element in the head, used with the rel attribute, can provide metadata about the position of an HTML page within a collection of documents. The value of rel indicates what type of relation is being described, and the href provides a link to the document having that relation. Multiple link elements can provide multiple relationships. Several values of rel are useful:

  • Start: Refers to the first document in a collection of documents.

  • Next: Refers to the next document in a linear sequence of documents.

  • Prev: Refers to the previous document in an ordered series of documents.

  • Contents: Refers to a document serving as a table of contents.

  • Index: Refers to a document providing an index for the current document.

3. Headings

Test suite: Test files for Headings

3.1 Section headings

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use HTML header elements h1 through h6 to define the structure of the document.

Since some users skim through a document by navigating its headings, it is important to use them appropriately to convey document structure. Users should order heading elements properly. For example, in HTML, h2 elements should follow h1 elements, h3 elements should follow h2 elements, etc. Content developers should not "skip" levels (e.g., h1 directly to h3).

Long documents are often divided into a variety of chapters, chapters have subtopics and subtopics are divided into various sections, sections into paragraphs, etc. These semantic chunks of information make up the structure of the document.

Sections should be introduced with the HTML heading elements (hx). Other markup may complement these elements to improve presentation (e.g., the hr element to create a horizontal dividing line), but visual presentation is not sufficient to identify document sections.

Editorial Note: Edit this section to clarify "semantic chunks," "other markup," "introducing sections," "navigating its headings," etc.

Editorial Note: There has been some discussion about requiring h1 to be the first header on a page. It seems undesirable to restrict the use of header elements so far but some people support strengthening the semantics of headers. This will need further discussion.

Some authors object to using the HTML header elements because the default presentation in many browsers is unattractive. The appropriate solution is to use CSS to achieve the desired visual effect. Combined with classes and ids, a variety of presentational styles can be achieved while retaining a logical outline in the semantic structure. See CSS fonts for more information.

Editorial Note: Link to General technique about semantic markup.

Example:

Note that in HTML, heading elements (H1 - H6) only start sections, they don't contain them as element content. This HTML markup shows how style sheets may be used to control the appearance of a heading and the content that follows:

 
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
  <head>
    <title>Cooking techniques</title>
      <style type="text/css">
        /* Indent heading and following content */
        div.section2 { margin-left: 5% }     
      </style>   
  </head>   
  <body>     
    <h1>Cooking techniques</h1>     
    <p>       
      ... some text here ...     
    </p>     
    <div class="section2">       
      <h2>Cooking with oil</h2>       
        ... text of the section ...     
    </div>     
    <div class="section2">       
      <h2>Cooking with butter</h2>       
        ... text of the section ...     
    </div>   
  </body> 
</html>

3.2 Header misuse

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Do not user headers solely for visual effects.

Do not use headings to create font effects. Instead, use CSS to change font styles. See CSS fonts for more information.

Resources:

4. Language

This section explains how and why to mark changes in language as well as identifying the primary language used for content. Many assistive technologies handle a variety of languages. When the language is not identified, assistive technologies often make a best guess using the default language set by the user. This often results in confusing pronunciations or displays.

Editorial Note: Needs clarification. "handle languages" "default language set by user" "confusing pronunciations" Perhaps add some sound clips and transcripts of confusing pronunciations and displays.

Editorial Note: [#580] Note that RFC1766 has now been obsoleted by RFC3066

Test suite: Test files for Language

4.1 Identifying the primary language

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use the lang attribute of the html element to define the document's language.

It is good practice to identify the primary language of a document, either with markup (as shown in the example) or through HTTP headers. The lang attribute allows assistive technology to orient and adapt to the pronunciation and syntax that are specific to the language of the page. This attribute may also play a major role in the emerging global, multi-lingual, simultaneous translation web environment.

Editorial Note: Note the HTTP headers is not an HTML technique. But we should have some way of speaking to the effects of HTTP headers and the preference with respect to the lang attribute.

Example:

This example defines the content of an HTML document to be in the French language.

 
<html lang="fr" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">   
  <body>     
    ...document écrit en français...   
  </body>
</html>

4.2 Identifying changes in language

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use the lang attribute to identify changes in the natural language.

If you use a number of different languages on a page, make sure that any changes in language are clearly identified by using the lang or xml:lang attribute according to the HTML or XHTML version you use.

Note that HTML only offers the use of the lang attribute, while XHTML (transitionally) allows both attributes or only xml:lang, respectively, since lang was removed in XHTML 1.1.

Identifying changes in language are important for a number of reasons:

  • It will allow braille translation software to follow changes in language, e.g., substitute control codes for accented characters, and insert control codes necessary to prevent erroneous creation of Grade 2 braille contractions.

    Editorial Note: We may want to put a glossary at the end of the document defining things like "Grade 2 braille contractions").

  • Similarly, speech synthesizers that "support" multiple languages will be able to speak the text in the appropriate accent with proper pronunciation. If changes are not marked, the synthesizer will try its best to speak the words in the primary language it works in. Thus, the French word for car, "voiture" would be pronounced "voter" by a speech synthesizer that uses English as its primary language.

  • Marking changes in language can benefit future developments in technology, for example users who are unable to translate between languages themselves will be able to use machines to translate unfamiliar languages.

Example:

This example uses the lang attribute of the span element to define one phrase as French and another as Italian.

 
<p>
   And with a certain <span lang="fr">je ne sais
   quoi</span>, she entered both the room, and his life,   
   forever. &quot;My name is Natasha,&quot; she said.   
   &quot;<span lang="it">Piacere,</span>&quot; he   
   replied in impeccable Italian, locking the door. 
</p>

Example:

This example demonstrates the use of the xml:lang attribute defining a quote written in German. This snippet could be included by an XHTML 1.1 document where lang is not allowed.

<blockquote xml:lang="de">
   <p>Da dachte der Herr daran, ihn aus dem Futter zu schaffen,
   aber der Esel merkte, daß kein guter Wind wehte, lief fort
   und machte sich auf den Weg nach Bremen: dort, meinte er,
   könnte er ja Stadtmusikant werden.</p>
</blockquote>

5. Text Markup

The techniques in this category demonstrate how to add structure to pieces of text. They refer to "inline" tags that allow control over the presentation of specific words and phrases in the document.

Test suite: Test files for Text Markup

5.1 Emphasis

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use the strong and em elements, rather than b and i, to denote emphasis.

The em and strong elements were designed to indicate structural emphasis that may be rendered in a variety of ways (font style changes, speech inflection changes, etc.). The b and i elements were deprecated in HTML 4.01 and XHTML because they were used to create a specific visual effect.

Editorial Note: Link to General technique about semantic markup.

Example:

This example shows how to use the em and strong elements to emphasize text.

 
...What she <em>really</em> meant to say was, 
&quot;This isn't ok, it is <strong>excellent</strong>!...

5.2 Abbreviations

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use the abbr element to expand abbreviations where they first occur.

Mark up abbreviations with abbr and use title to indicate the expansion.

Editorial Note: Issue 295 Where and when and how often to indicate the expansion is still under discussion.

This also applies to shortened phrases used as headings for table row or columns. If a heading is already abbreviated provide the expansion in abbr. If a heading is long, you may wish to provide an abbreviation as described in Terse substitutes for header labels (optional).

Editorial Note: There are a number of questions about abbreviation and Acronym. Although these have undergone much discussion, there is not yet enough consensus to create solid techniques. These issues include: * uncertain whether these elements need to be marked up on the first occurrence on the page or for every instance, * unclear on the distinction between abbreviations and acronyms, in English and other languages, * the HTML Working group has proposed removing the acronym element in favor of a single abbreviation element for all cases, * how common must a word be before it need not be marked up this way.

Example:

This example shows how to use the abbr element properly.

 
<p>Welcome to the <abbr title="World Wide Web">WWW</abbr>!</p>

Example:

This example shows how to use the abbr attribute in a table heading.

 
<table>   
  <tr>     
    <th>First name</th>     
    <th abbr="SS#">Social Security Number</th>   
  </tr>   
  ... 
</table>

5.3 Acronym

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use the acronym element to expand acronyms where they first occur.

Mark up acronyms with acronym and use title to indicate the expansion.

Editorial Note: Issue 295 Where and when and how often to indicate the expansion is still under discussion.

Example:

This example shows how to use the acronym element.

 
<acronym title="Keep It Simple Stupid">KISS</acronym>

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Do not create blinking content with the blink element.

Do not use the blink element. There are several reasons for this:

  • Blinking content can provide accessibility problems.

  • The blink element is not part of the HTML specification. Use CSS if you must have blinking content. Refer to the CSS Techniques for WCAG 2.0 Underlining, overlining, and blinking.

Resources:

5.5 Marquee

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Do not create scrolling text with the marquee element.

Do not use the marquee element to create scrolling text. There are several reasons for this:

  • Scrolling content can provide accessibility problems.

  • The marquee element is not part of the HTML specification.

    Editorial Note: Use script instead? If so, create and link to a technique in Client-side Scripting Techniques for WCAG 2.0.

Resources:

5.6 Short Quotations (future)

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use the q element to mark up short inline quotations.

The q element marks up inline quotations.

NOTE:The q element, though designed for semantic markup, is unsupported, or poorly-supported, in most browsers. So this is a future technique.

Editorial Note: Link to General technique about semantic markup.

5.7 Long quotations

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use the blockquote element to mark up block quotations.

The blockquote element marks up block quotations.

Editorial Note: Link to General technique about semantic markup.

Example:

This example marks up a longer quotation with blockquote:

 
<blockquote cite="http://www.example.com/loveslabourlost">   
  <p>     
    Remuneration! O! that's the Latin word for     
    three farthings. --- William Shakespeare     
    (Love's Labor Lost).   
  </p> 
</blockquote>

5.8 Misuse of blockquote

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Do not use the blockquote element for formatting effects such as indentation.

Only use blockquote to indicate a quotation. Do not use it to create an indented effect on the page. blockquote is a semantic element and using it improperly can confuse the user.

Editorial Note: We need to provide pointers to alternate ways to achieve the desired effect.

5.9 Use of the title attribute

Task:

Use the title attribute where appropriate.

In general, one can provide supplementary information about elements using the title attribute. The attribute value contains the content. Refer to Conditional Content in the User Agent Accessibility Guidelines for information on how this information may be presented to the user.

Note that while the title attribute is permitted and can be used as supplemental content for most elements in HTML, there are some elements for which particular usages are recommended for accessibility purposes. Refer to:

There are also situations in which accessibility requirements are that title should not be used, even though it is permitted by HTML. Refer to:

Editorial Note: It is expected that the General Techniques will define what "supplementary information" is and how it should be used.

Editorial Note: Refer to Issue 229: we are uncertain about what user agent support is, or should be, for title. Resolution of that issue will impact the recommendations we make here.

5.10 Supplemental meaning cues

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use the span element with the title attribute to provide generic meaning cues.

Words that may have ambiguous meanings, because they are unfamiliar terms, idioms, contractions, or have multiple meanings can be clarified with the title attribute. If there is not a special element for the type of disambiguation to be performed, apply this to a span element.

5.11 CSS instead of presentational markup

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use structural markup instead of presentational markup, and use CSS for presentation.

Avoid using the following HTML elements, and use the appropriate CSS instead.

  • b

  • i

  • tt

  • big

  • small

  • strike

  • s

  • u

  • font

  • basefont

These elements are not prohibited, but it is recommended to either use other semantic elements or use CSS when feasible. Refer to discussion at Strongly emphasizing semantics.

Editorial Note: Include a list of each HTML element that should be replaced, and the CSS property/value(s) that can be used. Talk about structural markup a bit too, and/or cross reference.

5.12 Use non-deprecated presentational markup

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

If you must use HTML elements to control font information, use big and small, which are not deprecated.

Editorial Note: Placeholder.

5.13 Inline structural elements to identify citations, code fragments, deleted text, etc.

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use structural elements as needed.

The HTML 4.01 specification defines the following structural elements for miscellaneous markup needs:

cite

Contains a citation or a reference to other sources.

dfn

Indicates that this is the defining instance of the enclosed term.

code

Designates a fragment of computer code.

samp

Designates sample output from programs, scripts, etc.

kbd

Indicates text to be entered by the user.

var

Indicates an instance of a variable or program argument.

ins

Indicates text inserted into a document.

del

Indicates text deleted from a document.

Editorial Note: How often are these elements used? Are they supported by assistive technologies? The code element is used often in W3C documents, what about elsewhere? Should we keep this section? Perhaps keep it but make it clear it is for completeness and information?

Editorial Note: This is about several elements so perhaps should be split up. But it's really just a list of structural elements. Do we need that list in techniques? Can we point to some resource (e.g., HTML spec) in a single technique and say "use structural elements per the HTML spec"? Or do we have to list every possible structural element we want people to use - including the obvious ones like p?

Editorial Note: Link to General technique about semantic markup.

5.14 Color

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Ensure that color contrast is sufficient.

Ensure that color contrasts sufficiently.

Note that it is preferred to use CSS for color, see CSS instead of presentational markup.

Editorial Note: Provide a list of HTML color attributes.

Resources:

5.15 Relative size

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use relative size instead of absolute.

Editorial Note: From Issue 1066: The issue of relative size (or scalable content) isn't dealt with yet in WCAG 2.0. In part it seems the belief is this should be a user agent issue, not an authoring issue. However, in reality it is currently also an authoring issue. Anyway Web Content guidelines should specify that content should be scalable regardless of whose responsibility it is to fulfill the guideline. Issue 1012 deals with CSS size, and the questions raised there also affect this issue. In particular, there is no home in the guidelines for this technique. Nevertheless the technique should exist in the next draft as a hook for discussion.

Resources:

6. Lists

The HTML list elements dl, ul, and ol should only be used to create lists. Do not use lists for formatting effects such as indentation. Refer to information on CSS and tables for layout in the CSS Techniques.

Until either CSS2 is widely supported or user agents allow users to control rendering of lists through other means, authors should consider providing contextual clues in unnumbered nested lists. Non-visual users may have difficulties knowing where a list begins and ends and where each list item starts. For example, if a list entry wraps to the next line on the screen, it may appear to be two separate items in the list. This may pose a problem for legacy screen readers.

Editorial Note: Do we still need this note? How is current support for nested lists? Which versions of which screen readers handle nested lists well?

Editorial Note: From 2003-07-30 teleconference: We need techniques for UL, OL, DL, examples that don't rely on CSS, and technique for older AT that don't support nested lists well

Test suite: Test files for Lists

6.1 Ordered lists

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Format ordered lists so their items can be followed logically.

Ordered lists help non-visual users navigate. Non-visual users may "get lost" in lists, especially in nested lists and those that do not indicate the specific nest level for each list item. Until user agents provide a means to identify list context clearly (e.g., by supporting the ':before' pseudo-element in CSS2), content developers should include contextual clues in their lists.

For numbered lists, compound numbers are more informative than simple numbers. Thus, a list numbered

1
  1.1
  1.2
    1.2.1
  1.3
2
  2.1

provides more context than the same list without compound numbers, which might be formatted as follows:

 1.
    1.
    2.
       1.   
    3. 
 2.   
    1.

and would be spoken as "1, 1, 2, 1, 2, 3, 2, 1", conveying no information about list depth.

[CSS1] and [CSS2] allow users to control number styles (for all lists, not just ordered) through user style sheets.

Editorial Note: As above, how well do current screen readers support nested lists? How well is the support for CSS control of list styles?

Example:

The CSS2 style sheet in this example shows how to specify compound numbers for nested lists created with either UL or OL elements. Items are numbered as "1", "1.1", "1.1.1", etc.

 
<style type="text/css">    
li {
  display: block;
}
li:before {
  content: counters(item, ".");       
  counter-increment: item;
}
ul, ol {
  counter-reset: item;
}
</style>

6.2 Abuse of list markup

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Do not use list elements for presentational effects.

Do not use list elements, such as the ul and ol elements, to achieve indentation effects when a list is not indicated. The most common example of this misuse is to use list container elements without li children. li elements are sometimes used outside the context of list containers, which also presents an unclear semantic.

Editorial Note: We need to provide pointers to alternate ways to achieve the desired effect.

7. Data Tables

This section discusses the accessibility of tables and elements that one can put in a table element.

Editorial Note: The resolution of issue 248 will effect this section. Include definition of "data table" here and "layout table" in the next section.

Editorial Note: Describe how to determine if a table is a data table or a layout table. Discuss why it is so important to mark up data tables correctly. Show bad example (e.g., Matt's W3N stock table) and the issues created by bad markup. Use real examples or create derivatives.

Tables should not be used to position elements graphically. Tables used in this way, known as "layout tables", do not observe the implication of tabular data inherent in the term "table", and can create particular accessibility problems as described in the section Layout Tables. Generally, display technologies such as [CSS2] can achieve the desired layout effect with improved accessibility.

Test suite: Test files for Data Tables

7.1 The caption element (optional)

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use the caption element to describe the nature of data tables.

Provide a caption via the caption element. A table caption describes the nature of the table in one to three sentences. Two examples:

  1. "Cups of coffee consumed by each senator."

  2. "Who spends the most on pollution cleanup?"

An optional method is to use the title attribute on the table element, but the caption is preferred because of the semantics of the element.

7.2 Summarizing data tables (optional)

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use the summary attribute to describe the purpose and structure of data tables.

It is rare to use both the caption element and the summary attribute since one or the other should be enough to provide a description.

Summaries are useful for non-visual readers. A summary may also describe how the table fits into the context of the current document. Two examples:

  1. "This table charts the number of cups of coffee consumed by each senator, the type of coffee (decaf or regular), and whether taken with sugar."

  2. "Total required by pollution control standards as of January 1, 1971. Commercial category includes stores, insurance companies and banks. The table is divided into two columns. The left-hand column is 'Total investment required in billions of dollars'. The right--hand column is 'Spending' and is divided into three sub-columns. The first sub-column is titled '1970 actual in millions of dollars', the second is '1971 planned in millions of dollars', and the third is 'Percent change, 1970 versus 1971.' The rows are industries." [NBA, 1996].

An optional method is to use the title attribute on the table element, but the summary attribute is preferred because of the semantics of the attribute.

Editorial Note: There is still not consensus about the ideal use of summaries for tables. A discussion about summaries began but there is still need for more review and comments on this. See also Summaries of layout tables.

7.3 Terse substitutes for header labels (optional)

Task:

Use the abbr attribute on th elements to provide terse substitutes for header labels.

When supported, short heading labels will decrease repetition and reading time when tables are read aloud.

7.4 Identifying groups of rows (optional)

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use thead to group repeated table headers, tfoot for repeated table footers, and tbody for other groups of rows.

Editorial Note: Describe the use and benefits of row structure elements. Clearly explain when it is a good idea to use these. Use Joe's example of tbody.

7.5 Identifying groups of columns (optional)

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use the colgroup and col elements to group columns.

Editorial Note: Describe the use and benefits of column structure elements. Much of this may be theoretical.

7.6 Specifying the set of data cells for which each header cell provides header information

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use the scope attribute to specify the set of data cells for which each header cell provides header information.

When browsers and assistive technologies know which headers apply to which data cells, the header information is available for each cell and can be displayed or read in association with the data.

Editorial Note: Need support information for scope, headers, and axis techniques. Provide information to help determine which technique (scope, headers, or axis) to use.

7.7 Associating header cells with data cells

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use the headers attribute on each data cell to associate a list of header cells that provide header information.

For more complicated tables (where the scope attribute can not be applied because the relationship applies to more than two headers), the headers attribute allows you to associate more than two headers with each data cell.

7.8 Categorizing data cells

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use the axis attribute to place a cell into a conceptual category.

Conceptual categories can be used to group data that might be similar but fall under different headings. For example, "meals" is a category that could be applied to numbers that fall under both the "San Jose" and "Seattle" headings.

Editorial Note: Andrew Kirkpatrick asks what specific accessibility benefits axis brings. Although testing shows assistive technology support for this, it is unclear how this brings equivalency to non-disabled people, since in fact people who are not using AT currently do not have access to the axis information. We need to know more about how axis is intended to be used in the general case, and how using it benefits accessibility.

7.9 Misuse of the pre element

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Do not use the pre element to create tabular layout.

The pre element is not used to create tabular layout; the table elements is used. Watch out for pre markup within a table.

Editorial Note: Is using br a separate issue or included in the pre issue? Perhaps make this more general? i.e., use tables appropriately, don't use pre or br to format data?

7.10 Row and column headings

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use the th element to indicate which cells in data tables contain header information.

For information about table headers, refer to the table header algorithm and discussion in the HTML 4.01 Recommendation [HTML4], section 11.4.3

Example:

This example shows how to associate data cells (created with td) with their corresponding headers by means of the headers attribute. The headers attribute specifies a list of header cells (row and column labels) associated with the current data cell. This requires each header cell to have an id attribute.

A speech synthesizer might render this tables as follows:

Caption: Cups of coffee consumed by each senator Summary: This table charts the number of cups of coffee consumed by each senator, the type of coffee (decaf or regular), and whether taken with sugar. Name: T. Sexton, Cups: 10, Type: Espresso, Sugar: No Name: J. Dinnen, Cups: 5, Type: Decaf, Sugar: Yes

Editorial Note: Link to General technique about semantic markup.

 
<table border="1" summary="This table charts the number of 
  cups of coffee consumed by each senator, the type of coffee 
  (decaf or regular), and whether taken with sugar.">
  <caption>Cups of coffee consumed by each senator</caption>
  <tr>
    <th id="header1">Name</th>
    <th id="header2">Cups</th>
    <th id="header3" abbr="Type">Type of Coffee</th>
    <th id="header4">Sugar?</th>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td headers="header1">T. Sexton</td>
    <td headers="header2">10</td>
    <td headers="header3">Espresso</td>
    <td headers="header4">No</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td headers="header1">J. Dinnen</td>
    <td headers="header2">5</td>
    <td headers="header3">Decaf</td>
    <td headers="header4">Yes</td>
  </tr>
</table>

Example:

This example associates the same header (th) and data (td) cells as the previous example, but this time uses the scope attribute rather than headers. scope must have one of the following values: "row", "col", "rowgroup", or "colgroup". Scope specifies the set of data cells to be associated with the current header cell. This method is particularly useful for simple tables. It should be noted that the spoken rendering of this table would be identical to that of the previous example. A choice between the headers and scope attributes is dependent on the complexity of the table. It does not affect the output so long as the relationships between header and data cells are made clear in the markup.

 
<table border="1" summary="This table charts ...">
  <caption>Cups of coffee consumed by each senator</caption>
  <tr>
    <th scope="col">Name</th>
    <th scope="col">Cups</th>
    <th scope="col" abbr="Type">Type of Coffee</th>
    <th scope="col">Sugar?</th>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>T. Sexton</td>
    <td>10</td>
    <td>Espresso</td>
    <td>No</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>J. Dinnen</td>
    <td>5</td>
    <td>Decaf</td>
    <td>Yes</td>
  </tr>
</table>

Example:

This example shows how to create categories within a table using the axis attribute.

This table lists travel expenses at two locations: San Jose and Seattle, by date, and category (meals, hotels, and transport). The following image shows how a visual user agent might render it. [Description of travel table]

Travel Expense Report table as rendered by a visual user agent.

 
<table border="1">
  <caption>Travel Expense Report</caption>
  <tr>
    <th></th>
    <th id="header2" axis="expenses">Meals</th>
    <th id="header3" axis="expenses">Hotels</th>
    <th id="header4" axis="expenses">Transport</th>
    <td>subtotals</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <th id="header6" axis="location">San Jose</th>
    <th></th>
    <th></th>
    <th></th>
    <td></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td id="header7" axis="date">25-Aug-97</td>
    <td headers="header6 header7 header2">37.74</td>
    <td headers="header6 header7 header3">112.00</td>
    <td headers="header6 header7 header4">45.00</td>
    <td></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td id="header8" axis="date">26-Aug-97</td>
    <td headers="header6 header8 header2">27.28</td>
    <td headers="header6 header8 header3">112.00</td>
    <td headers="header6 header8 header4">45.00</td>
    <td></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>subtotals</td>
    <td>65.02</td>
    <td>224.00</td>
    <td>90.00</td>
    <td>379.02</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <th id="header10" axis="location">Seattle</th>
    <th></th>
    <th></th>
    <th></th>
    <td></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td id="header11" axis="date">27-Aug-97</td>
    <td headers="header10 header11 header2">96.25</td>
    <td headers="header10 header11 header3">109.00</td>
    <td headers="header10 header11 header4">36.00</td>
    <td></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td id="header12" axis="date">28-Aug-97</td>
    <td headers="header10 header12 header2">35.00</td>
    <td headers="header10 header12 header3">109.00</td>
    <td headers="header10 header12 header4">36.00</td>
    <td></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>subtotals</td>
    <td>131.25</td>
    <td>218.00</td>
    <td>72.00</td>
    <td>421.25</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <th>Totals</th>
    <td>196.27</td>
    <td>442.00</td>
    <td>162.00</td>
    <td>800.27</td>
  </tr>
</table>

8. Tables for layout

Editorial Note: Depending on the baseline discussion, this discussion of layout tables could move to the list of fallback/repair techniques.

Editorial Note: Refer to section (to be written) at beginning of "Data Tables" that provides information about deciding if a table is used for data or layout.

Tables should not be used to position elements graphically. Tables used in this way, known as "layout tables", do not observe the implication of tabular data inherent in the term "table", and can create particular accessibility problems as described in the techniques that follow. Generally, display technologies such as [CSS2] can achieve the desired layout effect with improved accessibility.

Editorial Note: Furthermore "layout tables" are not defined in the HTML specification. This interacts with Technique @@doctype and validating code.

However, when it is necessary to use a table for layout, the table must linearize in a readable order. When a table is linearized, the contents of the cells become a series of paragraphs (e.g., down the page) one after another. Cells should make sense when read in row order and should include structural elements (that create paragraphs, headings, lists, etc.) so the page makes sense after linearization.

Also, when using tables to create a layout, do not use structural markup to create visual formatting. For example, the TH (table header) element, is usually displayed visually as centered, and bold. If a cell is not actually a header for a row or column of data, use style sheets or formatting attributes of the element.

Test suite: Test files for Layout Tables

8.1 Layout tables (deprecated)

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Avoid layout tables.

Authors should consider using style sheets for layout and positioning. This technique deprecates the use of layout tables. It is recommended that authors not use the table element for layout purposes unless the desired effect absolutely cannot be achieved using CSS.

8.2 Table structure in layout tables

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Only use the td, table, and tr elements and the border, cellspacing, and cellpadding attributes in layout tables. Do not use th, tbody, caption, colgroup, tfoot, and thead in layout tables.

The th element is used to create header information for data cells. When the th element is used, user agents and assistive technologies might try to associate the contents of the cell with others in the same column or row. If a user knows the table is used for layout, they can use different navigation strategies to make sense of the table.

Editorial Note: The HTML 4.01 spec seems to preclude using the td element for anything except data. The HTML WG has said that tables are only for data (full stop). We need to solicit HTML WG feedback about this section.

Editorial Note: A discussion was started about what other elements are required, allowed, or forbidden in layout tables (excluding the HTML WG philosophy against layout tables) but further review and comment is needed. Note that in HTML 4 tbody is technically a required element for all tables.

8.3 Summaries of layout tables

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

If the summary is used on a layout tables, the value must be null (summary="").

Using a null summary is similar to a null alt-text; the author is indicating that the table is used for presentation purposes.

Editorial Note: There is still not consensus about the ideal use of summaries for tables. A discussion about summaries began but there is still need for more review and comments on this. See also Summarizing data tables (optional).

8.4 Linear reading order of tables

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Create a logical reading order of cells in layout tables.

Editorial Note: Instead of providing a linear text alternative, ensure that the table can be linearized.

Tables used to lay out pages where cell text wraps pose problems for older screen readers that do not interpret the source HTML or browsers that do not allow navigation of individual table cells. These screen readers will read across the page, reading sentences on the same row from different columns as one sentence.

For example, if a table is rendered like this on the screen:

 

There is a 30% chance of       Classes at the University  

rain showers this morning,     of Wisconsin will resume   

but they should stop before    on September 3rd. 

the weekend.

This might be read by a screen reader as:

There is a 30% chance of Classes at the University rain showers this morning, of Wisconsin will resume but they should stop before on September 3rd. the weekend.

Screen readers that read the source HTML will recognize the structure of each cell, but for older screen readers, content developers may minimize the risk of word wrapping by limiting the amount of text in each cell. Also, the longest chunks of text should all be in the last column (rightmost for left-to-right tables). This way, if they wrap, they will still be read coherently. Content developers should test tables for wrapping with a browser window dimension of "640x480".

Editorial Note: See issue 251 for internationalization issue (not much).

Since table markup is structural, and we suggest separating structure from presentation, we recommend using style sheets to create layout, alignment, and presentation effects. Thus, the two columns in the above example could have been created using style sheets. Please refer to the section on style sheets for more information.

It is usually very simple to linearize a table used to layout a page - simply strip the table markup from the table. There are several tools that do this, and it is becoming more common for screen readers and some browsers to linearize tables.

However, linearizing data tables requires a different strategy. Since data cells rely on the information provided by surrounding and header cells, the relationship information that is available visually needs to be translated into the linear table. See also 7. Data Tables.

For example, specify the column layout order. The natural language writing direction may affect column layout and thus the order of a linearized table. The dir attribute specifies column layout order (e.g., dir="rtl" specifies right-to-left layout).

Editorial Note: also the case for layout tables?

Editorial Note: Provide an example

Editorial Note: again, there are tools to help produce linearized versions of data tables. We will provide a link

This markup will also help browsers linearize tables (also called table "serialization"). A row-based linear version may be created by reading the row header, then preceding each cell with the cell's column header. Or, the linearization might be column-based. Future browsers and assistive technologies will be able to automatically translate tables into linear sequences or navigate a table cell by cell if data is labeled appropriately. The WAI Evaluation and Repair Tools Working Group maintains a list of tools some of which help authors determine if tables will linearize in a readable order. Refer to [WAI-ER].

9. Links

This section explains how to create hyperlinks that are compatible and comprehensible to users of assistive technologies.

Test suite: Test files for Links

9.1 Link Text

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Provide useful link text.

Links in HTML should follow the guidance in General Techniques for WCAG 2.0 for good link text.

Editorial Note: These General techniques have not yet been incorporated into a public Working Draft.

Resources:

9.2 Supplement link text with the title attribute

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Where appropriate, use the title attribute of the a element to clarify links.

Editorial Note: We're not sure how the title attribute should relate to the link text.

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Use text alternatives for images which are used as links.

When an image is used as the content of a link, specify a text alternative for the image. The text alternative should describe the function of the link.

Example:

This example uses the alt attribute of the img element to describe a graphical link.

 
<a href="routes.html">
   <img src="topo.gif" alt="Current routes at Boulders Climbing Gym" /> 
</a> 				

Example:

If you provide link text, use empty quotes as the alt attribute value of the img element. (e.g.: alt="") Note that this text will appear on the page next to the image.

Editorial Note: Need more clarification that this is null alt-text and not a space? Point to a section in images that describes null alt-text in more detail.

Editorial Note: Issue 226 asks what to do about the case where the image and text link serve the same function but are in separate table cells. Perhaps the answer is "don't do that" but we should figure it out.

 
<a href="routes.html">
  <img src="topo.gif" alt="" />
  Current routes at Boulders Climbing Gym
</a>

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Combine adjacent image and text links that point to the same resource.

Many kinds of links have both a text and iconic link adjacent to each other. Often the text and the icon link are rendered in separate links, in part to create a slight visual separation from each other. Visually they appear to be the same link, but they are experienced by many people as two identical links and can be confusing. To avoid this, some authors omit alternative text from the image, but then there is a link with an unclear destination. The preferred method to address this is to put the text and image together in one link, and provide null alternative text on the image to eliminate duplication of text.

Editorial Note: Issue 226 We need to make a recommendation about what to do if a text and image link are adjacent to each other but in separate table cells.

Example:

An icon and text link are side by side. The alt text for the image is the same as the text link beside it, leading to a "stutter" effect as the link is read twice.

 
<a href="products.html">
  <img src="icon.gif" alt="Products page" />
</a>
<a href="products.html">
  Products page
</a>

Deprecated Example:

An icon and text link are side by side. In an attempt to remove the "stutter" the alt text for the image is null. However, now one of the links has an unknown destination, which is its own link text problem.

 
<a href="products.html">
  <img src="icon.gif" alt="" />
</a>
<a href="products.html">
  Products page
</a>

Example:

An icon and text are within the same link. The icon has null alt text and the text beside it describes the link.

 
<a href="products.html">
  <img src="icon.gif" alt="" />
  Products page
</a>

9.5 Link groups

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Group links structurally and identify the group with the title attribute.

Group links via one of the following mechanisms (in descending order of preference):

  • ul or ol

  • div

  • map

When links are grouped into logical sets (for example, in a navigation bar that appears on every page in a site) they should be marked up as a unit. Navigation bars are usually the first thing someone encounters on a page. People who are sighted are often able to ignore navigation parts and start reading the content of the page. Someone using a screen reader must first listen to the text of each link in the navigation bar before reading the interesting content. There are several ways to mark up content so that a user with a screen reader can jump over the navigation bar and avoid reading all of the links.

Although graphical menus and link groups are accessible when alt attributes are used, there are advantages to creating navigation menus that are completely text-based. Graphical text is not easily scalable. The size of graphical text cannot be increased easily by those who may need a larger font. Alternatively, text-based menus allow for relative font sizes to be used on menu links. Relative font sizes can be easily increased in most browsers without the use of assistive technology.

Editorial Note: The above paragraph outlines benefits for using text-based navigation. It may be appropriate to expand these ideas into an optional technique in a future draft.

9.6 tabindex to skip link groups (future)

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use the HTML 4.01 tabindex attribute to allow users to jump to an anchor after the set of navigation links. This attribute is not yet widely supported.

Editorial Note: This creates user agent problems, this technique needs to say don't do it.

9.7 Skipping link groups

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Include a link that allows users to skip over grouped links.

If there are five or more navigation links and/or other content that comes before the main content of the page then the skip navigation technique should probably be used. If there are twenty links and other elements before the main content, one of these techniques definitely should be used. The link should be at or very near the top of the page; it is a link with a local target just before the beginning of the main content.

Editorial Note: Issue 241 describes user agent issues and workarounds for this.

Example:

In this example, the map element groups a set of links, the title attribute identifies it as a navigation bar, tabindex is set on an anchor following the group, and a link at the beginning of the group links to the anchor after the group. Also, note that the links are separated by non-link, printable characters (surrounded by spaces).

 
<map title="Navigation Bar">
  <p>
    [<a href="#how">Bypass navigation bar</a>] 
    [<a href="home.html">Home</a>] 
    [<a href="search.html">Search</a>] 
    [<a href="new.html">New and highlighted</a>] 
    [<a href="sitemap.html">Site map</a>]
  </p>
</map> 
<h1>
  <a id="how" name="how" tabindex="1">How to use our  site</a>
</h1>
<!-- content of page -->

9.8 Hide link groups

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Provide a style sheet that allows users to hide the set of navigation links.

Some designers would prefer not to have the skip link visible to all users. There are several techniques used to hide the skip link.

  • Use an image that otherwise needs no text alternative and place the link text as alt text on that image. When using the tab key the link text will be heard by a screen reader and without a screen reader the href can be observed in the status bar of IE. E.g., <a href="#main"><img src="spacer.gif" width="1" height="1" alt="Skip Navigation"></a>

  • Use the same foreground and background colors on the link text (assume back text on white background in code example). When using the tab key the link text will be heard by a screen reader and without a screen reader the href can be observed in the status bar of IE. It may be useful to consider making the link visible when the mouse is moved over the link or the link receives focus with the tab key.

  • Hide the skip link by positioning it off screen with CSS, e.g., a.skip {position: absolute; left: -1000em; width: 20em;}. When using the tab key the link text will be heard by a screen reader and without a screen reader the href can be observed in the status bar of IE.

Do not hide the skip link using the display property; either display:none or display:hidden. Screen readers will not speak text with display:none and sometimes will not speak text with display:hidden.

Resources:

9.9 Keyboard access

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use the accesskey attribute of navigational elements to allow rapid keyboard access.

Keyboard access to active elements of a page is important for many users who cannot use a pointing device. User agents may include features that allow users to bind keyboard strokes to certain actions. HTML 4.01 allows content developers to specify keyboard shortcuts in documents via the accesskey attribute.

Note: Until user agents provide an overview of which key bindings are available, provide information on the key bindings.

Editorial Note: The Protocols and Formats working group has suggested that the accesskey attribute needs to be re-engineered. Threads discussing this are at AccessKey Behavior based on media and Accesskey again.

Example:

In this example, if the user activates Alt + C (in most user agents), the link will be followed.

 
<a accesskey="C" href="doc.html">XYZ company home page</a>

Example:

This example assigns "U" as the accesskey (via accesskey). Typing the access key modifier plus the key, e.g., Alt + U, gives focus to the label, which in turn gives focus to the input control, so that the user can input text.

 
<form action="submit" method="post">
  <p>
    <label for="user" accesskey="U">name</label> 
    <input type="text" name="user" id="user" />
  </p>
</form>

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Do not cause pop-ups or other windows to appear and do not change the current window without informing the user.

Links created with the a and area elements can use the target attribute. This directs the result of following the link to a particular window or frame. Values of target other than "_self", "_parent", and "_top" generally cause a new window to open when the link is followed. Values of "_blank" and "_new" always create a new window.

Other values refer to a named window. In a frameset, this may be the name of a frame (identified by the name attribute of a frame element, in which case the named frame will load the document identified by the link. Although the target is a different frame, this is an acceptable use of target. But if a window does not exist with the name provided, a new window will open as if a value of "_blank" had been provided. This window will have that name attached to it and future links with the same value will be directed to that window. Although a new window is no longer created after the first link with that name is followed, the change of window may still be unexpected. This practice should therefore not be used unless the user is warned.

Example:

This example demonstrates two ways to inform users that a new window will be opened when the link is selected.

 
<a href="page2.html" target="_blank">
  More detail (opens in a new window)
</a>
OR 
<a href="page2.html" target="_blank">
  More detail
  <img src="newwindow.gif" alt="(opens in a new window)" />
</a>

9.11 Using frame targets (deprecated)

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Do not cause pop-ups or other windows to appear and do not change the current window without informing the user.

Content developers should avoid specifying a new window as the target of a frame with target="_blank".

Editorial Note: This should be relaxed to fit current WCAG 2.0 thinking. i.e., "extreme changes in context are identified before they occur so the user can determine if they wish to proceed or so they can be prepared for the change" Thus, pop-ups are allowed as long as the user is notified before the pop-up appears. Also, more and more user agents may be configured to not display pop-ups or display them in the background, thus no change in context effects the user.

9.12 Opening new windows

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use the target attribute to open new windows, not scripts.

Resources:

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Use the link element to describe the structure of your document.

Content developers should use the link element and link types (refer to [HTML4] section 6.12) to describe document navigation mechanisms and organization. This allows user agents to implement standardized navigation tools for your site, or allow ordered printing of a set of documents.

Editorial Note: It would be good to provide more information on the exact benefit here. Screen shots or something.

Example:

The following link elements might be included in the head of chapter 2 of a book:

Editorial Note: Include screen shots from iCab here.

 
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">   
  <head>     
    <link rel="Next" href="chapter3.html" />     
    <link rel="Prev" href="chapter1.html" />     
    <link rel="Start" href="cover.html" />     
    <link rel="Glossary" href="glossary.html" />     
    <title>Chapter 2</title>   
  </head>   
  <body>  
    ...   
  </body> 
</html> 				

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Use the link element to refer to accessible alternative documents.

The link element may be used to designate alternative documents. Browsers should load the alternative page automatically based on the user's browser type and preferences.

Example:

User agents that support link will load the alternative page for those users whose browsers may be identified as supporting "aural","braille", or "tty" rendering.

 
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
  <head>
    <title>Welcome to the Virtual Mall!</title>
    <link title="Text-only version" rel="alternate"
      href="text_only.html" media="aural, braille, tty" />
  </head>
  <body>
    ...   
  </body> 
</html>

10. Images

This section discusses accessibility of images (including simple animations such as GIF animations) and image maps.

For information about math represented as images, refer to the section on Markup and style sheets rather than images: the example of math.

Test suite: Test files for Images

10.1 Short text alternatives for img elements ("alt-text")

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use the alt attribute of the img element to provide a text alternative for images.

When using the img element, specify a short text alternative with the alt attribute. Note. The value of this attribute is referred to as "alt-text".

Example:

The image contains alt text that plays the same function on the page as the image. Note that it does not necessarily describe the visual characteristics of the image itself.

 
<img src="companylogo.gif" alt="Company Name">

10.2 Spacer images

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use null alternative text for decorative or spacer images.

If content developers cannot use style sheets and must use invisible or transparent images (e.g., with IMG) to lay out images on the page, they should use null alt text, alt="". This indicates to assistive technology that the image can be safely ignored.

Example:

Do not use &nbsp; or the text "spacer" as the text alternative for images.

my poem requires a big space<IMG src="10pttab.gif" alt="&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;">here
<IMG src="spacer.gif" alt="spacer">
<IMG src="colorfulwheel.gif" alt="The wheel of fortune">
         

Resources:

10.3 Misuse of alternative text

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Do not use alt for any purpose other than to provide a meaningful text alternative.

Alternative text is sometimes used to provide textual information that is not an appropriate text alternative of the image. Most often this is used to affect search engine results. This alt text can present major barriers to users of text views of the document.

10.4 Short text alternatives for object elements (future)

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use the body of the object element to provide a text alternative for image objects.

When using object, specify a text alternative in the body of the object element.

Editorial Note: There is the possibility that we may either replace this technique or provide a supplementary technique based on what Gez outlines in Object Paranoia.

User Agent Notes:

JAWS5.0

Doesn't present when embedded objects loaded by IE

Example:

The image object has content that provides a brief description of the function of the image.

 
<object data="companylogo.gif" type="image/gif">
   Company Name 
</object> 				

10.5 Non-explicit text alternatives for object

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Provide text alternatives for object elements in the page.

In theory, it is best to associate text alternatives for the object element as in Short text alternatives for object elements (future). User agent problems make this technique ineffective at this time.

Instead, provide text alternatives in the document body. This text should label or describe the content loaded by the object element. You may also link to an external description, similar to D links (deprecated).

Resources:

  • Test suite:

10.6 Long descriptions of images

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

For images using the img element, describe detailed information in a separate file, and use the longdesc attribute to direct users to that file.

When a short text alternative does not suffice to adequately convey the function or role of an image, provide additional information in a file designated by the longdesc attribute.

Editorial Note: Link to information that describes how to write descriptions, e.g., Excerpts from the NBA Tape Recording Manual, Third Edition.

Example:

This example directs users to a file called "2001sales.html" to describe the sales data for 2001.

Here are the contents of 2001sales.html:

In sales97.html:

A chart showing how sales in 1997 progressed. The chart is a bar-chart showing percentage increases in sales by month. Sales in January were up 10% from December 1996, sales in February dropped 3%, ..

 
<img src="97sales.gif" alt="Sales for 1997" longdesc="sales97.html">

10.7 Long description of objects

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

For images using the object element, describe detailed information in the body of the tag, providing links to other content where appropriate.

When using object, specify longer text alternative within the element's content.

Note that object content, unlike "alt text", can include markup. Thus, content developers can provide a link to additional information from within the OBJECT element.

Example:

This example presents a long description of the image inside the object element.

 
<object data="97sales.gif" type="image/gif">
  Sales in 1997 were down subsequent to our 
  <a href="anticipated.html">anticipated purchase</a> ...
</object>

Example:

This example presents a link to a long description inside the object element.

 
<object data="97sales.gif" type="image/gif">
  Chart of our Sales in 1997. A 
  <a href="desc.html">textual description</a> 
  is available.
</object>

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Provide a visible description link for user agents that don't support longdesc.

For user agents that don't support longdesc, provide a description link as well next to the graphic.

Deprecated Example:

This example uses a descriptive link to provide a description link to the document sales.html.

 
<img src="97sales.gif" alt="Sales for 1997" longdesc="sales.html"> 
<a href="sales.html" title="Description of 1997 sales figures">[D]</a>

Resources:

10.9 Describe images without longdesc

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Describe images in document text as needed.

Editorial Note: We hope to make this optional in the future, when support for longdesc improves, but right now felt it is useful.

10.10 ASCII art

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Provide a means to skip over multi-line ASCII art.

Avoid ASCII art (character illustrations) and use real images instead since it is easier to supply a text alternative for images. However, if ASCII art must be used provide a link to jump over the ASCII art.

If the ASCII art is complex, ensure that the text alternative adequately describes it.

Example:

A link, placed before ASCII art, targets a named anchor after the ASCII art.

 
<a href="#post-art">skip over ASCII art</a>  
<!-- ASCII art goes here --> 
<a id="post-art" name="post-art">caption for ASCII art</a>

Example:

ASCII art may also be marked up as follows [skip over ASCII figure or consult a description of chart]:

 
<pre title="Plot of age and scores.">
  %   __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __   
100 |             *                             |
 90 |                *  *                       |
 80 |          *           *                    |
 70 |             @           *                 |
 60 |          @                 *              |
 50 |       *        @              *           |
 40 |                   @              *        |
 30 |    *  @              @  @           *     |
 20 |                                           |
 10 |    @                       @  @  @  @     |
      0  5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70
      Age (years)
</pre>

Audio rendering of the example as read in a screen reader

Transcript:

% 100 star 90 star star 80 star star 70 at star 60 at star 50 star at star 40 at star 30 star at at at star 20 10 at at at at at 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 Age years

Resources:

10.11 Emoticons

Task:

Use emoticons and other ASCII symbols judiciously.

Another way to replace ASCII art is to use human language substitutes. For example, <wink>might substitute for a winking smiley: ;-). Or, the word "therefore" can replace arrows consisting of dashes and greater than signs (e.g., -->), and the word "great" for the uncommon abbreviation "gr8".

Editorial Note: The RDF / Server-side / transcoding techniques are expected to describe a way to convert emoticons into images with appropriate alt text. Reference that when ready.

Example:

Another option for smaller ascii art is to use an span element with title.

 
<span title="smiley in ASCII art">:-)</span>

10.12 Text in images

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use HTML-structured text plus CSS to achieve styled text, not text in images.

Present text as HTML rather than in a bitmap images. There are several reasons for this:

  • Text is directly available to assistive technologies without requiring text alternatives

  • Text can contain HTML structure elements

  • Color contrast can be adjusted by the user

  • Size can be adjusted by the user

Editorial Note: This should also map to resizing when that is added to guidelines.

Resources:

10.13 Background images

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Do not use background images.

Do not use the background attribute to display a background image.

Resources:

11. Image Maps

An image map is an image that has "active regions". When the user selects one of the regions, some action takes place -- a link may be followed, information may be sent to a server, etc. To make an image map accessible, content developers must ensure that each action associated with a visual region may be activated without a pointing device.

Test suite: Test files for Image Maps

11.1 Use client side image map

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Provide client-side image maps instead of server-side image maps except where the regions cannot be defined with an available geometric shape.

Image maps are created with the map element. HTML allows two types of image maps: client-side (the user's browser processes a URI) and server-side (the server processes click coordinates). For all image maps, content developers must supply a text alternative.

Content developers should create client-side image maps (with usemap) rather than server-side image maps (with ismap) because server-side image maps require a specific input device.

Editorial Note: We may want to combine this technique with the following, Text links for server side image maps..

Resources:

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Provide redundant text links for each active region of a server-side image map.

If server-side image maps must be used (e.g., because the geometry of a region cannot be represented with values of the shape attribute), authors must provide the same functionality or information in an alternative accessible format. One way to achieve this is to provide a textual link for each active region so that each link is navigable with the Keyboard access. If you must use a server-side image map, please consult the section on 11. Image Maps.

When a server-side image map must be used, content developers should provide an alternative list of image map choices. There are three techniques:

  • Include the alternative links within the body of an object element (refer to the previous example illustrating links in the object element).

  • If img is used to insert the image, provide an alternative list of links after it and indicate the existence and location of the alternative list (e.g., via that alt attribute).

  • If other approaches don't make the image map accessible, create an alternative page that is accessible.

Example:

A server side image map with duplicate text links provided on the page.

 
<a href="http://www.example.com/cgi-bin/imagemap/my-map">
  <img src="welcome.gif" alt="Welcome! (Text links follow)"
    ismap="ismap" />
</a> 
<p>
  [<a href="reference.html">Reference</a>] 
  [<a href="media.html">Audio Visual Lab</a>]
</p>

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Provide redundant text links for each active region of a client-side image map.

In addition to providing a text alternative for client side image map regions, provide redundant textual links. For each area, provide an a on the page with the same href and the same link text as the alt of the area. If the a element is used instead of area, the content developer may describe the active regions and provide redundant links at the same time.

Editorial Note: The last sentence describes a practices that works inconsistently if at all. See Roberto Scano's post. Should we remove it?

Editorial Note: In WCAG 1 this is an "until user agents" requirement. What should we do with it?

Resources:

11.4 Text alternatives for client-side image maps

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Provide alternative text for the area element.

Provide text alternative for image maps since they convey visual information. As with other links, the link text should make sense when read out of context. Refer to the section on 9. Links for information on writing good link text. Users may also want keyboard shortcuts to access frequently followed links. Refer to Keyboard access.

If area is used to create the map, use the alt attribute.

Editorial Note: We need to adjust the above to match whatever we end up saying about clear link text, above.

Example:

This example uses the alt attribute of the area element to provide text alternatives of image map links.

 
<img src="welcome.gif" usemap="#map1" 
    alt="Image map of areas in the library" /> 
<map id="map1" name="map1">
  <area shape="rect" coords="0,0,30,30"
    href="reference.html" alt="Reference" />
  <area shape="rect" coords="34,34,100,100"
    href="media.html" alt="Audio visual lab" />
</map>

12. Programmatic objects and applets

The object element in HTML allows authors to embed programmatic code written in other languages, such as Java or Macromedia Flash. However, not all user agents are able to process these objects. Many users of assistive technologies are not able to access the content in programmatic objects. This section explains how to ensure that the content you provide is accessible to those users.

Test suite: Test files for programmatic objects and applets

12.1 Markup and style sheets rather than images: the example of math

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Wherever possible, use markup rather than images to convey information.

Editorial Note: Does this section fit best here or with images or on its own? Perhaps pull bit about ascii art from images and combine with this into a separate section called "Markup and Style Sheets" ? or perhaps create a more general section in General Techniques that would discuss benefits of marking text as text rather than developing raster images.

Using markup (and style sheets) where possible rather than images (e.g., a mathematical equation, link text instead of image button) promotes accessibility for the following reasons:

  • Text may be magnified or interpreted as speech or braille.

  • Search engines can use text information.

As an example, consider these techniques for putting mathematics on the Web:

  • Ensure that users know what variables represent, for example, in the equation "F = m * a", indicate that F= Force, m = mass, a = acceleration.

  • For straightforward equations, use characters, as in "x + y = z"

  • For more complex equations, mark them up with MathML [MATHML] or TeX. Note. MathML can be used to create very accessible documents but currently is not as widely supported or used as TeX.

  • Provide a text description of the equation and, where possible, use character entity references to create the mathematical symbols. A text alternative must be provided if the equation is represented by one or more images.

TeX is commonly used to create technical papers that are converted to HTML for publication on the Web. However, converters tend to generate images, use deprecated markup, and use tables for layout. Consequently, content providers should:

  1. Make the original TeX (or LaTeX) document available on the Web. There is a system called "AsTeR" [ASTER] that can create an auditory rendition of TeX and LaTeX documents. Note. These tools work primarily in the English environment and may not work so well with speech synthesizers whose primary language is not English.

  2. Ensure that the HTML created by the conversion process is accessible. Provide a single description of the equation (rather than "alt" text on every generated image as there may be small images for bits and pieces of the equation).

Editorial Note: Link to General technique about semantic markup.

12.2 Programmatic object fallbacks

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Ensure that pages are usable when programmatic objects are disabled.

Ensure that pages are usable when programmatic objects, such as applets, scripts, and plugins, do not operate.

Editorial Note: As a "technology not supported" technique this depends on the outcome of our discussion on baseline. This also should not in principle be needed if authors follow Direct accessibility of programmatic objects.

12.3 Alternative content for programmatic objects

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Create text alternatives for programmatic objects that actually work.

Placeholder

Editorial Note: The problem with some of the following techniques for text alternatives is they don't actually help the user because of user agent issues. We may want to suggest additional approaches, such as using CSS to "force-render" the alt value or element content, using a title, providing a d-link type of link to a description of the object.

12.4 Text and non-text alternatives for object

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Provide a text alternative inside the object element.

If object is used, provide a text alternative in the content of the element:

Example:

This example shows a text alternative for a Java applet using the object element.

 
<object classid="java:Press.class" width="500" height="500">
  As temperature increases, the molecules in the balloon...
</object>

Example:

This example takes advantage of the fact the object elements may be nested to provide for alternative representations of information.

 
<object classid="java:Press.class" width="500" height="500">
  <object data="Pressure.mpeg" type="video/mpeg">
    <object data="Pressure.gif" type="image/gif">
      As temperature increases, the molecules in the balloon...
    </object>
  </object>
</object>

12.5 Alternative content for applet

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Provide alternative content inside the applet element.

If applet is used, provide a text alternative in the content of the element:

Example:

This example shows a text alternative for a Java applet using the applet element.

 
<applet code="Press.class" width="500" height="500">
  As temperature increases, the molecules in the balloon...
</applet>

12.6 Alt text for applet

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use the alt attribute to label an applet.

Use the alt attribute to label an applet.

Example:

This example shows a text alternative for a Java applet using the applet element.

 
<applet alt="Balloon inflation example" code="Press.class" width="500" height="500">
</applet>

Resources:

12.7 Alternative content for embed

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Provide alternative content for embed with noembed.

Provide alternative content for the embed element in a noembed element. The noembed is rendered only if the embed is not supported. While it can be positioned anywhere on the page, the best location is beside or as a child of embed.

Editorial Note: Is it true that noembed can go either beside or inside embed? Is there a preference?

Example:

noembed is provided beside an embed.

   
<embed src="moviename.swf" width="100" height="80"
  pluginspage="http://example.com/shockwave/download/" />
<noembed>
  <img alt="Still from Movie" src="moviename.gif" 
    width="100" height="80" />
</noembed>

12.8 Alt text for embed

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Provide alt for embed.

Provide alternative content for the embed element in the alt attribute.

Example:

alt is provided for embed.

 
<embed src="moviename.swf" width="100" height="80"
  pluginspage="http://example.com/shockwave/download/"
  alt="Still from Movie" />

Resources:

12.9 Embedding multimedia objects

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use the embed element within the object element for backward compatibility.

Some objects, such as those requiring a plug-in, should also use the object element. However, for backward compatibility with Netscape browsers, use the proprietary embed element within the object element as follows:

For more information refer to [MACROMEDIA].

Deprecated Example:

This example demonstrates how to use embed with the object element to preserve backward compatibility.

 
<object classid="clsid:A12BCD3F-GH4I-56JK-xyz"
    codebase="http://example.com/content.cab" 
    width="100" height="80">
  <param name="Movie" value="moviename.swf" />
  <embed src="moviename.swf" width="100" height="80"
      pluginspage="http://example.com/shockwave/download/" />
  <noembed>
    <img alt="Still from Movie" src="moviename.gif" 
    width="100" height="80" />
  </noembed>
</object>

12.10 Plugin viewers

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Provide a link to download accessible plugin viewers

Plugin content, by definition, requires a browser plugin for it to be viewed. If the user has not encountered a particular content type before they may not have the appropriate plugin, or know where to get it. Provide a link to download an accessible plugin. It is important to link to an accessible plugin; an inaccessible plugin, while it may render content to average users, may not render content to users with disabilities. Also, it is necessary to actively use the accessibility features of the plugin to result in accessible content.

Note this requirement does not apply to applets and common image formats such as .gif and .jpeg, which are considered universally supported.

Resources:

13. CSS Techniques

This section includes techniques for CSS that are somewhat specific to HTML. It is unclear whether these techniques should remain as part of the HTML techniques or should become part of the CSS techniques. It is desirable to maintain a clean separation of technologies. But it may not be helpful to put these techniques in a general-purpose CSS document if they are too HTML-specific.

Test suite: Test files for CSS.

13.1 CSS styling

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use CSS, not HTML, to style documents.

General technique about using CSS instead of HTML elements to style documents.

Editorial Note: Link to General technique about semantic markup.

Resources:

14. Frames

For visually enabled users, frames may organize a page into different zones. For non-visual users, relationships between the content in frames (e.g., one frame has a table of contents, another the contents themselves) must be conveyed through other means.

Frames as implemented today (with the frameset, frame, and iframe elements) are problematic for several reasons:

Test suite: Test files for Frames

14.1 Frame titles

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use the title attribute of the frame element.

Use the title attribute of the frame element to describe the contents of each frame. This provides a label for the frame so users can determine which frame to enter and explore in detail.

Note that the title attribute labels frames, and is different from the title element which labels documents. Both should be provided, since the first facilitates navigation among frames and the second clarifies your current location.

The title attribute is not interchangeable with the name attribute. The title labels the frame for users; the name labels it for scripting and window targeting. The name is not presented to the user, only the title is.

Example:

This example shows how to use the title attribute with frame.

 
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
  <head>
    <title>A simple frameset document</title>
  </head>
  <frameset cols="10%, 90%">
    <frame src="nav.html" title="Navigation bar" />
    <frame src="doc.html" title="Documents" />
    <noframes>
      <body>
        <a href="lib.html" title="Library link">Select to
        go to the electronic library</a>
      </body>
    </noframes>
  </frameset>
</html>

14.2 Frame name

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Provide a meaningful name to identify frames.

Provide a name for frames in addition to title. it is useful to have a name attribute that is at least meaningful to benefit technologies that do not support title, and a title attribute that takes advantage of the fact that you can have several words in it.

Resources:

14.3 Describing frame relationships (deprecated)

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Using the longdesc attribute of the frame element, describe the purpose of frames and how frames relate to each other if it is not obvious by frame titles alone.

The use of longdesc (long description) in frames is not recommended because the longdesc attribute in frames is currently not well supported by user agents.

Editorial Note: Note that if the a frame's contents change, the text alternative will no longer apply. Also, links to descriptions of a frame should be provided along with other alternative content in the noframes element of a frameset.

Deprecated Example:

This example uses the longdesc attribute of the frame element to link to a document called "frameset-desc.html", which contains this copy:

#Navbar - this frame provides links to the major sections of the site: World News, National News, Local News, Technological News, and Entertainment News.

#Story - this frame displays the currently selected story.

#Index - this frame provides links to the day's headline stories within this section.

 
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0
Transitional//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
  <head>
    <title>Today's news</title>
  </head>

  <frameset cols="10%,*,10%">
    <frameset rows="20%,*">
      <frame src="promo.html" name="promo" 
        title="promotions" />
      <frame src="sitenavbar.html" name="navbar"
        title="Sitewide navigation bar"
        longdesc="frameset-desc.html#navbar" />
    </frameset>
    <frame src="story.html" name="story"
      title="Selected story - main content"
      longdesc="frameset-desc.html#story" />
    <frameset rows="*,20%">
      <frame src="headlines.html" name="index"
        title="Index of other national headlines"
        longdesc="frameset-desc.html#headlines" />
      <frame src="ad.html" name="adspace"
        title="Advertising" />
    </frameset>

    <noframes>
      <body>
        <p>
          <a href="noframes.html">No frames version</a>
        </p>
        <p>
          <a href="frameset-desc.html">Descriptions of
          frames.</a>
        </p>
      </body>
    </noframes>
  </frameset>
</html>

14.4 Writing for browsers that do not support FRAME

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use the noframes element to support user agents that don't support frames.

Provide meaningful content in the noframes element. noframes follows the frameset and contains a body element.

Meaningful content can include a version of the entire content of the frames in the frameset, or it can consist of instructions and links for users to find the content. Often the links point to the frame documents, outside their frames context. noframes content must not consist of instructions for users to switch to a frames-capable browser.

Example:

In this example, the user will receive a link to table_of_contents.html, which would allow him or her to navigate through the site without using frames.

 

<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
  <head>
    <title>This is top.html</title>
  </head>
  <frameset cols="50%, 50%" title="Our big document">
    <frame src="main.html" title="Where the content is displayed" />
    <frame src="table_of_contents.html" title="Table of Contents" />
    <noframes>
      <body>
        <a href="table_of_contents.html">Table of
        Contents.</a> 
        <!-- other navigational links that are available in main.html
                  are available here also. -->
      </body>
    </noframes>
  </frameset>
</html>

14.5 Frame sources

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use only HTML documents as frame sources.

Content developers must provide text alternatives of frames so that their contents and the relationships between frames make sense. Note that as the contents of a frame change, so must change any description. This is not possible if an image or other object is inserted directly into a frame. Thus, content developers should always make the source (src) of a frame an HTML file. Images may be inserted into the HTML file and their text alternatives will evolve correctly.

Editorial Note: This is worded as if there are no exceptions. Isn't it possible to design an accessible frameset that uses non-html resources as the frame source?

Example:

This example shows a frameset linking to HTML documents.

 
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
  <head>
    <title>A correct frameset document</title>
  </head>
  <frameset cols="100%" title="Evolving frameset">
    <frame name="goodframe" src="apples.html" title="Apples" />
  </frameset>

  <!-- In apples.html -->
  <p><img src="apples.gif" alt="Apples" /></p>
</html>

Example:

This incorrect example links directly to an image. Note that if, for example, a link causes a new image to be inserted into the frame: the initial title of the frame ("Apples") will no longer match the current content of the frame ("Oranges").

 
<p>Visit a beautiful grove of 
  <a target="badframe" href="oranges.gif" title="Oranges">oranges</a>
</p>

<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
  <head>
    <title>A bad frameset document</title>
  </head>
  <frameset cols="100%" title="Static frameset">
    <frame name="badframe" src="apples.gif" title="Apples" />
  </frameset>
</html>

Resources:

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Links to frames that load inaccessible formats are sufficiently descriptive.

If the source of a frame is not accessible, provide a link to a description with the longdesc attribute of the frame element.

14.7 Alternative content for iframe

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Provide accessible alternative content for the iframe element.

Provide alternative content for iframe by providing meaningful and accessible content between the start and end tags.

14.8 Longdesc for iframe

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Don't use longdesc on iframe.

Editorial Note: We just want to say that while HTML permits longdesc, it isn't meaningful to provide.

Resources:

15. Forms

This section discusses the accessibility of forms and form controls that one can put in a form element.

Test suite: Test files for Forms

15.1 Explicit form labels

Task:

Use the label element to associate form elements with their labels.

For each form control, provide an explicit label in a label element. A label is attached to a specific form control through the use of the for attribute. The value of the for attribute must be the same as the value of the id attribute of the form control.

Reset and submit buttons (<input type="reset"/> or <input type="submit"/>), image buttons (<input type="img"/>), and script buttons (<button></button>) do not need explicit labels since they have labels implicitly associated via their value or alt attributes or via element content for button.

Example:

The following text field has the explicit label of "First name:". Note that the label for matches the id attribute. The id sometimes shares the same value as the name but both must be provided, and the id must be unique on the page.

 
<label for="firstname">First name:</label> 
<input type="text" name="firstname" id="firstname" tabindex="1" />

15.2 Implicit labels for form controls (deprecated)

Task:

Do not use the label element implicitly.

According to the HTML 4.01 specification, the label element can be wrapped around both the form control and its label text to create an "implicit label", as in

<label>First name: <input type="text" name="firstname" /></label>

. In practice this is not supported by user agents and should not be used. Use explicit labels as described in Explicit form labels.

15.3 Label form controls with the title attribute

Task:

Use title to label form controls that can't be individually labeled.

Form controls that cannot have an individual label associated with the label element (see Explicit form labels) can be labeled with the title attribute.

Editorial Note: This relates to bugs 243 and 273.

15.4 Grouping form controls

Task:

Use the fieldset and legend elements in HTML 4 to group form controls logically.

Content developers should group information where natural and appropriate. When form controls can be grouped into logical units, use the fieldset element and label those units with the legend element.

Editorial Note: Try to make this less subjective, i.e. replace "natural," "appropriate," and "logical units" with something more objective.

Radio button and checkbox groups that provide multiple value choices for a single field name should in particular be grouped this way. This indicates the relationship of the elements, separates them from other groups of radio buttons or checkboxes, and is consistent with form design conventions.

Example:

This example uses the fieldset element to group a user's personal information together, and labels that grouping with the legend element.

 
<form action="http://example.com/adduser" method="post">
  <fieldset>
    <legend>Personal information</legend> 
    <label for="firstname">First name:</label>
    <input type="text" id="firstname" tabindex="1" /> 
    <label for="lastname">Last name:</label> 
    <input type="text" id="lastname" tabindex="2" /> 
    ...more personal information...
  </fieldset>

  <fieldset>
    <legend>Medical History</legend> 
    ...medical history information...
  </fieldset>
</form>

Example:

Use fieldset to group radio buttons and checkboxes.

to be completed

15.5 Grouping options of select elements

Task:

Use the optgroup to group options logically under the select element.

Content developers should group information where natural and appropriate. For long lists of menu selections (which may be difficult to track), content developers should group select items (defined by option) into a hierarchy using the optgroup element. Specifies a label for the group of options with the label attribute on optgroup.

Editorial Note: In practice, following this technique may create problems for some user agents. We need to provide user agent support information, and possibly mark this as a future technique.

Example:

This example uses the optgroup element to logically group several options (using the option element) into categories labeled "PortMaster 3", "PortMaster 2", and "IRX".

 
<form action="http://example.com/prog/someprog" method="post">
  <select name="ComOS">
    <optgroup label="PortMaster 3">
      <option label="3.7.1" value="pm3_3.7.1">
        PortMaster 3 with ComOS 3.7.1
      </option>
      <option label="3.7" value="pm3_3.7">
        PortMaster 3 with ComOS 3.7
      </option>
      <option label="3.5" value="pm3_3.5">
        PortMaster 3 with ComOS 3.5
      </option>
    </optgroup>
    <optgroup label="PortMaster 2">
      <option label="3.7" value="pm2_3.7">
        PortMaster 2 with ComOS 3.7
      </option>
      <option label="3.5" value="pm2_3.5">
        PortMaster 2 with ComOS 3.5
      </option>
    </optgroup>
    <optgroup label="IRX">
      <option label="3.7R" value="IRX_3.7R">
        IRX with ComOS 3.7R
      </option>
      <option label="3.5R" value="IRX_3.5R">
        IRX with ComOS 3.5R
      </option>
    </optgroup>
  </select>
</form>

15.6 Tab order in forms

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Create a logical tab order through links, form controls, and objects.

Editorial Note: Describe use of accesskey. Indicate whether links, form controls, and objects have their own "tabspaces" or whether they share a common one.

Editorial Note: It is often preferable to keep the default tab order than to create one according to this technique. We should speak to that, here or in General techniques.

Example:

In this example, we specify a tabbing order among elements (in order, "field2", "field1", "submit") with tabindex:

 
<form action="#" method="post">
  <p>
    <input tabindex="2" type="text" name="field1" />
    <input tabindex="1" type="text" name="field2" />
    <input tabindex="3" type="submit" name="submit" />
  </p>
</form>

15.7 Text alternatives for submit buttons

Task:

Provide a text alternative for images used as "submit" buttons.

For image submit buttons, use the alt attribute of the input element to provide a functional label. This label should indicate the button's nature as a submit button, not attempt to describe the image. The label is especially important if there are multiple submit buttons on the page that each lead to different results.

The input element is used to create many kinds of form controls. Although the HTML DTD permits the alt attribute on all of these, it should be used only on image submit buttons. User agent support for this attribute on other types of form controls is not well defined, and other mechanisms should be used to label these controls.

Example:

This example uses the alt attribute of an image submit button to label it as a "submit" button.

 
<form action="http://example.com/prog/text-read" method="post">
  <input type="image" name="submit" src="button.gif" alt="Submit" />
</form>

15.8 Tabular forms

Task:

Label tabular form elements with title when a unique form label is not possible.

See [#300]

Resources:

16. Script techniques

This is a placeholder for certain techniques that will need to appear in the script techniques and / or have a home in HTML techniques because of the tight relationship between script and HTML.

Test suite: Test files for Scripts

16.1 Text alternatives for scripts

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use noscript when using script.

Placeholder for noscript.

Editorial Note: It is unclear whether noscript should always be required, even if script failure does not present an accessibility problem, such as with most image rollovers. As a "technology not supported" technique this depends on the outcome of our discussion on baseline.

16.2 JavaScript URLs

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Do not use the javascript URL protocol.

Links that use the Javascript protocol, e.g., <a href="javascript:dosomething();">Javascript link</a>, are unusable by browsers that do not support scripts, and it is not possible to provide fallbacks with this method.

Instead of using the javascript protocol in links, the link should target a page providing fallback functionality. Event handlers on the link provide the script functionality. Be sure to return false from the event handler to cancel the fallback action of following the link. Be sure to follow the guidance in Device dependent event handlers regarding the use of event handlers.

Deprecated Example:

The following link uses the javascript protocol and cannot be used by user agents that do not support scripts.

<script type="text/javascript">
  <!--
    function dosomething() {
      ...
      return false;
    }
  // -->
</script>
<a href="javascript:dosomething()">Scripted link</a>
					

Example:

The following link refers to a fallback page with the href attribute, and uses an onclick event handler to activate scripts.

<script type="text/javascript">
  <!--
    function dosomething() {
      ...
      return false;
    }
  // -->
</script>
<a href="fallback.html" onclick="dosomething(); return false;">Scripted link with fallback</a>

The event handler can also return false directly, e.g., 
<a href="fallback.html" onclick="return dosomething();">Scripted link with fallback</a>
					

Resources:

16.3 Scripted form submission

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Do not require script support to submit forms

HTML forms are often submitted with scripts, e.g., by an event handler on the button element or a link. These forms can't be submitted when client-side scripting is not enabled. Forms should have a genuine submit button, either a standard submit button (<input type="submit" value="Submit" />) or an image submit button (<inut type="image" alt="Submit" />). Any scripting desired can still be triggered on event handlers of those buttons, or the onsubmit event handler for the form.

16.4 Keyboard shortcuts for directly accessible scripts

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

???

See [#257].

16.5 Device dependent event handlers

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

When device dependent event handlers are used, provide another device-dependent fallback.

Provide redundant input mechanisms (i.e., specify two handlers for the same element, both of which have the same code associated with them):

Device Handler Correspondences
Mouse handlerKeyboard handler
onmousedown onkeydown
onmouseup onkeyup
onclick onkeypress
onmouseover onfocus
onmouseout onblur

Note that there is no keyboard equivalent to double-clicking (ondblclick) or mouse movement (onmousemove) in HTML 4.0. Avoid using these elements.

Editorial Note: Note that onclick is now effectively device independent (bug 490).

16.6 Abstract event handlers

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Use abstract, not device-specific, event handlers.

Avoid device-dependent, particularly mouse-dependent, event handlers. Use logical event handlers such as onfocus, onactivate, etc. Provide fallbacks to keyboard or logical event handlers for mouse event handlers.

16.7 Auto submit combo boxes

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Do not use auto submit combo boxes.

Select menus that open a new page with more than one option must use the submit button instead of triggering with the onchange event because they cannot be used with the keyboard.

If some design principle demands the use of onChange, a title attribute can clarify the issue, like this: title="Use alt down arrow to open a list of languages."

Editorial Note: See [#272] and Jim Thatcher's post on auto-submit combo boxes for more background content that we might want to incorporate here.

17. References

ASTER
For information about ASTER, an "Audio System For Technical Readings", consult T. V. Raman's home page.
CSS1
"Cascading Style Sheets, level 1," B. Bos, H. Wium Lie, eds., W3C Recommendation 17 Dec 1996, revised 11 Jan 1999. Available at http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-CSS1.
CSS2
"Cascading Style Sheets, level 2," B. Bos, H. Wium Lie, C. Lilley, and I. Jacobs, eds., W3C Recommendation 12 May 1998. Available at http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-CSS2.
HTML4
"HTML 4.01 Specification," D. Raggett, A. Le Hors, I. Jacobs, eds., W3C Recommendation 24 December 1999. Available at http://www.w3.org/TR/html401/
IBMJAVA
IBM Guidelines for Writing Accessible Applications Using 100% Pure Java are available from IBM Special Needs Systems.
JAVAACCESS
Information about Java Accessibility and Usability is available from the Trace Research and Development Center.
MACROMEDIA
Flash OBJECT and EMBED Tag Syntax from Macromedia.
MATHML
"Mathematical Markup Language 1.0", P. Ion and R. Miner, eds., W3C Recommendation 7 April 1998, revised 7 July 1999. Available at http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-MathML.
TRACE
The Trace Research and Development Center. Consult this site for a variety of information about accessibility, including a scrolling Java applet that may be frozen by the user.
WAI-ER
The Evaluation and Repair Tools Working Group
WCAG10-CSS-TECHNIQUES
"CSS Techniques for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0," W. Chisholm, G. Vanderheiden, and I. Jacobs, eds. W3C Note 6 November 2000. Available at: http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10-CSS-TECHS/.
WCAG20
"Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0," B. Caldwell, W. Chisholm, J. White, and G. Vanderheiden, eds., W3C Working Draft 19 November 2004. This W3C Working Draft is available at http://www.w3.org/TR/2004/WD-WCAG20-20041119. The latest version of WCAG 2.0 is available at http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/
XHTML1
"XHTML 1.0 The Extensible HyperText Markup Language (Second Edition)," S. Pemberton, et al., W3C Recommendation 26 January 2000, revised 1 August 2002. Available at: http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/.

Appendix 1 Fallback Techniques

The following is a list of techniques that we feel should be included in the HTML Techniques for WCAG 2.0 for backward compatibility with WCAG 1.0. However, the techniques are no longer recommended in WCAG 2.0. It is not yet clear how these techniques should be incorporated into the WCAG 2.0 materials, so we are collecting them in an appendix for the time being.

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Separate links with printable characters

Include non-link, printable characters (surrounded by spaces) between adjacent links.

Editorial Note: We are unsure whether to deprecate this technique, but we believe we should. Nevertheless the technique needs to appear to bridge from WCAG 1.0 Checkpoint 10.5.

2 Direct accessibility of programmatic objects

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Make plugin content directly accessible.

Make programmatic elements such as scripts and applets directly accessible or compatible with assistive technologies.

Also ensure that programmatic objects do not cause:

  • Flicker

  • Color contrast issues

Editorial Note: This is transition support for WCAG 1.0 Checkpoint 8.1, WCAG 1.0 Checkpoint 7.1, and WCAG 1.0 Checkpoint 2.2. Really it just means "plugins have to follow guidelines too". It's important to note that plugin viewers have to follow UAAG for it to count.

Editorial Note: The technique should point to techniques documents or other resources for making common formats accessible, e.g., scripts, Java, Flash.

3 CSS fallback

This technique relates to the following sections of the guidelines:

Task:

Organize documents so they may be read without style sheets.

Include much of the content from CSS techniques for positioning.

Editorial Note: This technique needs to be present to transition from WCAG 1.0 Checkpoint 6.1. As a "technology not supported" technique it depends on the outcome of our discussion on baseline. In practicality, this is just another test for linearization, e.g., Linear reading order of tables and Guideline 1.3 L3 SC 1 .

4 Label positioning

Task:

Ensure labels for form controls are properly positioned.

The label must immediately precede its control on the same line (allowing more than one control/label per line) or be in the line preceding the control (with only one label and one control per line).

Editorial Note: This techniques comes from WCAG 1.0 Checkpoint 10.2. It is unclear if we want to continue to require it or how it relates to other label techniques.

5 Place-holding characters in empty controls (deprecated)

Task:

Until user agents handle empty controls correctly, include default, place-holding characters in edit boxes and text areas.

Editorial Note: This is a negative technique, an example of something you shouldn't do. This technique corresponds to a WCAG 1.0 checkpoint. There is a proposal for an erratum that states the until user agents clause is met and this checkpoint (and thus technique) are no longer necessary.

Deprecated Example:

This example fills a textarea element with code so that legacy assistive technologies will recognize it.

 
<textarea name="yourname" rows="20" cols="80">
  Please enter your name here.
</textarea>