Techniques for Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 1.0

1.1 Ensure that the author can produce accessible content in the markup language(s) supported by the tool. [Priority 1]Checkpoint 1.1

Ensure that all structural features of the supported languages are available within the tool. [Required] @@

Allow the author to directly edit the source markup. (Suggested)

When an extended (super-set) or simplified (sub-set) markup language is supported, ensure that the accessibility features in the base language are still available. (Suggested)

Allow the addition of equivalent alternatives for all supported image formats that allow text content, including PNG, SVG, WebCGM, JPEG, and GIF. [Required] @@

Reference:

• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 [WCAG10] and Techniques 1.0 [WCAG10-TECHS].
• Other relevant Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) documents:
  • Accessibility Features of CSS [CSS2-ACCESS].
  • Accessibility Features of SMIL [SMIL-ACCESS].
  • HTML 4.0 Accessibility Improvements [HTML4-ACCESS].
  • Accessibility of Scalable Vector Graphics [SVG-ACCESS].
• Many W3C language specifications detail accessibility features.
• WAI Protocols and Formats draft notes on creating accessible markup languages [XMLGL].

1.2 Ensure that the tool preserves all accessibility information during authoring, transformations, and conversions. [Priority 1]Checkpoint 1.2

Ensure that the tool preserves all the elements that are defined in the relevant specification(s) even if it is unable to render them in a publishing view or preview mode.[Required] @@

Allow the author to decide whether or not to preserve unrecognized markup (since it might be accessibility related). See ATAG 4.3. (Suggested)

When transforming a table to a list or list of lists, ensure that table headings are transformed into headings and that summary or caption information is retained as rendered content. [Required] @@

When converting documents, allow authors to edit conversion templates to specify the way presentation conventions should be converted into structural markup.(Suggested)

When importing images with associated descriptions into a markup document, make the descriptions available through appropriate markup.

Avoid transforming text into images. Use style sheets for presentation control, or an XML application such as Scalable Vector Graphics [SVG] that keeps the text as text. If this is not possible, ensure that the text is available as equivalent text for the image. [Required] @@

  When converting from a word-processor format to markup, ensure that headings and list items are transformed into appropriate structural markup (appropriate level of heading or type of list, etc.).

  Ensure that changes to a document's graphical layout do not reduce readability when rendered serially. Some desktop publishing software allow the author to view the linearized reading order. (Suggested)

  When converting linked elements such as footnotes or endnotes, either provide them as inline content or maintain two-way linking. In HTML, this should be hypertext links rather than plain-text references. (Suggested)

Reference:

Same references as ATAG 1.1, above.

1.3 Ensure that when the tool automatically generates markup it conforms to the W3C's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 [WCAG10]. [Relative Priority]Checkpoint 1.3

Ensure that any markup generated automatically by the tool conforms to the WCAG10 guidelines. Because this ATAG checkpoint has a relative priority, it is the priority of the relevant WCAG checkpoints that determines the level of conformance of the tool to the ATAG checkpoint (*Note on Equivalent Alternatives: The equivalent alternatives themselves may not be automatically generated unless the function of the non-text element is known with certainty (see ATAG 3.4)):

• (WCAG 1.1, P1) Provide a text equivalent* for every generated non-text element. This includes:
  • images
  • graphical representations of text (including symbols)
  • image map regions
  • animations (e.g., animated GIFs)
  • applets and programmatic objects
  • ascii art
  • frames
  • scripts
  • images used as list bullets
  • spacers
  • graphical buttons
  • sounds (played with or without user interaction)
  • stand-alone audio files
  • audio tracks of video
  • video.
• (WCAG 1.2, P1) Provide redundant text links* for each active region of a generated server-side image map.
• (WCAG 1.3, P1) Until user agents can automatically read aloud the text equivalent of a visual track, provide an auditory description* of the important information of the visual track of a generated multimedia presentation.
• (WCAG 1.4, P1) For tools that generate time-based multimedia presentations (e.g., a movie or animation), ensure synchronized equivalent alternatives* are provided. (e.g., captions or auditory descriptions of the visual track)
• (WCAG 1.5, P3) Until user agents render text equivalents for client-side image map links, provide redundant text links* for each active region of a generated client-side image map.
• (WCAG 2.1, P1) Ensure that all generated information conveyed with color is also available without color.
• (WCAG 2.2, Images: P2, Text: P3) Ensure that foreground and background color combinations of generated images and text provide sufficient contrast when viewed by someone having color deficits or when viewed on a black and white screen.
• (WCAG 3.1, P2) When an appropriate markup language exists, generate markup rather than images to convey information.
• (WCAG 3.2, P2) Generate documents that validate to published formal grammars.
• (WCAG 3.3, P2) Generate style sheets to control layout and presentation.  
• (WCAG 3.4, P2) Use relative rather than absolute units in generated markup language attribute values and style sheet property values.
• (WCAG 3.5, P2) Use header elements to convey generated document structure and use them according to specification.
• (WCAG 3.6, P2) Generate markup for lists and list items properly.
• (WCAG 3.7, P2) Generate markup for quotations in templates. Do not use quotation markup for formatting effects such as indentation.
• (WCAG 4.1, P1) Clearly identify changes in the natural language of generated text.
• (WCAG 4.2, P3) Specify the expansion of each abbreviation or acronym in a generated document where it first occurs.
• (WCAG 4.3, P3) Identify the primary natural language of a generated document.
• (WCAG 5.1, P1) For generated data tables, identify row and column headers.
• (WCAG 5.2, P1) For generated data tables that have two or more logical levels of row or column headers, use markup to associate data cells and header cells.
• (WCAG 5.3, P2) Do not generate tables for layout unless the table makes sense when linearized. Otherwise, if the generated table does not make sense, provide an alternative equivalent* (which may be a linearized version).
• (WCAG 5.4, P2) If a generated table is used for layout, do not use any structural markup for the purpose of visual formatting.
• (WCAG 5.5, P3) Provide summaries* for generated tables.
• (WCAG 5.6, P3) Provide abbreviations* for header labels of generated tables.
• (WCAG 6.1, P1) Organize generated documents so they may be read without style sheets.
• (WCAG 6.2, P1) Ensure that equivalents* for generated dynamic content are updated when the dynamic content changes.
• (WCAG 6.3, P1) Ensure that generated pages are usable when scripts, applets, or other programmatic objects are turned off or not supported. If this is not possible, provide equivalent information* on an alternative accessible page.
• (WCAG 6.4, P2) For generated scripts and applets, ensure that event handlers are input device-independent.
• (WCAG 6.5, P2) Ensure that generated dynamic content is accessible or provide an alternative presentation* or page.
• (WCAG 7.1, P1) Until user agents allow users to control flickering, avoid generating markup that causes the screen to flicker.
• (WCAG 7.2, P2) Until user agents allow users to control blinking, avoid generating markup that causes content to blink.
• (WCAG 7.3, P2) Until user agents allow users to freeze moving content, avoid generating markup that causes movement.
• (WCAG 7.4, P2) Until user agents provide the ability to stop the refresh, do not generate periodically auto-refreshing pages.
• (WCAG 7.5, P2) Until user agents provide the ability to stop auto-redirect, do not use generated markup to redirect pages automatically. Instead, configure the server to perform redirects.
• (WCAG 8.1, Important and not elsewhere: P1, Otherwise: P2) Make generated programmatic elements such as scripts and applets directly accessible or compatible with assistive technologies.
• (WCAG 9.1, P1) Generate client-side image maps instead of server-side image maps except where the regions cannot be defined with an available geometric shape.
• (WCAG 9.2, P2) Ensure that any generated element that has its own interface can be operated in a device-independent manner.
• (WCAG 9.3, P2) For generated scripts, specify logical event handlers rather than device-dependent event handlers.
• (WCAG 9.4, P3) Create a logical tab order through generated links, form controls, and objects.
• (WCAG 9.5, P3) Provide keyboard shortcuts to important generated links (including those in client-side image maps), form controls, and groups of form controls.
• (WCAG 10.1, P2) Until user agents allow users to turn off spawned windows, do not generate markup that cause pop-ups or other windows to appear or change the current window without informing the user.
• (WCAG 10.2, P2) Until user agents support explicit associations between labels and form controls, for all generated form controls with implicitly associated labels*, ensure that the label is properly positioned.
• (WCAG 10.3, P3) Until user agents render side-by-side text correctly, provide a linear text alternative (on the current page or some other) for all generated tables that lay out text in parallel, word-wrapped columns.
• (WCAG 10.4, P3) Until user agents handle empty controls correctly, include default, place-holding characters in generated edit boxes and text areas.
• (WCAG 10.5, P3) Until user agents render adjacent links distinctly, include non-link, printable characters (surrounded by spaces) between generated adjacent links.
• (WCAG 11.1, P2) Generate markup using W3C technologies when they are available and appropriate for a task and use the latest versions when supported.
• (WCAG 11.2, P2) Avoid generating deprecated features of W3C technologies.
• (WCAG 11.3, P3) Generate information so that users may receive documents according to their preferences (e.g., language, content type, etc.)
• (WCAG 11.4, P1) If, after best efforts, a generated alternative page is necessary, ensure that it includes equivalent information (or functionality), and is updated as often as the inaccessible (original) page.
• (WCAG 12.1, P1) Title* each generated frame to facilitate frame identification and navigation.
• (WCAG 12.2, P2) Describe* the purpose of generated frames and how frames relate to each other if it is not obvious by frame titles alone.
• (WCAG 12.3, P2) Divide large blocks of generated information into more manageable groups where natural and appropriate.
• (WCAG 12.4, P2) Associate generated labels* explicitly with their controls.
• (WCAG 13.1, P2) Clearly identify the target* of each generated link.
• (WCAG 13.2, P2) Provide metadata* to add semantic information to generated pages and sites.
• (WCAG 13.3, P2) Provide information* about the general layout of a generated site (e.g., a site map or table of contents). When site maps generated by the authoring tool, produce accessible representations for them.
• (WCAG 13.4, P2) Generate navigation mechanisms in a consistent manner. For a tool that provides site-wide management, ensure that all pages on the site make use of consistent and clear navigation systems.
• (WCAG 13.5, P3) Generate navigation bars to highlight and give access to the navigation mechanism.
• (WCAG 13.6, P3) When generating links, group related links, identify the group (for user agents), and, until user agents do so, provide a way to bypass the group.
• (WCAG 13.7, P3) If search functions are generated, enable different types of searches for different skill levels and preferences.
• (WCAG 13.8, P3) Generate distinguishing information* at the beginning of headings, paragraphs, lists, etc.
• (WCAG 13.9, P3) Generate information* about document collections (i.e., documents comprising multiple pages.).
• (WCAG 13.10, P3) Generate a means to skip over multi-line ASCII art.
• (WCAG 14.1, P1) Generate the clearest and simplest language appropriate for a site's content.
• (WCAG 14.2, P3) Supplement generated text with graphic or auditory presentations where they will facilitate comprehension of the page.
• (WCAG 14.3, P3) Generate a style of presentation that is consistent across pages.

Reference:

• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 [WCAG10] and Techniques 1.0 [WCAG10-TECHS]

1.4 Ensure that templates provided by the tool conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 [WCAG10]. [Relative Priority]Checkpoint 1.4

For tools that allow author's to create their own templates, advise the author that templates should be held to a high accessibility standard, since they will be repeatedly re-used. Help the author reach this goal by making an accessibility check mandatory before saving as a template. (Suggested)
Ensure that any template provided by the tool conforms to the WCAG10 guidelines. Because this ATAG checkpoint has a relative priority, it is the priority of the relevant WCAG checkpoints that determines the level of conformance of the tool to the ATAG checkpoint *Note on Equivalent Alternatives: The equivalent alternatives themselves may not appear in the template unless the function of the non-text element is known with certainty (see ATAG 3.4)):

• (WCAG 1.1, P1) Provide a text equivalent* for every non-text element in a template. This includes:
  • images
  • graphical representations of text (including symbols)
  • image map regions
  • animations (e.g., animated GIFs)
  • applets and programmatic objects
  • ascii art
  • frames
  • scripts
  • images used as list bullets
  • spacers
  • graphical buttons
  • sounds (played with or without user interaction)
  • stand-alone audio files
  • audio tracks of video
  • video.
•   (WCAG 1.2, P1) Provide redundant text links* for each active region of a server-side image map in a template.
• (WCAG 1.3, P1) Until user agents can automatically read aloud the text equivalent of a visual track, provide an auditory description* of the important information of the visual track of a multimedia presentation template.
• (WCAG 1.4, P1) For templates of time-based multimedia presentations (e.g., a movie or animation), ensure synchronized equivalent alternatives* are provided. (e.g., captions or auditory descriptions of the visual track)
• (WCAG 1.5, P3) Until user agents render text equivalents for client-side image map links, provide redundant text links* for each active region of a client-side image map in a template.
• (WCAG 2.1, P1) Ensure that all information conveyed with color in a template is also available without color.
• (WCAG 2.2, Images: P2, Text: P3) Ensure that template foreground and background color combinations of images and text provide sufficient contrast when viewed by someone having color deficits or when viewed on a black and white screen.
• (WCAG 3.1, P2) When an appropriate markup language exists, use markup rather than images in templates to convey information.
• (WCAG 3.2, P2) Create templates that validate to published formal grammars.
• (WCAG 3.3, P2) Use style sheets to control layout and presentation in templates.
• (WCAG 3.4, P2) Use relative rather than absolute units in markup language attribute values and style sheet property values for templates.
• (WCAG 3.5, P2) Use header elements to convey template structure and use them according to specification.
• (WCAG 3.6, P2) Mark up lists and list items properly in templates.
• (WCAG 3.7, P2) Mark up quotations in templates. Do not use quotation markup for formatting effects such as indentation.
• (WCAG 4.1, P1) Clearly identify changes in the natural language of text in a template.
• (WCAG 4.2, P3) Specify the expansion of each abbreviation or acronym in a template where it first occurs.
• (WCAG 4.3, P3) Identify the primary natural language of a template.
• (WCAG 5.1, P1) For data tables in a template, identify row and column headers.
• (WCAG 5.2, P1) For data tables in a template that have two or more logical levels of row or column headers, use markup to associate data cells and header cells.
• (WCAG 5.3, P2) Do not include tables for layout in a template unless the table makes sense when linearized.
• (WCAG 5.4, P2) If a table is used for layout in a template, do not use any structural markup for the purpose of visual formatting.
• (WCAG 5.5, P3) Provide summaries* for tables in a template.
• (WCAG 5.6, P3) Provide abbreviations* for header labels of tables in templates.
• (WCAG 6.1, P1) Organize templates so they may be read without style sheets.
• (WCAG 6.2, P1) Ensure that equivalents* for dynamic content in a template are updated when the dynamic content changes.
• (WCAG 6.3, P1) Ensure that page templates are usable when scripts, applets, or other programmatic objects are turned off or not supported. If this is not possible, provide equivalent information* on an alternative accessible page.
• (WCAG 6.4, P2) For template scripts and applets, ensure that event handlers are input device-independent.
• (WCAG 6.5, P2) Ensure that dynamic content in a template is accessible or provide an alternative presentation* or page.
• (WCAG 7.1, P1) Until user agents allow users to control flickering, avoid templates that causes the screen to flicker.
• (WCAG 7.2, P2) Until user agents allow users to control blinking, avoid templates that causes content to blink.
• (WCAG 7.3, P2) Until user agents allow users to freeze moving content, avoid templates generating markup that causes movement.
• (WCAG 7.4, P2) Until user agents provide the ability to stop the refresh, do not produce auto-refreshing templates.
• (WCAG 7.5, P2) Until user agents provide the ability to stop auto-redirect, do not redirect pages automatically from a template. Instead, configure the server to perform redirects.
• (WCAG 8.1, Important and not elsewhere: P1, Otherwise: P2) Make programmatic element templates, such as scripts and applets, and templates directly accessible or compatible with assistive technologies.
• (WCAG 9.1, P1) Use client-side image maps in templates instead of server-side image maps except where the regions cannot be defined with an available geometric shape.
• (WCAG 9.2, P2) Ensure that any element in a template that has its own interface can be operated in a device-independent manner.
• (WCAG 9.3, P2) For scripts in a template, specify logical event handlers rather than device-dependent event handlers.
• (WCAG 9.4, P3) Create a logical tab order through links, form controls, and objects in a template.
• (WCAG 9.5, P3) Provide keyboard shortcuts to important links (including those in client-side image maps), form controls, and groups of form controls in a template.
• (WCAG 10.1, P2) Until user agents allow users to turn off spawned windows, do not produce templates that cause pop-ups or other windows to appear or change the current window without informing the user.
• (WCAG 10.2, P2) Until user agents support explicit associations between labels and form controls, for all form controls with implicitly associated labels* in a template, ensure that the label is properly positioned .
• (WCAG 10.3, P3) Until user agents render side-by-side text correctly, provide a linear text alternative (on the current page or some other) for all tables in a template that lay out text in parallel, word-wrapped columns.
• (WCAG 10.4, P3) Until user agents handle empty controls correctly, include default, place-holding characters in edit boxes and text areas in a template.
• (WCAG 10.5, P3) Until user agents render adjacent links distinctly, include non-link, printable characters (surrounded by spaces) between adjacent links in a template.
• (WCAG 11.1, P2) Produce templates using W3C technologies when they are available and appropriate for a task and use the latest versions when supported.
• (WCAG 11.2, P2) Avoid using deprecated features of W3C technologies in templates.
• (WCAG 11.3, P3) Provide information in a template so that users may receive documents according to their preferences (e.g., language, content type, etc.)
• (WCAG 12.1, P1) Title* each frame in a template to facilitate frame identification and navigation.
• (WCAG 12.2, P2) Describe* the purpose of frames in a template and how frames relate to each other if it is not obvious by frame titles alone.
• (WCAG 12.3, P2) Divide large blocks of information in a template into more manageable groups where natural and appropriate.
• (WCAG 12.4, P2) Associate labels* explicitly with their controls in a template.
• (WCAG 13.1, P2) Clearly identify the target* of each link in a template.
• (WCAG 13.2, P2) Provide metadata* to add semantic information to templates.
• (WCAG 13.3, P2) Provide information* about the general layout of a template page or site (e.g., a site map or table of contents).
• (WCAG 13.4, P2) Use navigation mechanisms in a consistent manner in templates.
• (WCAG 13.5, P3) Provide navigation bars to highlight and give access to the navigation mechanism in templates.
• (WCAG 13.6, P3) Group related links, identify the group (for user agents), and, until user agents do so, provide a way to bypass the group in templates.
• (WCAG 13.7, P3) If search functions are provided in a template, enable different types of searches for different skill levels and preferences.
• (WCAG 13.8, P3) Place distinguishing information* at the beginning of headings, paragraphs, lists, etc. in templates.
• (WCAG 13.9, P3) Provide information* about template collections (i.e., templates comprising multiple pages.).
• (WCAG 13.10, P3) Provide a means to skip over multi-line ASCII art in templates.
• (WCAG 14.1, P1) Use the clearest and simplest language appropriate for template content.
• (WCAG 14.2, P3) Supplement text with graphic or auditory presentations where they will facilitate comprehension of the template.
• (WCAG 14.3, P3) Create a style of presentation that is consistent across templates for a site.
• Not Applicable: WCAG 11.4

Reference:

• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 [WCAG10] and Techniques [WCAG10-TECHS]

Sample(s):

Sample templates, although they don't work in all browsers yet: main page template, news and events page template, page about the template site, stylesheet