Implementation report for User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0

Abstract

This document describes the implementation status of checkpoints defined in "Implementation report for User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0". It is meant to demonstrate that the requirements specified in the guidelines can be implemented in existing and future user agents.

There is no implied or presumed endorsement of one type of implementation or another type of implementation by reference in this document. Inclusion serves only as an example to developers of the viability of satisfying the requirements of a checkpoint.

Status of this document

This section describes the status of this document at the time of its publication. Other documents may supersede this document. The latest status of this document series is maintained at the W3C.

This is an incomplete version of "Implementation report for User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0", which the User Agent Accessibility Guidelines Working Group plans to update prior to advancement of Implementation report for User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 on the W3C Recommendation track. This document was prepared for the Working Group's face-to-face meeting in Washington, D.C. in November 2000. The information in this document has not been verified and may be incorrect. This document is support material for "User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0" [UAAG10] and is not meant to become a W3C Recommendation. The User Agent Accessibility Guidelines Working Group (UAWG) expects to update it periodically with new techniques and information about implementations that satisfy the guidelines.

This is a W3C Working Draft for review by W3C Members and other interested parties. It is a draft document and may be updated, replaced or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is inappropriate to use W3C Working Drafts as reference material or to cite them as other than "work in progress". This is work in progress and does not imply endorsement by, or the consensus of, either W3C or participants in the User Agent Accessibility Guidelines Working Group (UAWG).

Please send comments about this document to the public mailing list w3c-wai-ua@w3.org; public archives are available.

This document is part of a series of accessibility documents published by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). WAI Accessibility Guidelines are produced as part of the WAI Technical Activity. The goals of the User Agent Accessibility Guidelines Working Group are described in the charter.

A list of current W3C Recommendations and other technical documents can be found at the W3C Web site.

1. Introduction

1.1 Document conventions

The implementation examples indicate that a checkpoint has already been fully or practically implemented by some type of user agent. Each checkpoint links to information about existing and proposed techniques for satisfying the checkpoint in "Techniques for User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0" [UAAG10-TECHS].

Note: Where "no information is available", it may be that there are not implementations today, that the Working Group is not aware of any, or that the authors have not yet added the information to this document.

Checkpoints that require developer information

Most users will be able to verify that most checkpoints have been satisfied. Those checkpoints that may be difficult to verify without vendor documentation or support are noted.

Detailed knowledge of the user agent functionality and the operating system APIs and resources used to implement a feature is typically needed to test these checkpoints. People other than developers may be able to verify conformance through interaction with the user interface and compatibility testing with assistive technology. But in these cases the person may not have knowledge of all the functionalities of the user agent or be able to test with all assistive technologies. In the case of assistive technologies it may not be clear if the detected problems reside in the user agent using appropriate interfaces to export information or the assistive technology not taking advantage of information that the user agent is making available.

2. The user agent accessibility guidelines

Checkpoints for communication with other software:

1.1 Ensure that every functionality available through the user interface is also available through every input API that is implemented by the user agent. This checkpoint does not require developers to reimplement the input methods associated with the keyboard, pointing device, voice, and other input APIs. [Priority 1]

Note: This checkpoint does not require developers to implement all operating system input APIs, only to make the software accessible through those they do implement. Developers are not required to reimplement input methods of APIs, e.g., text input through a mouse API or pointer motion through a keyboard API.

May require developer documentation

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: No. But third-party software gives keyboard access.
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for MS-Windows provides extensive keyboard and mouse support but does not provide device-independent access to all functionalities.
• Opera 4.0 for MS-Windows provides extensive keyboard and mouse support but does not provide device-independent access to all functionalities. From the Opera keyboard navigation page: "Most operations in Opera can be executed by using the keyboard."
• MS Internet Explorer5.5 and MicroSoft Office 2000 provide this functionality.

1.2 Use the standard input and output APIs of the operating system. Do not bypass the standard output APIs when rendering information. [Priority 1]

Note: For example, do not bypass (for reasons of speed, efficiency, etc.) standard APIs to manipulate the memory associated with rendered content, since assistive technologies may monitor rendering through the APIs. When available, developers should use APIs at a higher level of abstraction than the standard device APIs for the operating system. If these higher level APIs do not use the standard device APIs properly, developers should also use the standard device APIs.

May require developer documentation

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: Yes.
• MS IE 5.5 for Windows
• IBM Home Page Reader 3.0 responds to standard input APIs. (refer to comments from IBM).

1.3 Implement the operating system's standard API for the keyboard and ensure that every functionality available through the user interface is available through this API. [Priority 1]

Note: This checkpoint is an important special case of checkpoint 1.1. Refer also to checkpoint 9.8.

May require developer documentation

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: Yes, you could operate the UA by sending keyboard events to it (this would be a hack, however, since you shouldn't do this through the OS. If the OS lets you send events, you can do it).
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for MS-Windows provides extensive keyboard support but does not provide keyboard access to all functionalities.
• Opera 4.0 for MS-Windows provides extensive keyboard and mouse support but does not provide device-independent access to all functionalities. From the Opera keyboard navigation page: "Most operations in Opera can be executed by using the keyboard."

Checkpoints for user interface accessibility:

1.4 Ensure that the user can interact with all active elements in a device-independent manner. [Priority 1]

Note: For example, users without a pointing device (such as some users who are blind or have physical disabilities) must be able to activate form controls and links (including the links in a client-side image map). This checkpoint is an important special case of checkpoint 1.1.

May require developer documentation

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: Yes, to anything you can set "tabindex" on.
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for MS-Windows: links and form controls
• Netscape Navigator 4.x for MS-Windows: links and form controls
• Operasoft Opera 3.6 for MS-Windows: links and form controls
• No known native support for device independent access to elements that can respond to scripting events.

1.5 Ensure that every message (e.g., prompt, alert, notification, etc.) that is a non-text element and is part of the user agent user interface has a text equivalent. [Priority 1]

Note: For example, if the user is alerted of an event by an audio cue, a visually-rendered text equivalent in the status bar would satisfy this checkpoint. Per checkpoint 5.4, a text equivalent for each such message must be available through a standard API. Refer also to checkpoint 5.5.

May require developer documentation

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: No, not every button on the tool bar has a text entry in a menu.

Checkpoints for content accessibility:

2.1 Make all content available through the user interface. [Priority 1]

Note: Users must have access to the entire document object through the user interface, including recognized equivalents, attributes, style sheets, etc. This checkpoint does not require that all content be available in every viewport. A document source view is an important part of a solution for providing access to content, but is not a sufficient solution on its own for all content. Refer to guideline 5 for more information about programmatic access to content.

May require developer documentation

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: Yes. A source view is available. You can also get to things from the DOM (which is available through the UI via javascript:).
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 provides access to some element attributes through context menus ("title" attribute used for tooltips)
• NN 4.61 on Linux: No, since attribute values not readily available and no support for longdesc. For HTML, "alt" is available as visual tool tip.
• Amaya allows users to view content and attribute values.
• Source view:
  • Netscape Navigator 4.75 for Windows, Macintosh and UNIX provides a source view and "standard" view
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for Windows and Macintosh provides a source view and "standard" view
  • Opera 4.0 for Windows provides a source view and "standard" view

2.2 For a presentation that requires user input within a specified time interval, allow the user to configure the user agent to pause the presentation automatically and await user input before proceeding. [Priority 1]

Note: In this configuration, the user agent may have to pause the presentation more than once, depending on the number of times input is requested.

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: N/A.
• Real Player 7 (Version 6.0.7.362) Users can pause and resume (or restart) presentations as needed. No control over configuring pauses or slowing down presentation speed, however.

2.3 Provide easy access to each equivalent and each equivalency target through at least one of the following mechanisms: (1) allowing configuration to render the equivalent instead of the equivalency target; (2) allowing configuration to render the equivalent in addition to the equivalency target; (3) allowing the user to select the equivalency target and then inspect its equivalents; (4) providing a direct link to the equivalent in content, just before or after the equivalency target in document order. [Priority 1]

Note: For example, if an image in an HTML document has text equivalents, provide access to them (1) by replacing the image with the rendered equivalents, (2) by rendering the equivalents near the image, (3) by allowing the user to select the image and then inspect its equivalents, or (4) by allowing the user to follow readily available links to the equivalents.

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: Yes, through the source view.
• Real Player G2 and Real Player 7 (Version 6.0.7.362) allow users to select captions based on natural language.
• Real Player 8 includes an accessibility features menu in the Content preferences to select from among captions or auditory descriptions when they are present.
• allowing configuration to render the equivalent instead of the equivalency target:
  • Netscape Navigator 4.75 for Windows, Macintosh and UNIX
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for Windows and Macintosh
  • Opera 4.0 for Windows

2.4 Allow the user to specify that text transcripts, collated text transcripts, captions, and auditory descriptions be rendered at the same time as the associated audio and visual tracks. Respect author-specified synchronization cues during rendering. [Priority 1]

• Real Player G2 for Windows and Mac
• Microsoft Media Player

2.5 For non-text content that has no recognized text equivalent, allow configuration to generate repair text. If the non-text content is included by URI reference, base the repair text on the URI reference and content type of the Web resource. Otherwise, base the repair text on the name of the element that includes the non-text content. [Priority 2]

Note: For information on URI references, refer to "Uniform Resource Identifiers (URI): Generic Syntax" ([RFC2396], section 4). Some markup languages (such as HTML 4 [HTML4] and SMIL 1.0 [SMIL] require the author to provide text equivalents for some content. When they don't, the user agent is required by this document to generate repair text. Refer also to checkpoint 2.6.

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: No. MacIE may not repair broken markup because not required to by HTML specification.
• Lynx renders the text "IMAGE" when no text equivalent is available for an HTML IMG element.
• Opera 3.60 for MS-Windows renders the text "IMAGE" when no text equivalent is available for an IMG element.

2.6 Allow configuration so that when the author has specified an empty text equivalent for non-text content, the user agent generates no repair text or generates repair text as required by checkpoint 2.5. [Priority 3]

Note: An empty text equivalent (e.g., alt="") is considered to be a valid text equivalent in some authoring scenarios. For instance, when some non-text content has no other function than pure decoration, or an image is part of a "mosaic" of several images and doesn't make sense out of the mosaic. Please refer to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 [WCAG10] for more information about text equivalents. Refer also to checkpoint 2.5.

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: Yes.
• Amaya seems to do this correctly for "alt".

2.7 Allow the user to configure the user agent not to render content marked up in a recognized but unsupported natural language. Indicate to the user in context that author-supplied content has not been rendered. [Priority 3]

Note: For example, use a text substitute or a graphical icon to indicate that content in a particular language has not been rendered. If a graphical icon is used, make the text substitute its text equivalent.

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: Yes, CSS :lang supported, other style may be used. :before not supported. Can use color, underlining, etc.

Checkpoints for content accessibility:

3.1 Allow the user to configure the user agent not to render background images. In this configuration, provide an option to alert the user when a background image is available but has not been rendered. [Priority 1]

Note: This checkpoint only requires control of background images for "two-layered renderings", i.e., one rendered background image with all other content rendered "above it". When background images are not rendered, user agents should render a solid background color (refer to checkpoint 4.4 and checkpoint 4.3). In this configuration, the user agent is not required to retrieve background images from the Web.

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: Yes.
  1. Turn off all pictures (UI)
  2. More granularity through user style sheet: * { background-image: none ! important}
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for MS-Windows
• Netscape Navigator 4.x for MS-Windows
• Operasoft Opera 3.60 for MS-Windows
• NN 4.61 for Linux: Yes, through style sheets or in the default file with *defaultBackgroundImage.
• Amaya allows users to turn off background image rendering through Show background images and style sheets.

3.2 Allow the user to configure the user agent not to render audio, video, or animated images except on explicit request from the user. In this configuration, provide an option to render a substitute placeholder in context for each unrendered source of audio, video, or animated image. When placeholders are rendered, allow the user to activate each placeholder individually and replace it with the original author-supplied content. [Priority 1]

Note: This checkpoint requires configuration for content rendered without any user interaction (including content rendered on load or as the result of a script) as well as content rendered as the result of user interaction that is not an explicit request (e.g., when the user activates a link). Activation of a placeholder is considered an explicit user request to render the original content. When configured not to render content except on explicit user request, user agents may render the content "invisibly" or "silently" (i.e., in a manner that doesn't appear through the viewport). In this configuration, the user agent is not required to retrieve the audio, video, or animated image from the Web until requested by the user. Refer also checkpoint 4.6, checkpoint 4.10 and checkpoint 4.11.

Unknown.

3.3 Allow the user to configure the user agent to render animated or blinking text as motionless text. [Priority 1]

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: Yes. MacIE 5 does not allow blinking text at all. You can turn off scripting. And you have 'display: none'.
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for MS-Windows does not recognize proprietary markup for blinking text but does allow the user to turn off scripts that could be blinking text.
• Operasoft Opera 3.60 for MS-Windows does not recognize proprietary markup for blinking text and allows the user to turn off scripts and style sheets that could cause text to be animated.
• NN 4.61 Linux: Yes, through the defaults file, set "*blinkingEnables: False".
• Amaya, for blinking accomplished through style sheets.

3.4 Allow the user to configure the user agent to render blinking images as motionless images. [Priority 1]

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: Yes. You can turn scripts off. You can make animations stop looping OR not animate at all.
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for MS-Windows
• Operasoft Opera 3.60 for MS-Windows
• NN 4.61 for Linux: Yes, through Preferences/Advanced menus. Enable Java and JavaScript. Also, possible to turn off images.

3.5 Allow the user to configure the user agent not to execute scripts or applets. In this configuration, provide an option to alert the user when scripts or applets are available. [Priority 1]

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: Yes to scripts and applets, plug-ins, active-x.
• Netscape Navigator 4.x for MS-Windows
• Operasoft Opera 3.60 for MS-Windows
• NN 4.61 for Linux: Yes, through the user interface (Preferences/Advanced).

3.6 Allow configuration so that an author-specified "client-side redirect" (i.e., one initiated by the user agent, not the server) does not change content except on explicit user request. Allow the user to access the new content manually (e.g., by following a link). [Priority 2]

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: No.

3.7 Allow configuration so that author-specified content refreshes do not change content except on explicit user request. Allow the user to request the new content manually (e.g., by activating a button or following a link). Continue to alert the user, according to schedule specified by the author, that a manual request will refresh the content. [Priority 2]

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: Yes, through work offline mode and address unavailable error dialog.
• No information available.

3.8 Allow the user to configure the user agent not to render images. [Priority 2]

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: Yes.
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for MS-Windows
• Netscape Navigator 4.x for MS-Windows
• Operasoft Opera 3.60 for MS-Windows
• NN 4.61 for Linux: Yes.
• Amaya, through style sheets at least.

Checkpoints for fonts and colors (content accessibility):

4.1 Allow the user to configure and control the reference size of rendered text with an option to override author-specified and user agent default sizes of rendered text. Make available the range of system font sizes. [Priority 1]

Note: The reference size of rendered text corresponds to the default value of the CSS2 'font-size' property, which is 'medium' (refer to CSS2 [CSS2], section 15.2.4). The default reference size of rendered text may vary among user agents. User agents may offer different mechanisms to allow the user to control the size of rendered text, for example by allowing the user to change the font size or by allowing the user to zoom or magnify content (refer, for example to the Scalable Vector Graphics specification [SVG]).

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: Yes, zoom and font size control. Also DPI control.
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for MS-Windows
• Netscape Navigator 4.x for MS-Windows
• Operasoft Opera 3.60 for MS-Windows. Zoom feature.
• pwWebSpeak 3.0: Lets you increase and decrease the display size (refer to help).
• NN 4.61 for Linux: Yes, through style sheets and the user interface (Preferences/Appearances/Fonts).
• Amaya through style sheets
• Microsoft Magnifier is part of the MSAA toolkit.

4.2 Allow the user to configure the font family of all text, with an option to override author-specified, and user agent default, font families. Allow the user to select from among the range of system font families. [Priority 1]

Note: For example, allow the user to specify that all text must be rendered in a particular sans-serif font family.

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: Yes. Also, you can set a global font family preference.
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for MS-Windows
• Netscape Navigator 4.x for MS-Windows
• Operasoft Opera 3.60 for MS-Windows
• pwWebSpeak 2.5 for MS-Windows
• NN 4.61 for Linux: Yes, through style sheets and the user interface (Preferences/Appearances/Fonts).
• Amaya through style sheets

4.3 Allow the user to configure the foreground color of all text, with an option to override author-specified, and user agent default, foreground colors. Allow the user to select from among the range of system colors. [Priority 1]

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: Yes. Also user style sheets.
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for MS-Windows
• Netscape Navigator 4.x for MS-Windows
• Operasoft Opera 3.60 for MS-Windows
• pwWebSpeak 3.0: Lets you choose from among pre-set foreground colors (refer to help).
• NN 4.61 for Linux: Yes, through style sheets, the user interface (Preferences/Appearance/Fonts), and, for text, in the defaults file (*defaultForeground).
• Amaya through style sheets

4.4 Allow the user to configure the background color of all text, with an option to override author-specified and user agent default background colors. Allow the user to select from among the range of system colors. [Priority 1]

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: Yes. Also user style sheets.
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for MS-Windows
• Netscape Navigator 4.x for MS-Windows
• Operasoft Opera 3.60 for MS-Windows
• pwWebSpeak 3.0: Lets you choose from among pre-set background colors (refer to help).
• NN 4.61 for Linux: Yes, through style sheets, the user interface (Preferences/Appearance/Fonts), and, for text, in the defaults file (*defaultBackground).
• Amaya through style sheets

Checkpoints for multimedia presentations, audio-only presentations, and visual-only presentations (content accessibility):

4.5 Allow the user to slow the presentation rate of audio, video and animations that are not recognized as style. For a visual track, provide at least one setting between 40% and 60% of the original speed. For a prerecorded audio track including audio-only presentations, provide at least one setting between 75% and 80% of the original speed. When the user agent allows the user to slow the visual track of a synchronized multimedia presentation to between 100% and 80% of its original speed, synchronize the visual and audio tracks. Below 80%, the user agent is not required to render the audio track. [Priority 1]

Refer also to checkpoint 2.4.

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: Animations: No. Video: N/A. Audio: MACIE handles "bgsound". No ACSS support.
• Real Player G2? (CMN thinks it doesn't).
• Microsoft Media Player

4.6 Allow the user to stop, pause, resume, fast advance, and fast reverse audio, video, and animations that last three or more seconds at their default playback rate and that are not recognized as style. [Priority 1]

Note: This checkpoint applies to content that is rendered automatically or on request from the user. Enable control of each independent source recognized as distinct. Respect synchronization cues per checkpoint 2.4. Refer also to checkpoint 3.2.

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: Functionality satisfied by a plug-in that for audio and video meets this requirement. No for animations.
• Real Player G2 and Real Player 7 (Version 6.0.7.362)
• Microsoft Media Player

4.7 For graphical viewports, allow the user to position text transcripts, collated text transcripts, and captions in the viewport. Allow the user to choose from among the same range of positions available to the author (e.g., the range of positions allowed by the markup or style language). [Priority 1]

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: N/A.
• No information available.

4.8 Allow the user to slow the presentation rate of audio, video and animations not covered by checkpoint 4.5. The same speed percentage requirements of checkpoint 4.5 apply. [Priority 2]

Note: User agents automatically satisfy this checkpoint if they satisfy checkpoint 4.5 for every audio, video, and animation.

none.

4.9 Allow the user to stop, pause, resume, fast advance, and fast reverse audio, video, and animations not covered by checkpoint 4.6. [Priority 2]

Note: User agents automatically satisfy this checkpoint if they satisfy checkpoint 4.6 for every audio, video, and animation.

None.

Checkpoints for audio volume control (content accessibility):

4.10 Allow the user to configure and control the global audio volume. The user must be able to choose zero volume (i.e., silent). [Priority 1]

Note: User agents should allow global control of volume through available system-level controls.

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: Yes, through system. Available through UA. Mute available.
• Real Player G2 and Real Player 7 (Version 6.0.7.362)
• Microsoft Media Player

4.11 Allow the user to control independently the volumes of distinct audio sources synchronized to play simultaneously. [Priority 1]

Note: Refer also to checkpoint 4.13.

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: Yes, you have volume control per audio source (except for background sounds).
• IE with Windows Media Player supports independent volume control of distinct audio sources (refer to minutes of 22 June 2000 teleconf.
• Henter-Joyce JAWS 3.31 for MS-Windows
• GW-Micro Windoweyes 3.0 for MS-Windows
• AI-Squared Zoomtext 7.0 Level 2 for MS-Windows

Checkpoints for synthesized speech (content accessibility):

4.12 Allow the user to configure and control synthesized speech playback rate according to the full range offered by the speech synthesizer. The lower bound for this range must be at most 120 words per minute. The upper bound for this range must be at least 400 words per minute. The user must be able to increase or decrease the playback rate in increments of 5% of the current playback rate. [Priority 1]

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: N/A.
• Henter-Joyce JAWS 3.70.47 for MS-Windows Using the Voice option it is possible to increase or decrease the rate of the spoken text. The speech rate range depends on the synthesizer used and is even marked up differently depending on the synth/driver used. For example, with DecTalk Access 32 software, the rate can be varied from 75 to 650 words per minute.
• pwWebSpeak 3.0: Lets you choose increase and decrease the speech rate through keyboard bindings.
• GW-Micro Window-Eyes 3.0 for MS-Windows
• AI-Squared Zoomtext 7.0 Level 2 for MS-Windows
• Emacspeak, through ACSS.

4.13 Allow the user to control the synthesized speech volume independently of other sources of audio. [Priority 1]

Note: Refer also to checkpoint 4.11.

• Window-Eyes fromGW Micro claims support for volume control: "Set up the speech rate, pitch, tone, volume and punctuation independently for screen, keyboard, and mouse"

4.14 Allow the user to configure synthesized voice gender, pitch, pitch range, stress, richness, and control of spelling, punctuation, and number processing according to the full range of values offered by the speech synthesizer. [Priority 2]

Note: Ranges of values for these characteristics may vary among speech synthesizers. For information about these synthesized speech characteristics, please refer to descriptions in section 19.8 of Cascading Style Sheets Level 2 [CSS2].

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: N/A.
• Henter-Joyce JAWS 3.31 for MS-Windows
• AI-Squared Zoomtext 7.0 Level 2 for MS-Windows
• Emacspeak used with the W3 browser implement Aural Cascading Style Sheets (19.8 of Cascading Style Sheets Level 2 [CSS2]). From the Emacspeak 12 FAQ:

  Emacspeak takes advantage of the content-specific knowledge available within specialized buffers to produce "audio formatted" output designed to optimize user interaction. A basic consequence of the above is "voice locking" in specialized modes; a more interesting consequence is the implementation of Aural Cascading Style Sheets (ACSS) in conjunction with the Emacs W3 browser.

• Window-Eyes 4.0 from GW Micro claims support for volume control: "Set up the speech rate, pitch, tone, volume and punctuation independently for screen, keyboard, and mouse". Also: "Allows speech to be interrupted or silenced with the press of a key". Also: "Numbers can be spoken as digits or full numbers "

Checkpoints for user interface accessibility:

4.15 For user agents that support style sheets, allow the user to select from (and apply) available author and user style sheets or to ignore them. [Priority 1]

Note: By definition, the user agent's default style sheet is always present, but may be overridden by author or user styles.

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: You can turn off all author and user style sheets. You can turn on author style sheets. With a javascript addition, you can choose from alternate author styles (per page). You can choose from user-defined style globally.
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for MS-Windows
• Operasoft 3.60 for MS-Windows
• NN 4.61 for Linux: Turn of author styles only, through Preferences/Advanced: style sheets.
• Amaya allows you to select style sheets, disable, remove, open, link, etc.

4.16 Allow the user to configure how the selection is highlighted (e.g., foreground and background color, voice pitch, etc.). For graphical viewports, offer at least three rendering options, including colors and fonts. Allow the user to select from among the range of system colors and fonts. [Priority 1]

Note: For information for control of speech output and using those parameters for highlighting, refer to checkpoint 4.14.

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: Yes, you can set selection color at the system level on the Mac. You can't have a selection that's identified by something other than color.
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for MS-Windows Windows 9x settings for highlight, which can be set by the user.
• NN 4.61 for Linux: Yes, in the defaults file set *selectForeground and *selectBackground.

4.17 Allow the user to configure how the content focus is highlighted (e.g., foreground and background color, voice pitch, etc.). For graphical viewports, offer at least three rendering options, including colors and fonts. For graphical viewports, allow the user to select from among the range of system colors and fonts. The default focus highlight mechanism must be different from the default selection highlight mechanism. [Priority 1]

Note: For information for control of speech output and using those parameters for highlighting, refer to checkpoint 4.14.

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: Yes. You can change the color of the focus rectangle. Also, UA supports CSS ":focus" :focus {background: black ! important; color: white ! important }
• Operasoft 3.60 for MS-Windows

4.18 Allow the user to configure whether the current focus moves automatically to a viewport that opens without an explicit request from the user. [Priority 2]

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: You can turn off javascript (even per-site). Note that the UA supports the "target" attribute.
• No information available.

4.19 Ensure that when a viewport's selection or content focus changes, it is in the viewport after the change. [Priority 2]

Note: For example, if users navigating links move to a portion of the document outside a graphical viewport, the viewport should scroll to include the new location of the focus. Or, for users of audio viewports, allow configuration to render the selection or focus immediately after the change.

• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for MS-Windows
• Netscape Navigator 4.x for MS-Windows
• Operasoft Opera 3.60 for MS-Windows

4.20 Allow the user to configure the user agent to only open viewports on explicit user request. In this configuration, instead of opening a viewport automatically, alert the user and allow the user to open it manually. Allow the user to close viewports. [Priority 2]

Note: User creation of a new viewport (e.g., empty or with a new resource loaded) through the user agent's user interface constitutes an explicit user request. Refer also to checkpoint 4.18 and checkpoint 5.5.

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: Yes, you can turn off javascript.
• NN 4.61 for Linux: Partial support. In the defaults file, the *dontForceWindowStacking resource allows one to suppress some automatic window stacking caused by JavaScript window.open().

4.21 For graphical user interfaces, allow the user to configure the user agent so that the viewport with the current focus remains "on top" of all other viewports. In this configuration, when a viewport opens without explicit user request, alert the user. [Priority 2]

None.

Checkpoints for communication with other software:

5.1 Provide programmatic read access to HTML and XML content by conforming to the W3C Document Object Model (DOM) Level 2 Core and HTML Specifications and exporting the interfaces they define. [Priority 1]

Note: These specifications are defined by the "Document Object Model (DOM) Level 2 Core Specification" [DOM2CORE] and the "Document Object Model (DOM) Level 2 HTML Specification" [DOM2HTML]. Please refer to those specifications for information about which versions of HTML and XML the specifications cover and for the definition of a "read-only" DOM. For content other than HTML and XML, refer to checkpoint 5.3.

May require developer documentation

For DOM Level 2 XML support:

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: Most of DOM 1 core. DOM APIs are exported.
• Refer to the DirectDom Java implementation of the DOM [DIRECTDOM].
• Refer to the Xerces tool available from the Apache XML project.
• Refer to the 4DOM Library available from FourThought LLC.
• Refer to the Jackaroo SVG engine
• Refer to the DOM2 implementation.
• Refer to Mozilla's NGLayout Document Object Model (DOM) roadmap. This talks about DOM Level 1 Core conformance.

For DOM Level 2 HTML support:

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: HTML module
• Refer to the 4DOM Library available from FourThought LLC.
• IBM Home Page Reader 3.0 makes extensive use of the DOM (refer to comments from IBM).

Additional information:

• DOM Level 1 HTML is supported by Mozilla and Internet Explorer 5 (apparently for different platforms).
• Refer to the Open Directory Project's list of DOM implementations, test suites, etc.
• Refer to NIST DOM Level 1 test suite
• Refer to Mozilla's DOM test suites
• Refer to claims from Netscape about DOM Level 1 XML/HTML suppport
• Additional W3C Member-confidential information about conformance to DOM Level 2 modules is available.
• As of Thursday, 09-Nov-2000 14:25:01 EST, Opera is "starting work on DOM. This work is being based on the DOM 2.0 standard."

• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for MS-Windows provides access to the DOM through a COM interface. We have not verified whether the implementation conforms to the DOM specification.

5.2 If the user can modify HTML and XML content through the user interface, provide the same functionality programmatically by conforming to the W3C Document Object Model (DOM) Level 2 Core and HTML Specifications and exporting the interfaces they define. [Priority 1]

Note: For example, if the user interface allows users to complete HTML forms, this must also be possible through the DOM APIs. These specifications are defined by the "Document Object Model (DOM) Level 2 Core Specification" [DOM2CORE] and the "Document Object Model (DOM) Level 2 HTML Specification" [DOM2HTML]. Please refer to those documents for information about which versions of HTML and XML the specifications cover. For markup languages other than HTML and XML, refer to checkpoint 5.3.

May require developer documentation

Refer to checkpoint 5.1 information.

5.3 For markup languages other than HTML and XML, provide programmatic access to content using standard APIs (e.g., platform-independent APIs and standard APIs for the operating system). [Priority 1]

Note: This checkpoint addresses content not covered by checkpoints checkpoint 5.1 and checkpoint 5.2.

May require developer documentation

• Refer to Microsoft claims "Active Accessibility is in Microsoft Office 97 and Office 2000. It's also in Microsoft Windows® 98 and Windows® 2000, and Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0, 4.01 and 5."
• Refer to the list of accessible products for MS Windows.

5.4 Provide programmatic read and write access to user agent user interface controls using standard APIs (e.g., platform-independent APIs such as the W3C DOM; standard APIs defined for a specific operating system; and conventions for programming languages, plug-ins, virtual machine environments, etc.) [Priority 1]

Note: For example, provide access to information about the user agent's current input configuration so that assistive technologies can trigger functionalities through keyboard events, mouse events, etc.

May require developer documentation

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: Mostly (except for a handful of functionalities that can be fixed). There is no explicit accessibility API for the Mac. If you use the standard toolkit, there are accessibility APIs.
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for MS-Windows provides access through Microsoft Active Accessibility. From a Microsoft claim:

  Internet Explorer 5 features improved support for Microsoft Active Accessibility®, a technology developed by Microsoft that allows accessibility aids to communicate with the operating system and applications through a common interface. Although this technology isn't visible to the end user, developers of accessibility aids use Active Accessibility to make aids such as screen readers, screen magnifiers, and speech input tools work better with the operating system and applications.

5.5 Using standard APIs, provide programmatic alert of changes to content and user interface controls (including selection, content focus, and user interface focus). [Priority 1]

Note: Use the standard APIs required by guideline 5.

May require developer documentation

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: Yes.
  • For UI controls, ATs can override the system behavior and then call through to it (effectively acting as a hook).
  • Content changes handled by the DOM.
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for Windows provides access through Microsoft Active Accessibility.
• Refer to the Xerces tool support for DOM Level 2 Mutation events, available from the Apache XML project.
• Refer to the DOM2 implementation support for mutation events.
• Refer to Jackaroo (a Scalable Vector Graphics viewer) for DOM support for mutation events.
• Additional W3C Member-confidential information about conformance to DOM Level 2 modules is available.

5.6 Ensure that programmatic exchanges proceed in a timely manner. [Priority 2]

Note: For example, the programmatic exchange of information required by other checkpoints in this document must be efficient enough to prevent information loss, a risk when changes to content or user interface occur more quickly than the communication of those changes. The techniques for this checkpoint explain how developers can reduce communication delays, e.g., to ensure that assistive technologies have timely access to the document object model and other information needed for accessibility.

May require developer documentation

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: No, the UA doesn't have a way to plug in global handlers.
• For information about Microsoft IE 5.0, refer to http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q179/2/30.asp
• IBM Home Page Reader 3.0 implements techniques for improving performance when accessing the DOM (refer to comments from IBM).

5.7 For user agents that implement Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), provide programmatic access to CSS style sheets by conforming to the W3C Document Object Model (DOM) Level 2 Style Specification and exporting the interfaces it defines. [Priority 3]

Note: As of the publication of this document, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) are defined by CSS Level 1 [CSS1] and CSS Level 2 [CSS2]. The DOM style specification is defined by "Document Object Model (DOM) Level 2 Style Specification" [DOM2STYLE]. Please refer to that specification for information about which versions of CSS the DOM style specification covers.

May require developer documentation

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: Claims to support some of the CSSOM available in the Candidate Recommendation and to support string access to all of the properties (CSS2 extensions).
• Refer to Jackaroo (a Scalable Vector Graphics viewer) for DOM access to CSS 1 [CSS1].
• Additional W3C Member-confidential information about conformance to DOM Level 2 modules is available.

Checkpoints for user interface accessibility:

5.8 Follow operating system conventions that benefit accessibility. In particular, follow conventions for user interface design, keyboard configuration, product installation, and documentation. [Priority 2]

Note: Operating system conventions that benefit accessibility are those described in this document and in platform-specific accessibility guidelines. Some of these conventions (e.g., sticky keys, mouse keys, show sounds, etc.) are discussed in the Techniques document [UAAG10-TECHS]. Refer also to checkpoint 9.2.

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: Yes, though the OS should have more accessibility features build-in.
• Microsoft Internet Explorer for Windows supports active accessibility and standard controls.
• Microsoft Office 2000 supports active accessibility and standard controls.
• Window-Eyes 4.0 from GW Micro claims support for MSAA.

Checkpoints for content accessibility:

6.1 Implement the accessibility features of all implemented specifications (markup languages, style sheet languages, metadata languages, graphics formats, etc.). The accessibility features of a specification are those identified as such and those that satisfy all of the requirements of the "Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0" [WCAG10]. [Priority 1]

May require developer documentation

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).:
  • Supported 100%:
    • CSS1, HTML 3.2, HTML 4.0, "DOM 1.0 HTML", PNG 1.0, EcmaScript 262, PICS 1.0
  • Supported Mostly (informative):
    • XML 1.0, XML + CSS, XML + DOM 1, DOM 2 style.
  • Supposed Somewhat (informative):
    • CSS2 (full positioning, all selectors but attribute selectors, full ui support, font downloading supported, @import with media type, not @media, no explicit table properties supported, no generated content, no counters, some printing properties, no ACSS).
• Real Player 7 (Version 6.0.7.362) implements SMIL 1.0

6.2 Use and conform to W3C Recommendations when they are available and appropriate for a task. [Priority 2]

Note: For instance, for markup, conform to HTML 4 [HTML4], XHTML 1.0 [XHTML10], or XML 1.0 [XML]. For style sheets, conform to CSS ([CSS1], [CSS2]). For mathematics, conform to MathML [MATHML]. For synchronized multimedia, implement SMIL 1.0 [SMIL]. For information about programmatic access to HTML and XML content, refer to guideline 5. User agents may conform to other specifications in addition to those required by this checkpoint. For reasons of backward compatibility, user agents should continue to implement deprecated features of specifications. Information about deprecated language features is generally part of the language's specification.

May require developer documentation

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: Yes, see list in 6.1
• Amaya does this for DOM, CSS, HTML, and MathML.

Checkpoints for user interface accessibility:

7.1 Allow the user to navigate among all viewports (including frames). [Priority 1]

Note: For example, when all frames of a frameset are displayed side-by-side, allow the user to navigate among them with the keyboard. Or, when frames are accessed or viewed one at a time (e.g., by a text browser or speech synthesizer), provide a list of links to other frames. Navigation among all viewports implies at least allowing the user to cycle through all viewports. Navigating into a viewport makes it the current viewport.

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: Yes, for windows (at both UA and OS level). No for frames.
• Lynx for UNIX (for frames).
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for MS-Windows (for frames: refer to Help "Frames | Navigating").
• Operasoft Opera 4.01 for MS-Windows (for frames).
• NN 4.75 for Windows: You can tab to links in all frames, but not to a specific frame with through the keyboard.
• pwWebSpeak 3.0: Offers a list of frames.
• NN 4.61 for Linux: Yes: View/Page Source for frames in a single window. Navigation possible with the mouse. Navigation of history possible with a history window, a pulldown menu, and arrow icons (also possible with keyboard). Navigation of windows is done through the window manager (Alt-Tab in my configuration). It is not possible to navigate links sequentially in NN on Linux.

7.2 Associate a point of regard with each state in a viewport's browsing history and when the user returns to a state in the history, restore the associated point of regard. [Priority 1]

Note: For example, when the user navigates from one viewport to another (per checkpoint 7.1) and back, restore the point of regard.

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: Yes. And focus is restored!
• Lynx for UNIX (for frames).
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for MS-Windows, but a problem with frames. Point or Regard is frame not link within frame, does not remember highlighted text.
• Operasoft Opera 4.01 for MS-Windows, even within each frame.
• pwWebSpeak 3.0: Yes, even within each frame.

7.3 Allow the user to navigate all active elements. If the author has not specified a navigation order, allow at least forward sequential navigation of elements, in document order. [Priority 1]

Note: Navigation may include non-active elements in addition to active elements. This checkpoint is an important special case of checkpoint 7.6.

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: Yes, for HTML, things with tabindex.
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for MS-Windows, only for links and form controls. See Help "Keyboard Shortcuts".
• NN 4.75 for Windows: You can tab to links in all frames, but not to a specific frame with through the keyboard.
• Operasoft Opera 4.01 for MS-Windows, see Help "Keyboard Shortcuts".
• pwWebSpeak 3.0: Yes, see help.

7.4 Allow the user to choose to navigate only active elements. If the author has not specified a navigation order, allow at least forward and reverse sequential navigation of active elements, in document order. [Priority 2]

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: For HTML, things with tabindex.
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for MS-Windows, only for links and form controls. See Help "Keyboard Shortcuts".
• NN 4.75 for Windows: You can navigate to only active elements.
• NN 4.61 for Linux: No.
• Operasoft Opera 4.01 for MS-Windows, see Help "Keyboard Shortcuts".
• pwWebSpeak 3.0: Yes, see help.

7.5 Allow the user to search forward through text content that has been rendered. The search must encompass all text within the viewport, both inside and outside the point of regard. Allow the user to start a search from any selected or focused location in content. When there is a match, allow the user to search for the next instance of the text from the location of the match. When there is a match, move the point of regard so that the matched text is in the viewport. Alert the user when there is no match. Provide a case-insensitive search option when applicable to the natural language of text. [Priority 2]

Note: The default search starting point should be the beginning of content. Use operating system conventions for indicating the result of a search (e.g., selection or content focus).

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: Forward, yes, but some information only available in the source view. Case-insensitive option. No reverse search available.
• Operasoft Opera 4.01 for MS-Windows, see Help "Keyboard Shortcuts-Editing and Searching", Not found Alert=Search String Not Found. Can only search for text within current viewport - i.e. current frame, cannot search across frames.
• NN 4.75 for Windows: You can tab to links in all frames, but not to a specific frame with through the keyboard. See Help "Searching", Not found Alert=Search String Not Found. See help "searching for text on a page", can search across frames. Not found Alert=Finished Searching the Document
• pwWebSpeak 3.0: Yes - See Help, Alert=x was not found. Can only search for text within current viewport - i.e., current frame, cannot search across frames. pwWebSpeak 2.5 for MS-Windows will search text equivalents.

7.6 Allow the user to navigate efficiently to and among important structural elements identified by the author. Allow forward and backward sequential navigation to important structural elements. [Priority 2]

Note: This specification intentionally does not identify the set of "important elements" that must be navigable; refer to the Techniques document [UAAG10-TECHS] for information about identifying important elements. Structured navigation of headings, tables, forms, lists, etc., is most effective in conjunction with a configurable view (refer to configuration requirements of checkpoint 8.4 and checkpoint 7.7). User agents should follow operating system conventions for indicating navigation progress (e.g., selection or content focus).

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: Not sure.
• Operasoft Opera 4.01 for MS-Windows, see Help "Keyboard Shortcuts", Anchors, Elements, Headers.
• W3C Amaya for MS-Windows.
• NN 4.61 for Linux: Only partly – View/Source gives some access to document structure, but not headings, etc.
• pwWebSpeak 3.0: Lets you navigate by element type and specifically by heading type (these are pre-specified). See Help Anchors, Elements, Headers (h1, h2, etc.).
• OPENBook 5.0 supports structured navigation of elements.

7.7 Allow the user to configure and control the set of important elements required by checkpoint 7.6 and checkpoint 8.4. Allow the user to include and exclude element types in the set of elements. [Priority 3]

Note: For example, allow the user to navigate only paragraphs, or only headings and paragraphs, etc. Refer also to checkpoint 5.4.

• Mac IE 5.0 (shipped 27 March 2000).: Not sure.
• No information available.

Checkpoints for content accessibility:

8.1 Make available to the user the author-specified purpose of each table and the author-specified relationships among the table cells and headers. [Priority 1]

Note: Depending on the table, some techniques may be more efficient than others for conveying data relationships. For many tables, user agents rendering in two dimensions may satisfy this checkpoint by rendering a table as a grid and by ensuring that users can find headers associated with cells. However, for large tables or small viewports, allowing the user to query cells for information about related headers may improve access. Refer also to checkpoint 5.3. This checkpoint is an important special case of checkpoint 2.1.

• JAWS for Windows 3.5 with Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for MS-Windows, for table header information.

8.2 Render recently visited links in a distinct style and allow the user to configure this style. For graphical viewports, offer at least three rendering options, including colors and fonts. Allow the user to select from among the range of system colors and fonts. [Priority 2]

Note: Do not use color as the only distinguishing factor between visited and unvisited links as some users may not perceive colors and some devices may not render them. This checkpoint is an important special case of checkpoint 8.5.

• NN 4.61 for Linux: Yes, colors controllable through style sheets, *vlinkForeground in the defaults file, and through the UI under Preferences/Appearance/Colors. From there you can also enable/disable underlining.
• Amaya yes, through colors at least.

8.3 Render in a distinct style those links that have been marked up to indicate that following them will involve a fee and allow the user to configure this style. For graphical viewports, offer at least three rendering options, including colors and fonts. Allow the user to select from among the range of system colors and fonts. [Priority 2]

Note: This checkpoint is an important special case of checkpoint 8.5.

• No information available.

8.4 Make available to the user an "outline" view of content, composed of labels for important structural elements (e.g., heading text, table titles, form titles, etc.). For discussion about what constitutes the set of important structural elements, please refer to checkpoint 7.6. [Priority 2]

Note: This checkpoint is meant to allow the user to simplify the view of content by hiding some content selectively. For example, for each frame in a frameset, provide a table of contents composed of headings (e.g., the H1 - H6 elements in HTML) where each entry in the table of contents links to the heading in the document. This checkpoint does not require that the outline view be navigable, but this is recommended; refer to checkpoint 7.6. For those elements that do not have associated text titles or labels, the user agent should generate a brief text label (e.g., from content, the element type, etc.). Refer also to checkpoint 7.7.

• W3C Amaya for MS-Windows
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for MS-Windows with style sheets.
• Operasoft Opera 3.60 for MS-Windows

8.5 To help the user decide whether to traverse a link, make available the following information about it: link content, link title, whether the link is internal to the local resource, whether the user has traversed the link recently, whether traversing it may involve a fee, and information about the type, size, and natural language of linked Web resources. The user agent is not required to compute or make available information that requires retrieval of linked Web resources. [Priority 3]

• Operasoft Opera 3.60 for MS-Windows
• Amaya makes available information about attributes through the attribute menu.

Checkpoints for user interface accessibility:

8.6 Implement selection, content focus, and user interface focus mechanisms. Implement them according to system conventions (per checkpoint 5.8). [Priority 1]

Note: This checkpoints refers to the logical selection and focus; rendering requirements are addressed by checkpoint 8.7, checkpoint 4.17, and checkpoint 4.16. Refer also to checkpoint 7.1.

• Most browsers do this (NN, IE, Amaya, Lynx, etc.)

8.7 Provide a mechanism for highlighting the current viewport, selection, and content focus. [Priority 1]

Note: This includes highlighting and identifying frames. This checkpoint is an important special case of checkpoint 1.1. Refer also to checkpoints checkpoint 4.16, checkpoint 5.8, and checkpoint 8.5.

• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for MS-Windows
• Netscape Navigator 4.x for MS-Windows
• Operasoft Opera 3.60 for MS-Windows
• NN 4.61 for Linux: Yes for selection and viewport, but graphically only. The selection is highlighted through colors. The viewport highlighted with a black outline.

8.8 Provide a mechanism for highlighting and identifying active elements. [Priority 2]

Note: On most systems, the focus is used to identify and highlight active elements.

• Operasoft Opera 3.60 for MS-Windows allows for controlling link styles. No information about support for event handlers.

8.9 Allow configuration so the user is prompted to confirm any form submission not caused by explicit user request to activate a form submit control. [Priority 2]

Note: For example, do not submit a form automatically when a menu option is selected, when all fields of a form have been filled out, or when a mouseover event occurs. The user agent may satisfy this checkpoint by prompting the user to confirm all form submissions.

• No information available.

8.10 Indicate the relative position of the viewport in rendered content (e.g., the proportion of an audio or video clip that has been played, the proportion of a Web page that has been viewed, etc.). [Priority 3]

Note: The user agent may calculate the relative position according to content focus position, selection position, or viewport position, depending on how the user has been browsing. The user agent may indicate the proportion of content viewed in a number of ways, including as a percentage, as a relative size in bytes, etc. For two-dimensional renderings, relative position includes both vertical and horizontal positions.

• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for MS-Windows
• Netscape Navigator 4.x for MS-Windows
• Operasoft Opera 3.60 for MS-Windows
• RealPlayer G2
• The Real Player 7 (Version 6.0.7.362) status bar shows elapsed time and total clip time.
• Microsoft Media Player
• Amaya, graphically.

Checkpoints for user interface accessibility:

9.1 Provide information to the user about current user preferences for input configurations (e.g., keyboard or voice bindings). [Priority 1]

• Microsoft Word for Windows 97 (not a WWW browser, but demonstrates concept).
• Amaya does this the "brute force" way since attribute values are available to the user.

9.2 Avoid default input configurations that interfere with operating system accessibility conventions. [Priority 1]

Note: In particular, default configurations should not interfere with operating conventions for keyboard accessibility. Information about operating system accessibility conventions is available in the Techniques document [UAAG10-TECHS]. Refer also to checkpoint 5.8.

• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for MS-Windows
• Netscape Navigator 4.x for MS-Windows
• Operasoft Opera 3.60 for MS-Windows

9.3 Provide information to the user about current author-specified input configurations (e.g., keyboard bindings specified in HTML documents with the "accesskey" attribute). [Priority 2]

• Amaya does this the brute force way by providing information about attribute values.

9.4 Allow the user to change the default input configuration as follows: Allow the user to override any binding that is part of the user agent default input configuration (checkpoint 9.8). The user agent is not required to allow the user to override standard bindings for the operating system (e.g., for access to help). For any binding in the default keyboard configuration, allow the user to override it with a binding of a single key alone or with modifier keys. [Priority 2]

Note: This checkpoint applies to all supported input methods: keyboard, voice, graphical user interface, etc. The override requirement only applies to bindings for the same input method (i.e., the user must be able to override a keyboard binding with another keyboard binding). Refer also to checkpoint 9.5, checkpoint 9.9, checkpoint 9.8, and checkpoint 10.3.

• pwWebSpeak 3.0: Mappings are defined in a profile (e.g., to bind F1 to open the open page dialog). Users can change mappings for functionalities, but only before launching the program.

9.5 Allow the user to assign a single-key binding to at least a majority of the functionalities available in the default keyboard configuration (refer to checkpoint 9.8). [Priority 2]

Note: In some modes of interaction (e.g., when the user is entering text), the number of available single keys will be significantly reduced. The number of available single keys will also be determined by the keyboard device capabilities. This checkpoint is an important special case of checkpoint 9.4. Refer also to checkpoint 1.3, checkpoint 9.9, checkpoint 9.8, and checkpoint 10.3.

• Jaws 3.7 provides single-key access to speech-rate increase/decrease
• pwWebSpeak 3.0: Mappings are defined in a profile (e.g., to bind F1 to open the open page dialog). Users can specify single key (ascii letter) mappings for functionalities, but only before launching the program.

9.6 Follow operating system conventions to indicate the input configuration. [Priority 2]

Note: For example, on some operating systems, developers may specify which command sequence will activate a functionality so that the standard user interface components display that binding. For example, if a functionality is available from a menu, the letter of the activating key will be underlined in the menu. This checkpoint is an important special case of checkpoint 5.8.

• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for MS-Windows
• Netscape Navigator 4.x for MS-Windows
• Operasoft Opera 3.60 for MS-Windows

9.7 For the configuration requirements of this document, allow the user to save user preferences in at least one user profile. Allow users to select from among available profiles or no profile (i.e., the user agent default settings). [Priority 2]

Note: The configuration requirements of the checkpoints in this document involve user preferences for styles, presentation rates, input configurations, navigation, viewport behavior, and user agent alerts.

• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for MS-Windows does, for information that can be contained in user style sheets.
• Operasoft Opera 3.60 for MS-Windows does, for information that can be contained in user style sheets.
• NN 4.61 for Linux: Yes, since configuration is done through XResources, users can specify their own resources.
• Amaya offers profiles

9.8 Ensure that the default input configuration includes bindings for the following functionalities required by other checkpoints in this document: move focus to next active element; move focus to previous active element; activate focused link; search for text; search again for same text; next history state (forward); previous history state (back); increase size of rendered text; decrease size of rendered text; increase global volume; decrease global volume; (each of) stop, pause, resume, fast advance, and fast reverse selected audio, video, and animation. If the user agent supports the following functionalities, the default input configuration must also include bindings for them: enter URI for new resource; add to favorites (i.e., bookmarked resources); view favorites; stop loading resource; reload resource; refresh rendering; forward one viewport; back one viewport; next line; previous line. [Priority 2]

• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for MS-Windows
• Operasoft Opera 3.60 for MS-Windows

9.9 For graphical user interfaces, allow the user to configure the position of controls on tool bars of the user agent user interface, to select or remove controls for the user interface from a predefined set, and to restore the default user interface. [Priority 3]

Note: This checkpoint is an important special case of checkpoint 9.4.

• NN 4.51 for Linux: Yes. It's possible to:
  • View the toolbar a certain way (refer to Preferences/Appearance)
  • Control the position of the tool bar
  • Add menus to the tool bar
  • Control text of menus and existence of menus in the defaults file. E.g., "*Composition*toggleNavigationToolbar.mnemonic: T"

Checkpoints for accessible documentation:

10.1 Ensure that at least one version of the product documentation conforms to at least Level Double-A of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 [WCAG10]. [Priority 1]

May require developer documentation

• Amaya documentation is available in HTML.

10.2 Document all user agent features that promote accessibility. [Priority 1]

Note: For example, review the documentation or help system to ensure that it includes information about the accessibility requirements of WAI Guidelines.

May require developer documentation

• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for MS-Windows
• Opera 4: Refer to the online documentation of Opera accessibility features
• Refer to the Amaya accessibility page.

10.3 Document the default input configuration (e.g., default keyboard bindings). [Priority 1]

May require developer documentation

• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for MS-Windows
• Operasoft Opera 3.60 for MS-Windows
• Lynx for UNIX
• pwWebSpeak
• NN 4.61 for Linux: The default bindings are listed in the default configuration file.

10.4 In a dedicated section of the documentation, describe all features of the user agent that promote accessibility. [Priority 2]

Note: This is a more specific requirement than checkpoint 10.2.

May require developer documentation

• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for MS-Windows: Built-in Accessibility Features.
• Opera 3.6x
• Refer to the Amaya accessibility page.
• NN 4.61: No, refer to the help page for Netscape Communicator.

10.5 In each software release, document all changes that affect accessibility. [Priority 2]

Note: Features that affect accessibility are listed in this document and in platform-specific accessibility guidelines.

• Real Player 7 (Version 6.0.7.362) includes a section called "What's New" which reviews new features and changes to the interface.

3. Glossary

Active element

An active element is an element with behaviors that may be activated (or "triggered") either through the user interface or through an API (e.g., by using scripts). Some element instances may be active at times but not at others (e.g., they may be "deactivated" through scripts, or they may only be active for a period of time determined by the author). Which elements are active depends on the document language and whether the features are supported by the user agent. In HTML 4 [HTML4] documents, for example, active elements include links, image maps, form controls, element instances with a value for the "longdesc" attribute, and element instances with scripts (event handlers) explicitly associated with them (e.g., through the various "on" attributes). Most systems use the content focus to navigate active elements and identify which is to be activated. An active element's behavior may be triggered through any number of mechanisms, including the mouse, keyboard, an API, etc. The effect of activation depends on the element. For instance, when a link is activated, the user agent generally retrieves the linked Web resource. When a form control is activated, it may change state (e.g., check boxes) or may take user input (e.g., a text entry field). Refer also to the definition of event handler.

Alert

In this document, "to alert" means to make the user aware of some event, without requiring acknowledgement. For example, the user agent may alert the user that new content is available on the server by displaying a text message in the user agent's status bar. Refer to checkpoint 1.5 for requirements about alerts.

Application Programming Interface (API), standard input/output/device API

An application programming interface (API) defines how communication may take place between applications.

As part of encouraging interoperability, this document recommends using standard APIs where possible, although this document does not define in all cases how those APIs are standardized (i.e., whether they are defined by specifications such as W3C Recommendations, defined by an operating system vendor, de facto standards, etc.). Implementing APIs that are independent of a particular operating system (e.g., the W3C DOM Level 2 specifications) may reduce implementation costs for multi-platform user agents and promote the development of multi-platform assistive technologies. Implementing standard APIs defined for a particular operating system may reduce implementation costs for assistive technology developers who wish to interoperate with more than one piece of software running on that operating system.

A "device API" defines how communication may take place with an input or output device such as a keyboard, mouse, video card, etc. A "standard device API" is one that is considered standard for that particular device on a given operating or windowing system.

In this document, an "input/output API" defines how applications or devices communicate with a user agent. As used in this document, input and output APIs include, but are not limited to, device APIs. Input and output APIs also include more abstract communication interfaces than those specified by device APIs. A "standard input/output API" is one that is expected to be implemented by software running on a particular operating system. Standard input/output APIs may vary from system to system. For example, on desktop computers today, the standard input APIs are for the mouse and keyboard. For touch screen devices or mobile devices, standard input APIs may include stylus, buttons, voice, etc. The graphical display and sound card are considered standard ouput devices for a graphical desktop computer environment, and each has a standard API.

Assistive technology

In the context of this document, an assistive technology is a user agent that:

1. relies on services (such as retrieving Web resources, parsing markup, etc.) provided by one or more other "host" user agents. Assistive technologies communicate data and messages with host user agents by using and monitoring APIs.
2. provides services beyond those offered by the host user agents to meet the requirements of a users with disabilities. Additional services include alternative renderings (e.g., as synthesized speech or magnified content), alternative input methods (e.g., voice), additional navigation or orientation mechanisms, content transformations (e.g., to make tables more accessible), etc.

For example, screen reader software is an assistive technology because it relies on browsers or other software to enable Web access, particularly for people with visual and learning disabilities.

Examples of assistive technologies that are important in the context of this document include the following:

• screen magnifiers, which are used by people with visual disabilities to enlarge and change colors on the screen to improve the visual readability of rendered text and images.
• screen readers, which are used by people who are blind or have reading disabilities to read textual information through synthesized speech or braille displays.
• speech recognition software, which may be used by people who have some physical disabilities.
• alternative keyboards, which are used by people with certain physical disabilities to simulate the keyboard.
• alternative pointing devices, which are used by people with certain physical disabilities to simulate mouse pointing and button activations.

Beyond this document, assistive technologies consist of software or hardware that has been specifically designed to assist people with disabilities in carrying out daily activities, e.g., wheelchairs, reading machines, devices for grasping, text telephones, vibrating pagers, etc.

Attribute

This document uses the term "attribute" in the XML sense: an element may have a set of attribute specifications (refer to the XML 1.0 specification [XML] section 3).

Audio, Audio object

An audio object is content rendered as sound through an audio viewport.

Audio-only presentation

An audio-only presentation is a presentation consisting exclusively of one or more audio tracks presented concurrently or in series. Examples of an audio-only presentation include a musical performance, a radio-style news broadcast, and a book reading.

Audio track

An audio track is an audio object that is intended as a whole or partial presentation. An audio track may, but is not required to, correspond to a single audio channel (left or right audio channel).

Auditory description

An auditory description is either a prerecorded human voice or a synthesized voice (recorded or generated dynamically) describing the key visual elements of a movie or animation. The auditory description is synchronized with the audio track of the presentation, usually during natural pauses in the audio track. Auditory descriptions include information about actions, body language, graphics, and scene changes.

Author styles

Authors styles are style property values that come from a document, or from its associated style sheets, or that are generated by the server.

Captions

Captions (sometimes called "closed captions") are text transcripts that are synchronized with other audio or visual tracks. Captions convey information about spoken words and non-spoken sounds such as sound effects. They benefit people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, and anyone who cannot hear the audio (e.g., someone in a noisy environment). Captions are generally rendered graphically above, below, or superimposed over video. Note: Other terms that include the word "caption" may have different meanings in this document. For instance, a "table caption" is a title for the table, often positioned graphically above or below the table. In this document, the intended meaning of "caption" will be clear from context.

Collated text transcript

A collated text transcript is a text equivalent of a movie or animation. More specifically, it is the combination of the text transcript of the audio track and the text equivalent of the visual track. For example, a collated text transcript typically includes segments of spoken dialogue interspersed with text descriptions of the key visual elements of a presentation (actions, body language, graphics, and scene changes). Refer also to the definitions of text transcript and auditory description. Collated text transcripts are essential for individuals who are deaf-blind.

Configure and Control

In the context of this document, the verbs "to control" and "to configure" share in common the idea of governance such as a user may exercise over interface layout, user agent behavior, rendering style, and other parameters required by this document. Generally, the difference in the terms centers on the idea of persistence. When a user makes a change by "controlling" a setting, that change usually does not persist beyond that user session. On the other hand, when a user "configures" a setting, that setting typically persists into later user sessions. Furthermore, the term "control" typically means that the change can be made easily (such as through a keyboard shortcut) and that the results of the change occur immediately, whereas the term "configure" typically means that making the change requires more time and effort (such as making the change via a series of menus leading to a dialog box, via style sheets or scripts, etc.) and that the results of the change may not take effect immediately (e.g., due to time spent reinitializing the system, initiating a new session, rebooting the system). In order to be able to configure and control the user agent, the user must be able to "read" as well as "write" values for these parameters. Configuration settings may be stored in a profile. The range and granularity of the changes that can be controlled or configured by the user may depend on system or hardware limitations.

Both configuration and control may apply at different "levels": across Web resources (i.e., at the user agent level, or inherited from the system), to the entirety of a Web resource, or to components of a Web resource (e.g., on a per-element basis). For example, users may configure the user agent to apply the same font family across Web resources, so that all text is displayed by default using that font family. Or, the user may wish to configure the rendering of a particular element type, which may be done through style sheets. Or, the user may wish to control the text size dynamically (zooming in and out) for a given document, without having to reconfigure the user agent. Or, the user may wish to control the text size dynamically for a given element, e.g., by navigating to the element and zooming in on it.

Note: In this document, the noun "control" means "user interface component" or "form component".

Content

In this specification, the noun "content" is used in three ways:

1. It is used to mean the document object as a whole or in parts.
2. It is used to mean the content of an HTML or XML element, in the sense employed by the XML 1.0 specification ([XML], section 3.1): "The text between the start-tag and end-tag is called the element's content." Context should indicate that the term content is being used in this sense.
3. It is used in the context of the phrases non-text content and text content.

Device-independence

Device-independence refers to the ability to make use of software with any supported input or output device.

Document Object, Document Object Model

In general usage, the term "document object" refers to the user agent's representation of data (e.g., a document). This data generally comes from the document source, but may also be generated (from style sheets, scripts, transformations, etc.), produced as a result of preferences set within the user agent, added as the result of a repair performed automatically by the user agent, etc. Some data that is part of the document object is routinely rendered (e.g., in HTML, what appears between the start and end tags of elements and the values of attributes such as "alt", "title", and "summary"). Other parts of the document object are generally processed by the user agent without user awareness, such as DTD-defined names of element types and attributes, and other attribute values such as "href", "id", etc. These guidelines require that users have access to both types of data through the user interface.

A "document object model" is the abstraction that governs the construction of the user agent's document object. The document object model employed by different user agents may vary in implementation and sometimes in scope. This specification requires that user agents implement the APIs defined in the "Document Object Model (DOM) Level 2 Specification" ([DOM2CORE], [DOM2HTML], [DOM2STYLE]) for access to HTML, XML, and CSS content. These DOM APIs allow authors to access and modify the content via a scripting language (e.g., JavaScript) in a consistent manner across different scripting languages. As a standard interface, the DOM APIs make it easier not just for authors, but for assistive technology developers to extract information and render it in ways most suited to the needs of particular users. The relevant W3C DOM Recommendations are listed in the references.

Document source, Document source view

In this document, the term "document source" refers to the data that the user agent receives as the direct result of a request for a Web resource (e.g., as the result of an HTTP/1.1 [RFC2616] "GET", as the result of opening a local resource, etc.). A "document source view" generally renders the document source as text written in the markup language(s) used to build it. The document source is generally a subset of the document object (e.g., since the document object may include repair content).

Documentation

Documentation refers to all information provided by the vendor about a product, including all product manuals, installation instructions, the help system, and tutorials.

Element

This document uses the term "element" both in the XML sense (an element is a syntactic construct as described in the XML 1.0 specification [XML], section 3) and more generally to mean a type of content (such as video or sound) or a logical construct (such as a header or list).

Equivalent (for content)

In the context of this document, an equivalency relationship between two pieces of content means that one piece -- the "equivalent" -- is able to serve essentially the same function for a person with a disability (at least insofar as is feasible, given the nature of the disability and the state of technology) as the other piece -- the "equivalency target" -- does for a person without any disability. For example, the text "The Full Moon" might convey the same information as an image of a full moon when presented to users. If the image is part of a link and understanding the image is crucial to guessing the link target, then the equivalent must also give users an idea of the link target. Thus, an equivalent is provided to fulfill the same function as the eq