Pages that use CSS.
This technique relates to:
Most browsers allow the user to change the color settings to override Web author's CSS and HTML color schemes. This includes IE, all versions of Firefox, Mozilla, and Opera after version 6.
When specified colors are overridden in Netscape and versions of Firefox before Firefox 3.0, most Javascript pop-up boxes and drop-down menus become unusable. Pop-up boxes gain a transparent background, superimposing the text of the box on the text of the page, and drop-down menus either become transparent or gain a dark-grey background.
IE 6 will not override background colors in the browser unless the same background color has also been selected in the system settings.
There are no color settings in Safari so it is not possible to over-ride specified colors. Similarly where colors are not specified Safari displays the page in black text on a white background, ignoring any color preferences from within the system settings.
The intent of this technique is to specify borders and layout using CSS and leave text and background colors to render according to the user's browser and/or operating system settings (Please see above note in relation to Safari). This allows users to view the text in the colors they require while maintaining other aspects of the layout and page design such as columns of text, borders around sections or vertical lines between a menu and main content area. It will also prevent some display issues in some browsers when pages contain Javascript pop-up boxes or drop-down menus and have the colors overridden.
Borders and layout indicators help many people with cognitive disabilities, as does flexibility over the text and background colors. Sometimes these two needs are in conflict when the user has to over-ride the author's color selection of text and background in the browser and the browser also removes the borders and the intended layout. This can mean the page is displayed in a single column with one block of content below the other, which can result in unnecessary whitespace and long lines of text. It can also mean that pop-up boxes gain a transparent background, superimposing the text of the box on the text of the page, and drop-down menus either become transparent or gain a dark-grey background. When a Web author does not specify the colors of any text and background, while specifying border colors and layout, it is possible, in most popular browsers, to change the text and background colors without affecting the other (author-specified) CSS declarations.
A Web page is designed using HTML. CSS is used to specify border colors around discrete areas of the page and to layout the content so that the menu floats to the left of the main content area. Neither the text color nor background is specified. The user sets their own colors in the browser. They can view the page in colors and contrasts that work well for them without disrupting the layout.
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Open the Web page in a browser that allows users to change colors of HTML content.
Change the text, link and background colors in the browser settings so they are different than those currently set in the browser.
Note: Make sure that you do not select the option that tells the browser to ignore the colors specified in the page.
Return to the page and check that it is displaying the page in the new text, link and background colors.
Check that any borders are still displayed and that the layout is retained.
Checks #3 and Check #4 are true.
If this is a sufficient technique for a success criterion, failing this test procedure does not necessarily mean that the success criterion has not been satisfied in some other way, only that this technique has not been successfully implemented and can not be used to claim conformance.
Techniques are informative—that means they are not required. The basis for determining conformance to WCAG 2.0 is the success criteria from the WCAG 2.0 standard—not the techniques. For important information about techniques, please see the Understanding Techniques for WCAG Success Criteria section of Understanding WCAG 2.0.