This document describes how Amaya implements the Authoring Tool
Accessibility Guidelines, as an informative aid to developers. The guidelines
and checkpoints of that document are included for convenience.
Status of this document
This is a supplement for the Techniques for Authoring Tool Accessibility,
intended as an informative reference. This document describes the conformance
of Amaya release 2.1 to the Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines last call
draft [WAI-AUTOOLS-LC], and is expected to be
updated with each subsequent release of Amaya or the Guidelines.
This document complements the Techniques for Authoring Tool Accessibility
[WAI-AUTOOLS-TECHS]. Although it
reproduces the guidelines and checkpoints from that document it is not a
normative reference; the techniques introduced here are not required for
conformance to the Guidelines. The document describes how Amaya (release
version 2.1), a WYSIWYG HTML editing tool produced by the W3C as a test
platform for a number of specifications, implements the Authoring Tool
Accessibility Guidelines [WAI-AUTOOLS]. The
document is intended as an informative aid to developers seeking to implement
the Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines. These techniques are not
necessarily the only way of fulfilling each checkpoint, nor are they
necessarily a definitive set of requirements for fulfilling a checkpoint.. It
is expected to be updated with each release of Amaya.
How this document is organized.
This document has the same structure as the Authoring Tool Accessibility
Guidelines [WAI-AUTOOLS]. Each Guideline and
checkpoint from that Document is listed, in the same order, with an
explanation of Amaya's techniques for implementing them, or techniques which
the development team plans to implement.
Guideline 1. Support accessible authoring
practices
- 1.1 Ensure that the author can produce accessible content in the markup language(s) supported by the tool. [Priority 1]
-
- Amaya implements all of the accessibility
features of HTML. The CSS cascade order, an accessibility feature of
CSS2, is yet to be completely implemented.
- 1.2 Ensure that the tool generates markup that conforms to the W3C's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines [WAI-WEBCONTENT]. [Relative Priority]
-
- Amaya implements each supported
recommendation according to the specifications.
-
- Amaya generates markup that conforms to
level-A, and allows the author to generate markup that is triple-A
through the user interface.
- 1.3 Ensure that templates provided by the tool conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines [WAI-WEBCONTENT]. [Relative Priority]
-
- Amaya has just introduced templates, which
will be checked for conformance to Web Content Accessibility
Guidelines.
- 1.4 Ensure that the tool preserves all accessibility information during authoring, transformations and conversions. [Priority 1]
-
- The predefined transformations shipped with
Amaya preserve all element content. The transformation language
allows the preservation of attribute values, but this is not done by
all the supplied transformations.
Guideline 2. Generate standard markup
- 2.1 Use the latest versions of W3C Recommendations when they are available and appropriate for a task. [Priority 2]
-
- Amaya supports HTML 4.0 [HTML40]], XHTML 1.0
[XHTML10] and most of CSS1 [CSS1]. It provides partial support
for MathML [MATHML] and some experimental support for Scalable
Vector Graphics [SVG].
- 2.2 Ensure that the tool generates valid markup. [Priority 1]
-
- Amaya implements each language according to
the published specifications.
- 2.3 If markup generated by the tool differs from W3C specifications, inform the author. [Priority 3]
Guideline 3. Support the creation of accessible
content
- 3.1 Assist the author in providing alternative information (e.g., captions, long descriptions of graphics). [Relative Priority]
-
- Amaya prompts the author to provide alt text
for
IMG
and AREA
, and CAPTION
for TABLE
.
- 3.2 Help the author create structured content and separate information from its presentation. [Relative Priority]
-
- Amaya will prompt the author for title for
ABBR, ACRONYM, OBJECT, longdesc for IMG and LABEL for FORM controls.
The user interface of Amaya was developed to guide authors to
produce structured documents. Style in Amaya is created as a
stylesheet.
- 3.3 Ensure that prepackaged content conforms to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines [WAI-WEBCONTENT]. [Relative Priority]
-
- Amaya does not provide any clip art
- 3.4 Do not insert automatically generated or place-holder equivalent alternatives. [Priority 1]
-
- Amaya does not provide default alt text
except when copying and pasting images, in which case it copies all
attributes with the image.
- 3.5 Provide a mechanism to manage alternative information for multimedia objects, that retains and offers for editing pre-written or previously linked alternative information. [Priority 3]
-
- Amaya has no registry of alternate text
associated with images, although when an image is copied and pasted
its alt and other attributes are copied too.
Guideline 4. Provide methods of checking and
correcting inaccessible content
- 4.1 Check for and alert the author to accessibility problems. [Relative Priority]
-
- Amaya currently checks for validity, but the
author can only find warning of invalid markup in the structure
view. The team is investigating automating an accessibility check
and author notification. Where Amaya detects an error it identifies
and highlights the offending code in the structure view, allowing
the author to delete it.
- 4.2 Assist authors in correcting accessibility problems. [Relative Priority]
-
- Amaya currently does not implement this
checkpoint. Amaya uses its own internal representation for the
document markup that is translated on output. Possible
implementation strategy: Where there are errors in a document Amaya
could alert the author and warn that the document must be changed,
and present the structure view highlighting areas where it has
changed the markup, allowing the author to abort the editing session
or save the changed version under a new name.
- 4.3 Allow the author to preserve markup not recognized by the tool. [Priority 2]
-
- Amaya currently does not implement this
checkpoint.
- 4.4 Provide the author with a summary of the document accessibility status. [Priority 3]
-
- Amaya currently does not implement this
checkpoint.
- 4.5 Allow the author to transform presentation markup that is misused to convey structure into structural markup, and to transform presentation markup that is stylistic into style sheet markup. [Priority 3]
-
- Amaya provides a language for specifying
structure transformations, along with a large number of
transformations being included.
Guideline 5. Integrate accessibility
solutions into the overall "look and feel"
- 5.1 Ensure that functionalities related to accessible Authoring practices are integrated into the tool. [Priority 2]
-
- In Amaya some accessibility features are part
of relevant dialogs. Others, such as longdesc and title attributes
must be separately generated by the author. The development team
will integrate these into the relevant dialogues.
- 5.2 Ensure that the [WEB-CONTENT-PRIORITY] Priority 1 accessible authoring practices are among the most obvious and easily initiated by the author. [Priority 2]
-
- Amaya's user interface guides the author to
produce structured content, with presentation elements separated
into style sheets.
Guideline 6. Promote accessibility in help and
documentation
- 6.1 Document all features that promote the production of accessible content. [Priority 1]
-
- Amaya help pages for images and image maps
[AMAYA-HELP-IMG] include providing text alternatives as part of
the process. There is a help page on configuring Amaya, that
documents how to change the default keyboard bindings. Some pages
need to be updated.
- 6.2 Ensure that creating accessible content is a naturally integrated part of the documentation, including examples. [Priority 2]
-
- Accessible authoring features are added to
the documentation as they are incorporated into Amaya, as part of
the normal documentation of the relevant feature.
- 6.3 In a dedicated section, document all features of the tool that promote the production of accessible content. [Priority 3]
-
- Amaya does not currently implement this
checkpoint. An accessibility section will be provided in the next
release version.
Guideline 7. Ensure that the Authoring Tool is
Accessible to Authors with Disabilities
- 7.1 Use all applicable operating system and accessibility standards and conventions (Priority 1 for standards and conventions which are essential to accessibility, Priority 2 for those that are important to accessibility, Priority 3 for those that are beneficial to accessibility). [Priority 1]
-
- Amaya is currently available for two
platforms: Unix and Windows. There is some work required on both
platforms to bring it into line with conventions, in particular to
provide conformance with the User Agent Guidelines
[WAI-USERAGENT], and to implement Microsoft Active Accessibility
[MSAA]. It is being re-written to take advantage of the improved
accessibility support possible in Gnome (it currently uses Motif) in
the Unix version. The Documentation is all available online and has
been reviewed to ensure it conforms to Web Content Accessibility
Guidelines [WAI-WEBCONTENT].
- 7.2 Allow the author to change the presentation within editing views without affecting the document markup. [Priority 1]
-
- Amaya allows the user to create local style
sheets, and to enable or disable each style sheet that is linked to
a document.
- 7.3 Allow the author to edit all properties of each element and object in an accessible fashion. [Priority 1]
-
- Amaya allows each attribute to be edited
through the menu or through the structure view. Element types can be
assigned through the menu system.
- 7.4 Ensure the editing view allows navigation via the structure of the document in an accessible fashion. [Priority 1]
-
- Amaya provides a structure view, that can be
navigated element by element, a Table of Contents view, that allows
navigation via the headings, and a links view, that allows
sequential navigation via the links in the document. It also
provides configurable keyboard navigation of the HTML structure -
parent, child, next and previous sibling elements.
- 7.5 Enable editing of the structure of the document in an accessible fashion. [Priority 2]
-
- Amaya allows the author to select elements
(including containers) and cut, copy and paste them with their
attributes and properties in any of the formatted, structure and
alternate views.
- 7.6 Allow the author to search within editing views. [Priority 2]
-
- Amaya provides a search function. Because all
document views are synchronized, any search text found will be
selected in each of the available views.
For the latest version of any W3C specification please consult the list of
W3C Technical Reports.
- [AMAYA-HELP-IMG]
- "Images and
Client-side Image Maps" Amaya's Help page for images and image
maps.
- [CSS1]
- "CSS, level 1
Recommendation," B. Bos, H. Wium Lie, eds., 17 December 1996,
revised 11 January 1999. This CSS1 Recommendation is
http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/REC-CSS1-19990111. The latest version of CSS1 is
available at http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-CSS1.
- [MATHML]
- "Mathematical
Markup Language," P. Ion and R. Miner, eds., 7 April 1998, revised 7
July 1999. This MathML 1.0 Recommendation is
http://www.w3.org/TR/1998/REC-MathML-19990707. The latest version of MathML 1.0
is available at http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-MathML.
- [MSAA]
- "Information for
Developers About Microsoft Active Accessibility," Microsoft
Corporation.
- [SVG]
- "Scalable Vector
Graphics (SVG) 1.0 Specification" (Working Draft), J. Ferraiolo, ed.
The latest version of the SVG specification is available at
http://www.w3.org/TR/SVG
- [WAI-AUTOOLS]
- "Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 (working draft)," J. Treviranus, J.
Richards, I. Jacobs, and C. McCathieNevile eds. The latest version is available at
http://www.w3.org/WAI/AU/WAI-AUTOOLS.
- [WAI-AUTOOLS-LC]
- "Authoring Tool
Accessibility Guidelines (Working Draft), 3 September 1999 Last Call
draft," J. Treviranus, J. Richards, I. Jacobs, and C. McCathieNevile
eds. The Last Call draft of 3 September is available at
http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/AU/WAI-AUTOOLS-19990903.
- [WAI-AUTOOLS-TECHS]
- "Techniques for Authoring Tool Accessibility (working draft)," J. Treviranus, J.
Richards, I. Jacobs, and C. McCathieNevile eds.
The latest version is available at
http://www.w3.org/WAI/AU/WAI-AUTOOLS-TECHS.
- [WAI-USERAGENT]
- "User Agent
Accessibility Guidelines," J. Gunderson and I. Jacobs, eds. The
latest version of the User
Agent Accessibility Guidelines is available at
http://www.w3.org/WAI/UA/WAI-USERAGENT.
- [WAI-WEBCONTENT]
- "Web
Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0," W. Chisholm, G. Vanderheiden,
and I. Jacobs, eds., 5 May 1999. This Recommendation is
http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/WAI-WEBCONTENT-19990505. The latest version of
the Web Content
Accessibility Guidelines 1.0" is available at
http://www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT/.
- [WEB-CONTENT-PRIORITY]
- Priorities
defined by [WAI-WEBCONTENT].
- [XHTML10]
- "XHTML(TM) 1.0: The
Extensible HyperText Markup Language (Working Draft)," S. Pemberton
et al. The latest version of XHTML
1.0 is available at http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1.