W3C

Amaya - Techniques for Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 sample implementation

W3C Note 18 September 2000

This version:
http://www.w3.org/WAI/AU/WD-ATAG10-TECHS-20000918/sample-amaya
Latest version:
http://www.w3.org/WAI/AU/ATAG10-TECHS/sample-amaya
Previous version:
http://www.w3.org/TR/2000/NOTE-ATAG10-TECHS-20000504/sample-amaya
Editor:
Charles McCathieNevile <charles@w3.org>

Abstract

This document lists all of the techniques employed by Amaya [AMAYA] that are listed in Techniques for Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 [ATAG10-TECHS]. The guidelines and checkpoints are included as well for convenience.

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 document is a W3C Note, published as an informative appendix to "Techniques for Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 1.0". This document has been approved by the Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines Working Group (AUWG). The Working Group expects to update this document in response to queries raised by implementors of the Guidelines, for example, to cover new technologies. Suggestions for additional techniques are welcome.

Publication of a W3C Note does not imply endorsement by the W3C Membership.

This document has been produced by the Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines Working Group (AUWG) as part of the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). The goals of the Working Group are discussed in the AUWG charter.

Please send general comments about this document to the public mailing list: w3c-wai-au@w3.org (public archives).


Introduction

This document lists the techniques used by Amaya (or in development for Amaya) to satisfy the Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 [ATAG10]. It is intended to assist developers seeking to implement the Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 1.0.

Note: The techniques in this document are merely suggestions; they are not required for conformance to the Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 1.0. These techniques are not necessarily the only way of satisfying the checkpoint, nor are they necessarily a definitive set of requirements for satisfying a checkpoint.

This document has the same structure as the Authoring Tool Guidelines 1.0 [ATAG10]. 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 that the development team plans to implement.

Amaya Support for the Guidelines

Guideline 1. Support accessible authoring practices.

Checkpoints:

1.1 Ensure that the author can produce accessible content in the markup language(s) supported by the tool. [Priority 1]
1.2 Ensure that the tool preserves all accessibility information during authoring, transformations, and conversions. [Priority 1]
1.3 Ensure that when the tool automatically generates markup it conforms to the W3C's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 [WCAG10]. [Relative Priority]
1.4 Ensure that templates provided by the tool conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 [WCAG10]. [Relative Priority]

Guideline 2. Generate standard markup.

Checkpoints:

2.1 Use the latest versions of W3C Recommendations when they are available and appropriate for a task. [Priority 2]
2.2 Ensure that the tool automatically generates valid markup. [Priority 1]
2.3 If markup produced by the tool does not conform to W3C specifications, inform the author. [Priority 3]

Guideline 3. Support the creation of accessible content.

Checkpoints:

3.1 Prompt the author to provide equivalent alternative information (e.g., captions, auditory descriptions, and collated text transcripts for video). [Relative Priority]
3.2 Help the author create structured content and separate information from its presentation. [Relative Priority]
3.3 Ensure that prepackaged content conforms to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 [WCAG10]. [Relative Priority]
3.4 Do not automatically generate equivalent alternatives. Do not reuse previously authored alternatives without author confirmation, except when the function is known with certainty. [Priority 1]
3.5 Provide functionality for managing, editing, and reusing alternative equivalents for multimedia objects. [Priority 3]

Guideline 4. Provide ways of checking and correcting inaccessible content.

Checkpoints:

4.1 Check for and inform the author of accessibility problems. [Relative Priority]
4.2 Assist authors in correcting accessibility problems. [Relative Priority]
4.3 Allow the author to preserve markup not recognized by the tool. [Priority 2]
4.4 Provide the author with a summary of the document's accessibility status. [Priority 3]
4.5 Allow the author to transform presentation markup that is misused to convey structure into structural markup, and to transform presentation markup used for style into style sheets. [Priority 3]

Guideline 5. Integrate accessibility solutions into the overall "look and feel".

Checkpoints:

5.1 Ensure that functionality related to accessible authoring practices is naturally integrated into the overall look and feel of the tool. [Priority 2]
5.2 Ensure that accessible authoring practices supporting Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 [WCAG10] Priority 1 checkpoints are among the most obvious and easily initiated by the author. [Priority 2]

Guideline 6. Promote accessibility in help and documentation.

Checkpoints:

6.1 Document all features that promote the production of accessible content. [Priority 1]
6.2 Ensure that creating accessible content is a naturally integrated part of the documentation, including examples. [Priority 2]
6.3 In a dedicated section, document all features of the tool that promote the production of accessible content. [Priority 3]

Guideline 7. Ensure that the authoring tool is accessible to authors with disabilities.

Checkpoints:

7.1 Use all applicable operating system and accessibility standards and conventions (Priority 1 for standards and conventions that are essential to accessibility; Priority 2 for those that are important to accessibility; Priority 3 for those that are beneficial to accessibility).
7.2 Allow the author to change the presentation within editing views without affecting the document markup. [Priority 1]
7.3 Allow the author to edit all properties of each element and object in an accessible fashion. [Priority 1]
7.4 Ensure that the editing view allows navigation via the structure of the document in an accessible fashion. [Priority 1]
7.5 Enable editing of the structure of the document in an accessible fashion. [Priority 2]
7.6 Allow the author to search within editing views. [Priority 2]

References

For the latest version of any W3C specification please consult the list of W3C Technical Reports.

[ATAG10]
"Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 1.0," J. Treviranus, C. McCathieNevile, I. Jacobs, and J. Richards, eds. The latest version is available at http://www.w3.org/WAI/AU/ATAG10-TECHS/sample-amaya.
[ATAG10-TECHS]
"Techniques for Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 1.0," J. Treviranus, J. Richards, I. Jacobs, and C. McCathieNevile eds. The latest version is available at http://www.w3.org/WAI/AU/ATAG10-TECHS.
[UAAG10]
"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/UAAG10.
[WCAG10]
"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/WCAG10/.

Resources

Note: W3C does not guarantee the stability of any of the following references outside of its control. These references are included for convenience. References to products are not endorsements of those products.

Operating system and programming guidelines

[MSAA]
"Information for Developers About Microsoft Active Accessibility," Microsoft Corporation.

Authoring tools and other services

[AMAYA]
Amaya, developed at W3C, is both an authoring tool and browser with a WYSIWYG-style user interface. Amaya serves as a testbed for W3C specifications. Source code, binaries, and further information are available at http://www.w3.org/Amaya/. The techniques in this document are based on Amaya version 2.4.
[AMAYA-HELP-IMG]
"Images and Client-side Image Maps," Amaya's Help page for images and image maps.