[] [contents of this page] [full techniques contents] [next: implementation techniques for guideline 4]

W3C

Techniques for Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 1.0

Working Draft 24 November 2001

Section 3: implementation techniques for guideline 3

This version:
http://www.w3.org/WAI/AU/WD-ATAG10-TECHS-20011124/imp3
Latest version:
http://www.w3.org/WAI/AU/ATAG10-TECHS/imp3
Previous version:
http://www.w3.org/WAI/AU/WD-ATAG10-TECHS-20010801/imp3
editors of this chapter:
Jan Richards

Charles McCathieNevile

Copyright ©1999 - 2001 W3C® (MIT, INRIA, Keio), All Rights Reserved. W3C liability, trademark, document use and software licensing rules apply.

Brief table of contents

Guideline 3. Support the creation of accessible content.

ATAG 3.1 Prompt the author to provide equivalent alternative information (e.g., captions, auditory descriptions, and collated text transcripts for video). [Relative Priority] (Checkpoint 3.1)
T0092 Markup tools technique Multimedia tools technique Content tools technique Provide a preview mode that uses alternative content. Although this can give authors a clear understanding of some problems very easily, it should be made clear that there are many ways in which a page may be presented (aurally, text-only, text with pictures separately, on a small screen, on a large screen, etc.). A view that renders the document as it might appear without technologies such as style sheets and images enabled, or the ability to turn those features off and on in the editing view, will also give an author some idea of whether a document's logical order has been correctly preserved, whether alternative text is appropriate, etc.(Suggested)

T0093 Markup tools technique Multimedia tools technique Content tools technique Programming tools technique Prompt the author to provide equivalent alternative information (e.g., captions, auditory descriptions, and collated text transcripts for video). Because this ATAG checkpoint has a relative priority, it is the priority of the relevant WCAG checkpoints that determines the level of conformance of the tool to the ATAG checkpoint:

  • Markup tools technique Multimedia tools technique Content tools technique Programming tools technique (WCAG 1.1, P1) Provide a text equivalent for every non-text element (e.g., via "alt", "longdesc", or in element content). This includes: images, graphical representations of text (including symbols), image map regions, animations (e.g., animated GIFs), applets and programmatic objects, ascii art, frames, scripts, images used as list bullets, spacers, graphical buttons, sounds (played with or without user interaction), stand-alone audio files, audio tracks of video, and video.
    • T0094 Require: When a multimedia object is inserted, prompt the author for relevant alternatives: functional replacement and long description for images, text captions (as text or as a URI), video of signed translations for audio, and audio descriptions for video (as well as alternatives for its audio components).
    • T0095 Require: In Japanese, Chinese, and other appropriate languages, prompt the author for text that can be used as a ruby for unusual ideographs or ideographic groups. Refer to [RUBY].
    • T0096 Suggest: When video is inserted, prompt the author for a still image as part of the alternative information.
    • T0097 Suggest: Provide an author with the option of specifying alternative information, or electing to insert null alternative information for images, audio, video.
    • T0098 Suggest: Prompt the author to identify the type of image (decorative, a navigation icon, etc.).
    • T0099 Suggest: Satisfying checkpoint 3.5 would provide much of the required functionality for images.
    • T0100Suggest: Identify the natural language of text equivalents. (WCAG 4.1, P1)
  • Markup tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 1.2, P1) Provide redundant text links for each active region of a server-side image map.
    • T0101 Suggest: Ask the author to identify regions in an image map, or to describe how the coordinates will be used so that a form-based input method can be generated.
  • T0102 Markup tools technique Multimedia tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 1.3, P1) Until user agents can automatically read aloud the text equivalent of a visual track, provide an auditory description of the important information of the visual track of a multimedia presentation.
  • T0103 Multimedia tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 1.4, P1) For any time-based multimedia presentation (e.g., a movie or animation), synchronized equivalent alternatives (e.g., captions or auditory descriptions of the visual track) with the presentation.
  • T0104 Markup tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 1.5, P3) Until user agents render text equivalents for client-side image map links, provide redundant text links for each active region of a client-side image map.
    • Use the same User interface for server and client side image map creations, including prompting for alternatives for each region. Use alternatives provided to generate redundant text-based links for server-side maps.
  • T0105 Markup tools technique Content tools technique Programming tools technique (WCAG 6.2, P1) Ensure that equivalents for dynamic content are updated when the dynamic content changes.
  • T0106 Markup tools technique Content tools technique Programming tools technique (WCAG 6.3, P1) Ensure that pages are usable when scripts, applets, or other programmatic objects are turned off or not supported. If this is not possible, provide equivalent information on an alternative accessible page.
  • T0107 Markup tools technique Multimedia tools technique Content tools technique Programming tools technique (WCAG 6.5, P2) Ensure that dynamic content is accessible or provide an alternative presentation or page.
  • T0108 Markup tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 10.3, P3) Until user agents render side-by-side text correctly, provide a linear text alternative (on the current page or some other) for all tables that lay out text in parallel, word-wrapped columns.
  • T0109 Markup tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 10.4, P3) Until user agents handle empty controls correctly, include default, place-holding characters in edit boxes and text areas.
  • T0110 Markup tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 11.4, P1) If, after best efforts, an alternative page is necessary, ensure that it includes equivalent information (or functionality), and is updated as often as the inaccessible (original) page.
  • T0111 Markup tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 12.1, P1) Title each frame to facilitate frame identification and navigation.
  • T0112 Markup tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 12.2, P2) Describe the purpose of frames and how frames relate to each other if it is not obvious by frame titles alone.
  • Markup tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 13.1, P2) Clearly identify the target of each link.
    • T0113 Prompt the author to provide text which can be used as a title for a link.
  • Markup tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 13.2, P2) Provide metadata* to add semantic information to templates.
    • T0114 Ask authors for information about a page or site. If its function is known (see also WCAG checkpoint 13.9) add this information as metadata.
  • Markup tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 13.3, P2) Provide information* about the general layout of a page or site (e.g., a site map or table of contents).
    • T0115 Prompt the author to provide a link or content describing the structure of the site, and its accessibility features.
  • Markup tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 13.9, P3) Provide information* about document collections (i.e.,documents comprising multiple pages.).
    • T0116 Pattern-matching - ask authors to specify the role of pages linked from a navigation bar.
    • T0117 Where common names are used (search, home, map) as links, ask the author to confirm these functions for use in linking.
  • Not Applicable: WCAG 2.1, 2.2, 3.1 - 3.7, 4.1 - 4.3, 5.1 - 5.6, 6.1, 6.4, 7.1 - 7.5, 8.1, 9.1 - 9.5, 10.1, 10.2, 10.5, 11.1 - 11.3, 12.3, 12.4, 13.4 - 13.10, 14.1 - 14.3.
Reference:
  • For more information on prompting, see Appendix A.
ATAG 3.2 Help the author create structured content and separate information from its presentation. [Relative Priority] (Checkpoint 3.2)
T0118 Programming tools technique Support author's of DTD's or Schemas to specify explicit structure. For example, encourage nesting where appropriate.

T0119 Markup tools technique Multimedia tools technique Content tools technique Programming tools technique Help the author create structured content and separate information from its presentation. Because this ATAG checkpoint has a relative priority, it is the priority of the relevant WCAG checkpoints that determines the level of conformance of the tool to the ATAG checkpoint:

  • T0120 Markup tools technique Multimedia tools technique Content tools technique Programming tools technique (WCAG 1.1 - 1.5) Covered by ATAG 3.1.
  • Markup tools technique Multimedia tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 2.1, P1) Ensure that all information conveyed with color is also available without color.
    • T0121 Prompt the author to identify a class, or markup element for uses of color.
  • Markup tools technique Multimedia tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 2.2, Images: P2, Text: P3) Ensure that template foreground and background color combinations of images and text provide sufficient contrast when viewed by someone having color deficits or when viewed on a black and white screen.
    • T0122 Suggest: Provide a monochrome preview for the author to test themselves.
  • Markup tools technique Multimedia tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 3.1, P2) When an appropriate markup language exists, use markup rather than images to convey information.
  • T0124 Markup tools technique Multimedia tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 3.2, P2) Create documents that validate to published formal grammars.
  • Markup tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 3.3, P2) Use style sheets to control layout and presentation.
    • T0125 Require: Prompt the author to identify the structural role of content that has been emphasized through styling.
    • T0126 Suggest: Provide a view which allows the author to edit the layout and styling effects independently of the text content.
    • T0127 Suggest: Recognize formatting patterns and convert them to style rules.
  • T0128 Markup tools technique Multimedia tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 3.4, P2) Use relative rather than absolute units in markup language attribute values and style sheet property values.
  • Markup tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 3.5, P2) Use header elements to convey document structure and use them according to specification.
    • T0129 Suggest: Prompt the author to identify headings and subheadings.
    • T0130 Suggest: Provide an "outline" or "structure" view which allows the author to easily grasp the heading structure, and edit it.
  • Markup tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 3.6, P2) Mark up lists and list items properly.
    • T0131 Suggest: Recognize formatting conventions such as a number of consecutive paragraphs beginning with a bullet character (this may be a "bullet" or another punctuation character like asterisk or dash "-") being used to identify a list.
    • T0132 Suggest: Include lists (marked as lists) in a collapsible structure view
  • Markup tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 3.7, P2) Mark up quotations. Do not use quotation markup for formatting effects such as indentation.
    • T0133 Suggest: Where material appears within quote marks ask the author if this is a quotation.
  • Markup tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 4.1, P1) Clearly identify changes in the natural language of a document's text and any text equivalents (e.g., captions).
    • T0134 Use a dictionary lookup system to recognize changes of language, or use of abbreviations and acronym.
  • Markup tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 4.2, P3) Specify the expansion of each abbreviation or acronym where it first occurs.
    • T0135 Recognize collections of uppercase letters as likely abbreviations (in languages that have case) and prompt the author for an expansion, to be provided in markup (e.g., in HTML, with abbr or acronym).
  • Markup tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 4.3, P3) Identify the primary natural language of a document
    • T0136 Prompt the author (and allow them to specify a default suggestion) for the language of a document.
  • Markup tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 5.1, P1) For data tables, identify row and column headers.
    • T0137 Prompt the author to provide header information for tabular data.
  • Markup tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 5.2, P1) For data tables that have two or more logical levels of row or column headers, use markup to associate data cells and header cells.
    • T0138 Ask the author to group columns, rows, or blocks of cells that are related.
  • Markup tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 5.3, P2) Do not use tables for layout unless the table makes sense when linearized. Otherwise, if the table does not make sense, provide an alternative equivalent (which may be a linearized version).
    • T0139 Suggest: Prompt the author to identify tables which are used as layout devices.
    • T0140 Suggest: For layout tables, provide a linearized version, and offer it as a link from the table or as a replacement.
    • T0141 Incorporate tablin, a tool that linearizes and transforms tables.
  • T0142 Markup tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 5.4, P2) If a table is used for layout, do not use any structural markup for the purpose of visual formatting.
  • Markup tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 5.5, P3) Provide summaries for tables.
    • T0143 In a table creation wizard, include a summary or caption dialog.
  • Markup tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 6.1, P1) Organize documents so they may be read without style sheets.
    • T0144 Provide a "draft" view which does not apply styling.
  • Markup tools technique Content tools technique Programming tools technique (WCAG 6.3, P1) Ensure that pages are usable when scripts, applets, or other programmatic objects are turned off or not supported. If this is not possible, provide equivalent information on an alternative accessible page.
    • T0145 Required: Prompt for alternative content for applets and programmatic objects.
    • T0146 Suggested: Prompt for server-side alternatives for scripts and applets.
  • Markup tools technique Content tools technique Programming tools technique (WCAG 6.4, P2) For scripts and applets, ensure that event handlers are input device-independent.
    • T0147 Required: During applet development, prompt the author to include device-independent means of activation.
  • T0148 Markup tools technique Multimedia tools technique Content tools technique Programming tools technique (WCAG 6.5, P2) Ensure that dynamic content is accessible or provide an alternative presentation or page.
  • T0149 Markup tools technique Multimedia tools technique Content tools technique Programming tools technique (WCAG 7.1, P1) Until user agents allow users to control flickering, avoid causing the screen to flicker.
  • T0150 Markup tools technique Multimedia tools technique Content tools technique Programming tools technique (WCAG 7.2, P2) Until user agents allow users to control blinking, avoid causing content to blink.
  • T0151 Markup tools technique Multimedia tools technique Content tools technique Programming tools technique (WCAG 7.3, P2) Until user agents allow users to freeze moving content, avoid movement in pages.
  • T0152 Markup tools technique Multimedia tools technique Content tools technique Programming tools technique (WCAG 7.4, P2) Until user agents provide the ability to stop the refresh, do not create periodically auto-refreshing pages.
  • T0153 Markup tools technique Content tools technique Programming tools technique (WCAG 7.5, P2) Until user agents provide the ability to stop auto-redirect, do not use markup to redirect pages automatically. Instead, configure the server to perform redirects.
  • Markup tools technique Multimedia tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 9.1, P1) Use client-side image maps instead of server-side image maps except where the regions cannot be defined with an available geometric shape.
    • T0154 Where regions are not easily defined, ask the author to provide information that can be used to generate a form-based input method and explains how the coordinates input will be used. For example, for a geographic map the input might be used to lookup latitude and longitude of a point and then give information about that point.
  • T0155 Markup tools technique Content tools technique Programming tools technique (WCAG 9.2, P2) Ensure that any element that has its own interface can be operated in a device-independent manner.
  • T0156 Markup tools technique Content tools technique Programming tools technique (WCAG 9.3, P2) For scripts, specify logical event handlers rather than device-dependent event handlers.
  • Markup tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 9.4, P3) Create a logical tab order through links, form controls, and objects.
    • T0157 Where there are only a few links that change in each page of a collection, ask the author if they should receive focus first. If so, then give them a tabindex, leaving the rest to after the tabindexed links have been focused.
  • Markup tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 9.5, P3) Provide keyboard shortcuts to important links (including those in client-side image maps), form controls, and groups of form controls.
    • T0158 Ask authors to specify an accesskey for links that appear common to a number of pages
  • T0159 Markup tools technique Content tools technique Programming tools technique (WCAG 10.1, P2) Until user agents allow users to turn off spawned windows, do not cause pop-ups or other windows to appear or change the current window without informing the user.
  • Markup tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 10.4, P3) Until user agents handle empty controls correctly, include default, place-holding characters in edit boxes and text areas in a template.
    • T0160 Prompt the author for default place-holder text.
  • T0161 Markup tools technique Multimedia tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 11.2, P2) Avoid deprecated features of W3C technologies.
  • T0162 Markup tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 11.3, P3) Provide information so that users may receive documents according to their preferences (e.g., language, content type, etc.)
  • Markup tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 12.1, P1) Title each frame to facilitate frame identification and navigation.
    • T0163 Prompt the author for a short, human-readable title for each frame.
  • Markup tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 12.2, P2) Describe the purpose of frames and how frames relate to each other if it is not obvious by frame titles alone.
    • T0164 Prompt the author for a longdesc for each frame in a frameset.
    • T0165 Prompt the author to add a noframes section to the frameset. Encourage the author to include sufficient links to navigate the site, and relevant information. For example, where a frameset defines a navigation frame and a welcome page, include the content of each of these frames in the noframes.
  • Markup tools technique Multimedia tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 12.3, P2) Divide large blocks of information into more manageable groups where natural and appropriate.
    • T0166 Where there are more than 10 choices in a list (select, checkbox or radio boxes) ask the author to identify subgroups
  • Markup tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 12.4, P2) Associate labels explicitly with their controls.
    • T0167 Ask authors to mark explicitly the labels for form inputs (input and textarea elements)
  • Markup tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 13.6, P3) Group related links, identify the group (for user agents), and, until user agents do so, provide a way to bypass the group.
    • T0168 Ask authors if lists of links are a group and should be a map.
  • Markup tools technique Content tools technique (WCAG 14.1, P1) Use the clearest and simplest language appropriate for a site's content.
    • T0169 Provide readability ratings for text.
    • T0170 Provide a thesaurus function
    • T0171 Provide a grammar-checking function
  • Not applicable: WCAG 5.6, 6.2, 8.1, 10.2 - 10.3, 10.5, 11.1, 11.4, 13-1 - 13.5, 13.7 - 13.10, 14.2, 14.3.
Reference:
  • The WAI Evaluation and Repair group [WAI-ER] is developing a document that discusses detailed techniques for testing the accessibility of content according to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, and methods of repairing it. A draft of that document is available [AUTO-TOOL].
  • Provide an outline view that lets the author clearly see the structure of the document independently of the specified presentation
Sample(s):

Tables: In Amaya, when the author creates a table, a dialog is generated which asks for number of rows, columns, border width. The author selects the appropriate information and a table is created. The cursor is placed at the position of the table caption. The status line, which appears at the bottom of the image, shows that the position is in the caption element of the table.

ATAG 3.3 Ensure that prepackaged content conforms to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 [WCAG10]. [Relative Priority] (Checkpoint 3.3)
Note: Including pre-written descriptions for all multimedia files (e.g., clip-art) packaged with the tool will save authors time and effort, cause a significant number of professionally written descriptions to circulate on the Web, provide authors with convenient models to emulate when they write their own descriptions, and show authors the importance of description writing. Refer also to checkpoint 3.5.
  • T0172 Markup tools technique Content tools technique Use formats that allow for accessible annotation to be included in the files, such as SMIL, PNG, and SVG.[Required] @@
  • T0173 Markup tools technique Multimedia tools technique Content tools technique Provide long descriptions, and associated text files with appropriate text equivalent in clip-art collections.[Required] @@
  • T0174 Markup tools technique Multimedia tools technique Content tools technique Provide video description files with prepackaged video.[Required] @@
  • T0175 Markup tools technique Multimedia tools technique Content tools technique Provide text caption files for prepackaged audio, or video with auditory track(s).[Required] @@
ATAG 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] (Checkpoint 3.4)
  • T0176 Markup tools technique Multimedia tools technique Content tools technique If the author has not specified alternative text for an IMG, or specified that none is required, default to having no "alt" attribute, so that an accessibility problem will be noted. Refer also to checkpoint 4.1.[Required] @@
  • T0177Markup tools technique Multimedia tools technique Content tools technique Human-authored equivalent alternatives may be available for an object (for example, through checkpoint 3.5 and/or checkpoint 3.3). It is appropriate for the tool to offer these to the author as defaults.(Suggested)
  • T0178 Markup tools technique Multimedia tools technique Content tools technique Items used throughout a Website, such as graphical navigation bars, should have standard alternative information. However the author should be prompted to edit or approve this the first time it is used in a site, and when the destination of the links is changed by the author.(Suggested)
  • T0179 Markup tools technique Multimedia tools technique Content tools technique Where an object has already been used in a document, the tool should offer the alternative content that was supplied for the first or most recent use as a default.(Suggested)
ATAG 3.5 Provide functionality for managing, editing, and reusing alternative equivalents for multimedia objects. [Priority 3] (Checkpoint 3.5)
Note: This checkpoint is priority 3, so it does not have a critical effect on an authoring tool's likelihood of producing accessible mark-up. However, implementing this checkpoint has the potential to simultaneously satisfy several higher priority checkpoints (ATAG 3.1, ATAG 3.2, and ATAG 3.4) and dramatically improve the usability of an authoring tool.
  • T0180 Markup tools technique Multimedia tools technique Content tools technique Maintain a database registry that associates object identity information with alternative information. Whenever an object is used and an equivalent alternative is collected (as per checkpoint 3.1) add the object (or identifying information) and the alternative information to the database. In the case of a text equivalent, the alternate information may be stored in the document source. For more substantial information (such as video captions or audio descriptions), the information may be stored externally and linked from the document source. Allow different alternative information to be associated with a single object.(Suggested)
  • T0181 Markup tools technique Multimedia tools technique Content tools technique If such a database is maintained, the pre-written descriptions can be presented to the author as default text in the appropriate field, whenever one of the associated files is inserted into the author's document. This satisfies ATAG 3.4 because the equivalent alternatives are not automatically generated and they are only reused with author confirmation.(Suggested)
  • T0182 Markup tools technique Multimedia tools technique Content tools technique If no previous association is found, the field should be left empty (i.e., no purely rule-generated alternative information should be used). Note: The term "default" implies that the alternative information is offered for the author's approval. The term does not imply that the default alternative information is automatically placed without the author's approval. Such automatic placement may only occur when in situations where the function of the object is known with certainty, per checkpoint 3.4. Such a situation might arise in the case of a "navigation bar builder" that places a navigation bar at the bottom of every page on a site. In this case, it would be appropriate to use the same "alt"-text automatically for every instance of a particular image (with the same target) on every page.(Suggested)
  • T0183 Markup tools technique Multimedia tools technique Content tools technique The pre-written alternative information provided for all packaged multimedia files (per checkpoint 3.3) should be included in the database. This would allow the alternative information to be automatically retrieved whenever the author selected one of the packaged objects for insertion. An important benefit of the system would be the ease of adding a keyword search capability that would allow efficient location of multimedia based on its alternative information.(Suggested)
References:

[previous section] [top of this page] [full techniques contents] [next]