Conformance Evaluation of the 27 August 1999 Working Group Draft of the WAI User Agent Guidelines Using HAL95/NT

VERSION: 1.01
DATE: 6 September 1999
EVALUATOR: Gregory J. Rosmaita <unagi69@concentric.net>
DRAFT EVALUATED: <http://www.w3.org/wai/ua/WAI-USERAGENT-19990827>

Table of Contents
Part One: Introductory Comments & Notes
A) Materials Used to Compile Conformance Evaluation
B) Specialized Browser Configuration Settings
C) Abbreviations & Conventions
Part Two: Conformance Evaluation of HAL (8-27-1999 WG Draft)

PART ONE: INTRODUCTORY COMMENTS AND NOTES

Materials Used to Compile This Conformance Evaluation

1. Assistive Technology Used in This Evaluation
screen reader: HAL for Windows 9x/NT, version 3.03
manufacturer: Dolphin Computer Access, LLC <http://www.dolphinusa.com/>
special settings/configurations used: "JAWS" key emulation (key set 3)
2. Speech Synthesizer
Dolphin Orpheus software synthesizer
sound card: NeoMagic MagicWave 3DX Sound System
driver: NMA255.VXD version 4.03.2420
3. Operating System
Windows95 (version 4.01.0.971.B)
4. Computer
Gateway Solo 2500 Laptop (using Micron Windows95 keyboard)
RAM: 96MB
CPU: Pentium II 366MHz
5. Browsers Evaluated
Microsoft Internet Explorer, version 5.00.2314.1003
(MSIE update versions: ;q231452;q231450;3717)
Netscape Navigator, version 4.08
Opera, version 3.60

Specialized Browser Configuration Settings

1. Specialized Setting for Use With MSIE

Source: Dolphin Access' "Application Readme for Hal 95/NT"

Hal works well with Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0, but doing the following will ensure that it runs optimally:
1. Turn off Internet Explorer's Status Bar.[GJR: disabled MSIE status bar for duration of review]
This can be done by entering Internet Explorer's View menu using ALT+V and then deselecting the Status Bar option by pressing S.
Doing this will ensure that the application's focus will be in the window containing the web page by default.
[Reviewer's Note: Whilst disabling the Status Bar allows HAL to start voicing the content being rendered by MSIE immediately and reliably, in order to compensate for the loss of feedback that the Status Bar can provide, HAL should announce when the page has finished loading. Likewise, it should be able to aurally alert the user to the other types of information that is made available via the Status Bar: i.e. "Making Connection", "Web Site Found", etc., especially since HAL offers a "Read Status Bar" hotkey. And, although the tips quoted here were issued prior to the release of IE5, they still apply, as screen echoing of rendered content by HAL is severely hampered by presence of the MSIE Status Bar. An additional complication is the use of sound cards to perform speech synthesis -- if the status information is being communicated to the user via canned audio files, the software synthesizer manufacturer must be careful to ensure that the sound card is able to play the 2 most common Windows-compatible audio formats -- WAV and AU -- without interfering with speech synthesis.]
2. Alter the following options in the Advanced property sheet of Internet Explorer 4's Properties, as they will enable Internet Explorer 4 to work better with screen readers in general:
Turn on "Move system caret with focus/selection changes" in the Accessibility branch [GJR: this is the configuration I normally use.]
Turn on "Always expand alt text for images" in the Accessibility branch. [GJR: this is the configuration I normally use.]
Turn off "Use AutoComplete" in the Browsing branch. This will stop Internet Explorer from trying to guess what URL you are typing in the Address Bar and try to complete it automatically for you. This can be very confusing, as this feature keeps altering the name of the URL as you're typing. [GJR: this is the configuration I normally use.]
3. Turn off the Links option in the Toolbars sub-menu of Explorer's View menu. This is because in Explorer 4.0 you can TAB from object to object and removing Links means there's once less TAB to go through to put the focus back onto the web page again. [GJR: this is the configuration I normally use.]

2. Specialized Setting for Use With Netscape Navigator

No analogous information or list of configuration settings was provided for Netscape Navigator.

3. Specialized Setting for Use With Opera

No analogous information or list of configuration settings was provided for Opera.

Abbreviations & Conventions

AT
adaptive technology
CP
checkpoint
GL
guideline
IE5
Microsoft Internet Explorer, version 5.00.2314.1003
(update versions: ;q231452;q231450;3717)
N48
Netscape Navigator, version 4.8
O36
Opera, version 3.60
UI
user interface

PART TWO: Conformance Evaluation of the 27 August Working Group Draft of the WAI User Agent Guidelines Using HAL95/NT

List of Guidelines & Checkpoints
Guideline 1: Support input and output device-independence
Checkpoint 1.1
Checkpoint 1.2
Checkpoint 1.3
Checkpoint 1.4
Checkpoint 1.5
Checkpoint 1.6
Guideline 2: Ensure keyboard access to user agent functionalities
Checkpoint 2.1
Checkpoint 2.2
Checkpoint 2.3
Checkpoint 2.4
Checkpoint 2.5
Checkpoint 2.6
Checkpoint 2.7
Checkpoint 2.8
Guideline 3: Ensure user access to document content
Checkpoint 3.1
Checkpoint 3.2
Checkpoint 3.3
Checkpoint 3.4
Checkpoint 3.5
Checkpoint 3.6
Checkpoint 3.7
Checkpoint 3.8
Checkpoint 3.9
Guideline 4: Allow the user to turn off features that may reduce accessibility
Checkpoint 4.1
Checkpoint 4.2
Checkpoint 4.3
Checkpoint 4.4
Checkpoint 4.5
Checkpoint 4.6
Checkpoint 4.7
Checkpoint 4.8
Checkpoint 4.9
Checkpoint 4.10
Checkpoint 4.11
Checkpoint 4.12
Checkpoint 4.13
Checkpoint 4.14
Guideline 5: Ensure user control over document styles
Checkpoint 5.1
Checkpoint 5.2
Checkpoint 5.3
Checkpoint 5.4
Checkpoint 5.5
Checkpoint 5.6
Checkpoint 5.7
Checkpoint 5.8
Checkpoint 5.9
Checkpoint 5.10
Checkpoint 5.11
Checkpoint 5.12
Checkpoint 5.13
Checkpoint 5.14
Checkpoint 5.15
Checkpoint 5.16
Guideline 6: Observe system conventions and standard interfaces
Checkpoint 6.1
Checkpoint 6.2
Checkpoint 6.3
Checkpoint 6.4
Checkpoint 6.5
Checkpoint 6.6
Guideline 7: Support applicable W3C technologies and guidelines
Checkpoint 7.1
Checkpoint 7.2
Guideline 8: Provide navigation mechanisms
Checkpoint 8.1
Checkpoint 8.2
Checkpoint 8.3
Checkpoint 8.4
Checkpoint 8.5
Checkpoint 8.6
Checkpoint 8.7
Guideline 9: Help orient the user
Checkpoint 9.1
Checkpoint 9.2
Checkpoint 9.3
Checkpoint 9.4
Checkpoint 9.5
Checkpoint 9.6
Checkpoint 9.7
Checkpoint 9.8
Checkpoint 9.9
Checkpoint 9.10
Checkpoint 9.11
Guideline 10: Notify the user of document and viewport changes
Checkpoint 10.1
Checkpoint 10.2
Checkpoint 10.3
Checkpoint 10.4
Checkpoint 10.5
Checkpoint 10.6
Guideline 11: Allow the user to configure the user agent
Checkpoint 11.1
Checkpoint 11.2
Guideline 12: Provide accessible product documentation and help
Checkpoint 12.1
Checkpoint 12.2
Checkpoint 12.3

Guideline 1: Support input and output device-independence

Checkpoint 1.1: Ensure that all functionalities offered through the user interface may be operated through standard input device APIs supported by the operating system. [Priority 1]

IE5
"MouseOver" events, such as the exposition of the TITLE attribute (when contained in the A, ABBR, ACRONYM, or HR elements) were not voiced when mouse-emulation was used to navigate a document encoded using the TITLE attribute for both hyperlinks and horizontal rules
Document tested: <http://www.hicom.net/~oedipus/vicug/index.html>
N48
Netscape Navigator crashes when attempting to load: <http://www.hicom.net/~oedipus/vicug/index.html> even though the document source for that page uses W3C validated HTML4 and CSS2. Invariably, the error message returned by Windows95 is:
NETSCAPE caused an invalid page fault in module <unknown> at 0000:00000009.
When using HAL with N48, neither the hyperlink text nor the TITLE (if present) associated with hyperlinks are voiced when tabbing from link to link. This is true on every page that did not cause N48 to crash, including the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, <http://www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT/>
O36
Using Opera's "Go to URL/address field" keystroke (F8), caused the focus to be switched to the appropriate point of regard, but the URL/address was not automatically voiced. In order to ascertain that the cursor had been routed to the URL/address bar, and to have it spoken, it was necessary to route the application cursor to the speech (mouse-emulation/navigation) cursor. In order to move out of the URL/address bar, it was necessary to use Opera's "Restore focus on current window" (F9) keyboard command. Doing so, however, caused HAL to echo the screen erratically as I resumed navigating the rendered content (in the midst of an ordered list) link by link. The first hyperlink moved-to using Opera's CONTROL-DownArrow command was announced as "Edit Area", while the hyperlink text of the next hyperlink moved-to was voiced correctly. This alternation continued until I moved out of the ordered list, and was not alleviated by reloading the page, using Opera's F5 keystroke. [Document tested: <http://www.hicom.net/~oedipus/vicug/index.html>] It should be further noted that the aural black holes were caused by the use of markup within the hyperlink text--either ACRONYM, ABBR, or EM. However, this phenomenon is apparently limited to hyperlinks contained in either an ordered or unordered list, as similarly marked up hyperlink text not contained within an ordered or unordered list is correctly voiced by HAL. The items in the ordered list which were not spoken upon receiving focus contained in the URI cited above are,: 2, 4, 7, 8, 10, 12, and 14.

Checkpoint 1.2: Ensure that the user can interact with all active elements of a document in a device independent manner. [Priority 1]

IE5
If alternative textual equivalents are present, client-side image maps are keyboard navigable. (Note: Even if textual equivalents are not present, it is still possible to tab through the image map, but without the status bar turned on, it is impossible to discern the target URI for the hot spots being tabbed-to, which would be my navigational strategy if the Status Bar were present.)
N48
Hot areas of image-maps not voiced when selected by sequential navigation, despite presence of ALT attribute in AREA element.
O36
Voiced with clarity and precision by Opera, due to presence of ALT attribute in AREA element; navigation performed via CONTROL+DownArrow and CONTROL+UpArrow keys

Checkpoint 1.3: Ensure that the user can install the user agent software in a device independent manner. [Priority 1]

IE5
I have not tried to install MSIE using HAL--rather, I used JAWS for WINDOWS (JFW), which is the screen reader with which I am most comfortable and familiar to install IE5. For comments upon the installation of IE5 using JFW 3.3, please refer to:
<http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/w3c-wai-ua/1999JulSep/0277.html>
and the follow-up message, located at:
<http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/w3c-wai-ua/1999JulSep/0292.html>
N48
I have (yet) not tried to install N48 using HAL, but upon request, I shall.
O36
1. "Welcome" window completely self-voiced
2. "Software License Agreement" window: only the window title and active control ("Next" button) self-voiced. HAL's "Read the current application's title bar followed by the current focus" command caused only the window title and active control ("Next" button) to be voiced. Only by tabbing to the scrolling child window/non-editable text-entry field that contains the actual license agreement was the window's header ("Software License Agreement") and the license agreement text spoken.
3. "Select Destination Directory" window completely self-voiced.
4. "Select Group" window: only window title and the control with focus ("Next" button) self-voiced. [Reviewer's Note: at this point, I canceled the installation, since I already have Opera 3.6 installed on the computer I am using to perform this evaluation. The confirmation of the cancellation dialog box completely self-voiced.]

Checkpoint 1.4: Ensure that the user can configure the user agent in a device independent manner. [Priority 1]

IE5, N48, and O36
One of the strategies used by blind and low vision cybernauts operating in the GUI environment is to force the user agent to ignore author-defined colors for hyperlink text, so that it is always displayed in a consistent, uniform manner. This includes the use of user-defined colors for visited and unvisited links, which is not only useful for the low vision user, but also for the blind user. Under adverse circumstances (which, for the purposes of this review includes using HAL with Netscape), a blind user will be forced to use screen review commands to have the font attributes for a character (or a selected/highlit string of text) spoken, so as to ascertain whether or not the mouse-emulation cursor is positioned on a hyperlink, and whether or not that hyperlink has been previously selected. All three of the user agents examined in this evaluation offer the user some level of control over the visual presentation of hyperlink text. [NOTE: Please refer to the comments on Checkpoint 9.6 for further discussion of this issue.] Of the three, Opera offers the greatest amount of user configurability for hyperlink presentation -- enabling the user to configure the browser so that, for example, unvisited links are underlined and visited hyperlink text appears struck-through, thereby allowing the user a supplemental means of distinguishing between visited and unvisited links. All three user agents provide the user with the ability to define his or her own color scheme for visited and unvisited links, along with the option to override colors defined for a document by the document's author. All three, however, also fail to provide alternative textual equivalents for the colors available to the user, instead presenting the choice of colors as a palette comprised of "swatches-in-a-box", which are completely inaccessible to the blind user without sighted assistance.

Checkpoint 1.5: Ensure that the user can access user agent documentation in a device independent manner. [Priority 1]

IE5
Help layout is annoying, since there is no "no frames" option. Please refer to the Comments on Checkpoint 6.3 for more details on HAL's inability to identify frames.
N48
"NetHelp" layout is atrociously graphically and visually oriented, and, hence, extremely disorienting to anyone using speech output. It is one of the most speech-hostile environments that I personally have ever encountered -- and one of the most frustrating, since it refuses to shut down in response to keyboard input (ALT+F4; ALT-SpaceBar, C) and has to be closed either by a sighted assistant with a mouse or via the "Close Program" interface. Additionally, there is no "no frames" option available. (Please refer to the Comments on Checkpoint 6.3 for more details on HAL's inability to identify frames.)
O36
Help files available as hypertext documents. Option to switch between framed and no-framed version of the help files provided. Accessibility enhancements are addressed throughout, as well in a discrete help "book".

Checkpoint 1.6: Ensure that all messages to the user (e.g., warnings, errors, etc.) are available through standard output device APIs supported by the operating system. [Priority 1]

IE5
Information conveyed via the status/navigation bar.
N48
Information conveyed via the status/navigation bar.
O36
Information conveyed via the status/navigation bar.

Guideline 2: Ensure keyboard access to user agent functionalities

Checkpoint 2.1 By default and without additional customization, ensure that all functionalities offered by the user agent are accessible using the keyboard. [Priority 1]
Note. This checkpoint intends to ensure compatibility with dependent user agents that rely on keyboard input. Functionalities include being able to show, hide, resize and move windows or panes created by the user agent.

IE5
yes
N48
yes, but not universally. NetHelp, the online help system available via Navigator, for example, does not respond to the "Close Window" keyboard command.
O36
yes

Checkpoint 2.2 Provide documentation on default keyboard commands and include with user agent documentation and/or user help system. [Priority 1]

IE5
yes, quite clearly
N48
extremely brief and perfunctory -- only gross navigation possible via keyboard input:
O36
yes -- very strong

Checkpoint 2.3 Provide information to the user about the current keyboard configuration. [Priority 1]

IE5
clear and concise
N48
non-existent
O36
clear and concise

Checkpoint 2.4 Allow the user to configure the keystrokes used to activate user agent functionalities. Wherever possible, allow single key activation of functions. [Priority 2]

IE5
yes
N48
unavailable / not documented
O36
yes

Checkpoint 2.5 Allow the user to turn on and off author-specified keyboard configurations. [Priority 2]

IE5
implementation of ACCESSKEY spotty; TABINDEX broken
N48
ACCESSKEY and TABINDEX not supported/recognized
O36
implementation of ACCESSKEY spotty; TABINDEX works extremely well

Checkpoint 2.6 Use platform conventions to indicate which keys activate which user agent functionalities. [Priority 2]

IE5
well integrated into normal menus, dialog boxes, and property sheets
N48
integrated into normal menus
O36
well integrated into normal menus, dialog boxes, and property sheets

Checkpoint 2.7 Avoid default keyboard configurations that interfere with system conventions. [Priority 2]

IE5
yes
N48
yes
O36
confusing use of some default Windows keyboard commands, particularly CONTROL+F, which activates FORM-navigation mode, rather than a "Search for... " dialog box/interface.

Checkpoint 2.8 Provide a default keyboard configuration for frequently performed operations. [Priority 3]

IE5
yes
N48
minimal (refer also to comments on Checkpoint 2.2)
O36
yes

Guideline 3: Ensure user access to document content

General checkpoints:

Checkpoint 3.1 Ensure that the user has access to document content, including alternative representations of content. [Priority 1]

IE5
support for ALT and limited support for TITLE element (supported in A, and by MouseOver for ACRONYM)
N48
support for ALT
O36
support for ALT; limited support for TITLE element (displayed in a discrete status bar)

Checkpoint 3.2 For dependent user agents only. Ensure that the user has access to the content of an element selected by the user. [Priority 1]

IE5
no
N48
no
O36
no, save for FORM content

Checkpoint 3.3 For dependent user agents only. Render content according to natural language identification. For unsupported natural languages, notify the user of language changes when configured to do so. [Priority 1]

IE5
no (version of HAL used supports only US English)
N48
no (version of HAL used supports only US English)
O36
no (version of HAL used supports only US English)

Checkpoint 3.4 Provide time-independent access to time-dependent active elements or allow the user to control the timing of changes. [Priority 1]

IE5
no
N48
no
O36
no

Checkpoint 3.5 When no alternative text representation has been specified, indicate what type of object is present. [Priority 2]

IE5
no (if so, visually displayed without alternative textual equivalent)
N48
no
O36
yes

Checkpoint 3.6 When alternative text has been specified explicitly as empty (i.e., an empty string), render nothing. [Priority 3]

IE5
yes
N48
yes
O36
yes

Checkpoints for captions and description tracks:

Checkpoint 3.7 Allow the user to specify that description tracks (e.g., caption, auditory description, video of sign language, etc.) be rendered at the same time as audio and video tracks. [Priority 1]

IE5
not applicable
N48
not applicable
O36
not applicable

Checkpoint 3.8 If a technology allows for more than one description track (e.g.,caption, auditory description, video of sign language, etc.), allow the user to choose from among the tracks. [Priority 1]

IE5
not applicable
N48
not applicable
O36
not applicable

Checkpoints for audio:

Checkpoint 3.9 If a technology allows for more than one audio track, allow the user to choose from among tracks. [Priority 1]

IE5
not applicable
N48
not applicable
O36
not applicable

Guideline 4: Allow the user to turn off features that may reduce accessibility

Checkpoint 4.1 Allow the user to turn on and off rendering of images. [Priority 1]

IE5
yes
N48
yes
O36
yes

Checkpoint 4.2 Allow the user to turn on and off rendering of background images. [Priority 1]

IE5
yes
N48
yes, although from the "Color" property sheet, it is unclear that background image loading will be disabled when the "Always use my colors, overriding document" checkbox is checked
O36
yes

Checkpoint 4.3 Allow the user to turn on and off rendering of video. [Priority 1]

IE5
yes
N48
not clear either from preferences property sheets, nor from product documentation
O36
yes

Checkpoint 4.4 Allow the user to turn on and off rendering of sound. [Priority 1]

IE5
yes
N48
not clear either from preferences property sheets, nor from product documentation
O36
yes

Checkpoint 4.5 Allow the user to turn on and off rendering of audio captions. [Priority 1]

IE5
not applicable
N48
not applicable
O36
not applicable

checkpoint 4.6 Allow the user to turn on and off animated or blinking text. [Priority 1]

IE5
theoretically, this can be disabled by checking all 3 checkboxes in the "Formatting" group in the "Accessibility" property sheet.
N48
option not explicitly included in "Preferences" property sheets
O36
option not explicitly included in "Preferences" property sheets, but in theory, yes

Checkpoint 4.7 Allow the user to turn on and off animations and blinking images. [Priority 1]

IE5
allows user to turn off animation (although as for the question of whether or not it works, I have no independent verification either way.)
N48
allows user to turn off animation (although as for the question of whether or not it works, I have no independent verification either way.)
O36
allows user to turn off animation (although as for the question of whether or not it works, I have no independent verification either way.)

Checkpoint 4.8 Allow the user to turn on and off support for scripts and applets. [Priority 1]

IE5
yes
N48
yes
O36
yes

Chekcpoint 4.9 Allow the user to turn on and off support for user style sheets. [Priority 1]

IE5
no
N48
no
O36
yes

Checkpoint 4.10 Allow the user to turn on and off support for author style sheets. [Priority 1]

IE5
no, allows the user to specify their style sheet, but author style sheets cannot be totally disabled.
N48
no, allows the user to specify their style sheet, but author style sheets cannot be totally disabled.
O36
yes

Checkpoint 4.11 Allow the user to turn on and off support for spawned windows. [Priority 1]

IE5
unclear if such an option is supported
N48
unclear if such an option is supported
O36
yes

Checkpoint 4.12 Allow the user to turn on and off rendering of frames. [Priority 2]

IE5
no
N48
no
O36
yes

Checkpoint 4.13 Allow the user to turn on and off author-specified page forwards that occur after a time delay and without user intervention. [Priority 3]

IE5
no
N48
no
O36
unclear if such an option is supported

Checkpoint 4.14 Allow the user to turn on and off automatic page refresh. [Priority 3]

IE5
no
N48
no
O36
unclear if such an option is supported

Guideline 5: Ensure user control over document styles

Checkpoints for fonts and colors:

Checkpoint 5.1 Allow the user to control font family. [Priority 1]

IE5
yes
N48
yes
O36
yes

Checkpoint 5.2 Allow the user to control the size of text. [Priority 1]

IE5
yes
N48
yes
O36
yes

Checkpoint 5.3 Allow the user to control foreground color. [Priority 1]

GENERAL NOTE: The color palettes available for all three browsers lack alternative textual equivalents of the available colors. For more deatails, refer to the comments on Checkpoint 1.4

IE5
yes
N48
yes
O36
yes

5.4 Allow the user to control background color. [Priority 1]

GENERAL NOTE: The color palettes available for all three browsers lack alternative textual equivalents of the available colors. For more deatails, refer to the comments on Checkpoint 1.4

IE5
yes
N48
yes
O36
yes

Checkpoint 5.5 Allow the user to control selection highlighting (e.g., foreground and background color). [Priority 1]

GENERAL NOTE: As a totally blind user, I am not sure what level of user control (if any) Windows 9x's "High Contrast" mode (part of the Control Panel's "Accessibility Options") exerts over highlighting.

IE5
not via UA
N48
not via UA
O36
not via UA

Checkpoint 5.6 Allow the user to control focus highlighting (e.g., foreground and background color). [Priority 1]

GENERAL NOTE: As a totally blind user, I am not sure what level of user control (if any) Windows 9x's "High Contrast" mode (part of the Control Panel's "Accessibility Options") exerts over highlighting.

IE5
possible via a user style sheet
N48
theoretically possible via a user style sheet
O36
Yes, via the "Invert Marked Text" setting contained in the "Document Appearance" property sheet; as noted in the product documentation, this setting greatly enhances a screen reader's ability to monitor focus highlighting when navigating from link to link.

Checkpoints for applets and animations:

Checkpoint 5.7 Allow the user to control animation rate. [Priority 2]

IE5
not applicable
N48
not applicable
O36
not applicable

Checkpoints for video.

Checkpoint 5.8 Allow the user to control video frame rates. [Priority 1]

IE5
not applicable
N48
not applicable
O36
not applicable

Checkpoint 5.9 Allow the user to control the position of audio captions. [Priority 1]

IE5
not applicable
N48
not applicable
O36
not applicable

Checkpoint 5.10 Allow the user to start, stop, pause, and rewind video. [Priority 2]

IE5
not applicable -- audio support via a plugin
N48
not applicable -- audio support via a plugin
O36
not applicable -- audio support via a plugin

Checkpoints for audio:

Checkpoint 5.11 Allow the user to control audio playback rate. [Priority 1]

IE5
not applicable -- audio support via a plugin
N48
not applicable -- audio support via a plugin
O36
not applicable -- audio support via a plugin

Checkpoint 5.12 When the user agent renders audio natively, allow the user to control the audio volume. [Priority 2]

IE5
not applicable -- audio support via a plugin
N48
not applicable -- audio support via a plugin
O36
not applicable -- audio support via a plugin

Checkpoint 5.13 Allow the user to start, stop, pause, and rewind audio. [Priority 2]

IE5
not applicable -- audio support via a plugin
N48
not applicable -- audio support via a plugin
O36
not applicable -- audio support via a plugin

Checkpoints for speech:

GENERAL NOTE: None of the targeted user agents provides native support for speech; HAL, of course, offers control over speech rate, speech volume, pitch, gender and other articulation characteristics

Checkpoint 5.14 Allow the user to control speech playback rate. [Priority 1]

IE5
not applicable
N48
not applicable
O36
not applicable

Checkpoint 5.15 Allow the user to control speech volume, pitch, gender and other articulation characteristics. [Priority 2]

IE5
not applicable
N48
not applicable
O36
not applicable

Checkpoints for changes to the user interface:

Checkpoint 5.16 When new windows or user interface components are spawned, allow the user to control window size and position. [Priority 2]

IE5
although, in theory, it should, even though I have set IE5 to run Maximized, when a new window is spawned it is spawned as a "Normal" window.
N48
no
O36
While Opera offers a host of options, and respects window sizing when spawning new windows, the only effective way to use Opera with a GUI screen reader is to set Opera to run maximized at startup, and to cascade new windows. It is then possible to cycle through the open windows using the CONTROL+TAB keystroke. The biggest shortcoming of this strategy is that Opera does not inform the screen reader user (at least, not those using HAL, JFW, or Window-Eyes) that a new child window has been spawned. The Tile" option is not an option, as the horizontally truncated windows are incompletely voiced, even when navigating link-by-link, for the first principle of most screen readers is that they can only read what is displayed in the current viewport The "Tile Horizontal" option, while superior to the "Tile" option, can be problematic when attempting to use a screen reader's "continuous read" command.

Guideline 6: Observe system conventions and standard interfaces

Checkpoint 6.1 Use and provide accessible interfaces to other technologies. [Priority 1]
To promote interoperability, open standards and W3C specifications should be used wherever possible.

IE5
Online help needs desperately to be (a) validated, and (b) made WCAG Triple-A compliant; use of scripting should be optional, as should the use of frames.
N48
online help needs desperately to be (a) validated, and (b) made WCAG Triple-A compliant; use of scripting should be optional, as should the use of frames
O36
Aside from the previously mentioned key conflicts, Opera is a very intelligently designed tool -- once, that is, you get the hang of using a very intelligently designed tool!

Checkpoint 6.2 Provide programmatic read and write access to user agent functionalities and user interface controls (including selection and focus) by using operating system and development language accessibility resources and conventions. [Priority 1]

IE5
PowerToys (for IE4) and PowerTweaks (for IE5), too mouse centric. As noted in the comments on Checkpoint 8.5, it is actually a pleasure to use HAL when searching for a text-string contained within a hyperlink, as the focus is routed to the search term, which therefore becomes the current point of regard. This means that one can activate the cursor at the current (highlit) point of regard simply hitting TAB, and then hitting ENTER (if the link found is the link for which you were searching) to activate the link. If the link is not the link for which you were searching, tabbing moves you forward, link-by-link, from the first instance of the text string for which you were searching.
N48
keyboard support in Netscape has always been extremely poor; use of custom controls often problematic, as is use of scripting in documentation
O36
While I am encouraged by the progress made by Opera in addressing accessibility issues since I first attempted to use Opera to surf the web, there still is much work to be done in order to eliminate the keybinding conflicts between Opera and the Windows 9x environment.

Checkpoint 6.3 Notify dependent user agents of changes to the document and user interface controls (including selection and focus) by using operating system and development language accessibility resources and conventions. [Priority 1]

IE5
HAL unaware when new windows spawned or when the viewport moved from frame to frame.
N48
HAL unaware when new windows spawned or when the viewport moved from frame to frame.
O36
HAL unaware when new windows spawned or when the viewport moved from frame to frame.

Checkpoint 6.4 For graphical desktop browsers only. Comply with W3C Document Object Model specifications and export interfaces defined by those specifications. [Priority 1]

IE5
Web Developer's DOM tool (adds "Document Tree" menu item to the "Tools" menu) is useless for anyone using speech output, as the window does not voice unless screen review (mouse emulation) mode is engaged. Moreover, since the output is javascripted, none of the items contained in the "Document Tree" can be navigated via IE's keybindings, but only via mouse emulation keys, despite the presence of an ACCESSKEY defined in the document source (I was unaware of the ACCESSKEY's existence until I listened to the document source for the "Document Tree" window.
N48
not available or undocumented
O36
not available or undocumented

Checkpoint 6.5 For graphical desktop browsers only. Provide programmatic exchange of information in a timely manner. [Priority 2]

IE5
no -- does not provide timely access to the DOM
N48
not available or undocumented
O36
not available or undocumented

Checkpoint 6.6 Follow operating system conventions and accessibility settings. In particular, follow conventions for user interface design, default keyboard configuration, product installation, and documentation. [Priority 2]

IE5
labeling of controls spotty: in the "Save As" dialog box, for example, none of the screen readers I have used recognized the "Up One Level" or "Create New Folder" graphics without being the graphics first being manually labeled.
N48
Poor native keyboard support; documentation largely inaccessible; perhaps the biggest problem, however, is the lack of a system caret that moves with focus and/or selection changes
O36
There still is much work to be done in order to eliminate the key configuration conflicts between Opera and the Windows 9x environment.

Guideline 7: Support applicable W3C technologies and guidelines

Checkpoint 7.1 Implement the accessibility features defined for supported specifications. [Priority 1]

IE5
support spotty -- particular areas of concern are: FORM controls (especially the broken TABINDEXing); lack of uniform and keyboard addressable support for the TITLE attribute; does not support LONGDESC
N48
support either incidental, or non-existent
O36
support spotty (handles FORM controls better than IE5 or N48); needs cleaner way of handling -- and passing along to AT -- support for the TITLE attribute, particularly in hyperlinks and for the expansion of the ACRONYM and ABBR elements; does not support LONGDESC

Checkpoint 7.2 Support appropriate W3C Recommendations. [Priority 2]

IE5
support for: HTML, XML, style sheets; incomplete support for CSS
N48
support for: HTML, style sheets; very incomplete support for CSS
O36
support for: HTML, XML, style sheets, CSS

Guideline 8: Provide navigation mechanisms

Checkpoint 8.1 Allow the user to navigate viewports (including frames). [Priority 1]
Note. Navigating into a viewport makes it the current viewport.

IE5
yes, but it is not always clear when one navigated from one viewport to another. Even on relatively straight-forward pages, this was a problem with IE5. For example, after initially getting lost in the search form at the bottom of <http://www.hwg.org/> the first time I pressed the TAB key after the page loaded, HAL read the graphical list of links in order.
N48
while it is possible to move from frame to frame, the only way I was able to do so was by sequential navigation of all active elements (the last link in one frame led me to the first link in the next frame); HAL does not announce the presence of frames in N48, nor does the viewport and point of change accordingly
O36
yes, but it is not always clear when one has done so

Checkpoint 8.2 For user agents that offer a browsing history mechanism, when the user returns to a previous view, restore the point of regard in the viewport. [Priority 1]

IE5
yes -- this feature has been getting stronger since the release of IE4.01
N48
no -- absolutely not
O36
no

Checkpoint 8.3 For dependent user agents only. Allow the user to navigate just among table cells of a table (notably left and right within a row and up and down within a column). [Priority 1]

IE5
not available via HAL
N48
not available via HAL
O36
not available via HAL

Checkpoint 8.4 Allow the user to navigate just among all active elements in the document. [Priority 2]

IE5
yes, but in a mouse-centric manner; no ability to navigate scripting events; "List of Links" PowerTweak would be more useful if it provided the option to use TITLE (if present) rather than just the hyperlink text; likewise, the "Image List" would also be of more utility if it rendered the ALT-text associated with the listed images
N48
no
O36
yes -- particularly strong as regards FORM controls

Checkpoint 8.5 Allow the user to search for rendered text content, including alternative text content. [Priority 2]

IE5
Using CONTROL+F to search for a text string works especially well with hyperlinks. The focus is routed to the search term, which therefore becomes the current point of regard. This means that one can activate the cursor at the current (highlit) point of regard simply hitting TAB, and then hitting ENTER (if the link found is the link for which you were searching) to activate the link. If the link is not the link for which you were searching, tabbing moves you forward, link-by-link, from the first instance of the text string for which you were searching. For graphically defined hyperlinks with alternative textual content, search includes ALT text.
N48
search excludes ALT text
O36
search does not include ALT text

Checkpoint 8.6 Allow the user to navigate the document structure. [Priority 2]

IE5
not available
N48
not available
O36
not available, although an Enable/Disable Tables option is available

Checkpoint 8.7 Allow the user to configure structured navigation. [Priority 3]

IE5
not available
N48
not available
O36
not available

Guideline 9: Help orient the user

Checkpoint 9.1 Provide a mechanism for highlighting and identifying (through a standard interface where available) the current viewport, selection, and focus. [Priority 1]

IE5
uses Active Accessibility, to which HAL is largely indifferent; HAL does not announce the presence of frames, nor when the point of regard is moved from one frame to another
N48
HAL does not announce the presence of frames, nor when the point of regard is moved from one frame to another
O36
HAL does not announce the presence of frames, nor when the point of regard is moved from one frame to another

Checkpoint 9.2 For dependent user agents only. Provide the user with information about the number of viewports. [Priority 2]

IE5
information not available via HAL
N48
information not available via HAL
O36
information not available via HAL

Document information:

Checkpoint 9.3 For dependent user agents only. Allow the user to view a document outline constructed from its structural elements (e.g., from header and list elements). [Priority 2]

IE5
not available via HAL
N48
not available via HAL
O36
not available via HAL

Checkpoint 9.4 Describe a selected element's context within a document (e.g., numerical or relative position). [Priority 2]

IE5
available only if "Document Tree" plug-in is installed; please refer to comments on Checkpoint 6.4 for detailed comments on the shortcomings of the "Document Tree" interface
N48
not available/unsupported
O36
not available, unsupported, or undocumented

Link information:

Checkpoint 9.5 For a selected link, indicate whether following the link will involve a fee. [Priority 2]

IE5, N48, and O36
There is currently no support for this checkpoint, which is (in my opinion) too specific to be a checkpoint, and belongs, instead, in the techniques document, as an example of the type of information about links that the user agent should make available to the user.

Checkpoint 9.6 For a selected link, provide information to help the user decide whether to follow the link. [Priority 3]
Note. Useful information includes: whether the link has already been visited, whether it designates an internal anchor, the type of the target resource, the length of an audio or video clip that will be started, and the expected natural language of target resource.
Note. Using color as the only distinguishing factor between visited and unvisited links does not suffice since color may not be perceivable by all users or rendered by all devices.

GENERAL NOTE: Using HAL's "Speak background and foreground color" and/or "Speak font attributes" key command, when the point of regard is a hyperlink allows the user to ascertain a limited amount of information about the currently selected link. The information that is available is as follows (NOTE: the terminology used to enumerate information about font attributes available to the user on demand, does not correspond to the syntax used in CSS):

"Say Font Attributes" (LeftControlKey+F)
1. font family (e.g. Times New Roman)
2. font weight (bold or normal)
3. font style (italic, underline, strikethrough, etc)
4. font size (in points)
"Say foreground and background color" (LeftControlKey+5)
1. foreground color
2. background color

When querying HAL as to the fore- and background colors for hyperlink text, however, HAL was only able to report those colors defined using the hexadecimal notation (i.e. "#RRGGBB") and not those defined using the semantic equivalents defined for HTML4 (i.e. white, blue, red, etc.) and utilized by CSS. Despite this, hexadecimal color values are reported by HAL in plain English (e.g. the hexadecimal value "#00009C" is reported as "very dark blue", while the style defined as "background-color : white;" is reported as "background color unknown".

All three of the user agents examined in this evaluation offer the user some level of control over the visual presentation of hyperlink text.

IE5
No UA support for providing information about links in a media independent fashion. The only configuration option is to force IE to ignore colors, font styles, and font sizes specified on web pages (available through the "Accessibility" property sheet under "Internet Options") and to use user-defined colors. As noted in the comments following Checkpoint 1.4, the "Color" property sheet uses exclusively visual cues (i.e. one is presented with a box containing a sample of a color, but which lacks an alternative textual equivalent of the color contained in the sample area). N48 does allow the user to choose whether or not Netscape will underline hyperlink text.
N48
Links not spoken by HAL unless screen review is initiated. The only configuration options available are:
(1) force Netscape to "Always use my colors, overriding document" (available through the "Colors" sub-category of N48's "Appearance" property sheet); and
(2) "Use my default fonts, overriding document specified fonts"
As noted in the comments following Checkpoint 1.4, the "Color" property sheet uses exclusively visual cues (i.e. one is presented with a box containing a sample of a color, but which lacks an alternative textual equivalent of the color contained in the sample area). N48 does allow the user to choose whether or not Netscape will underline hyperlink text.
O36
Of the three user agents examined in this evaluation, Opera offers the greatest amount of user configurability for hyperlink presentation, offering the user with the ability to:
a) underline hyperlink text
b) strike through hyperlink text
c) define a color for visited and unvisited links {please refer to the comments on Checkpoint 1.4 for more information about the inaccessibility of the color selection dialog box.)
and/or d) display hyperlink text as bolded, italicized, and/or "framed"
Such a variety of configuration options might provide an extremely sophisticated and confident user with the ability to distinguish between visited and unvisited links by routing the cursor to the current point of regard as one navigates from link-to-link and issuing either or both of HAL's available "font attribute" commands.

SUMMATION: Obviously, such limited information is not sufficient, and the exclusive reliance upon color changes to signify whether a link has already been visited means that IE5 and N48 abjectly fail to pass this checkpoint--especially in light of the second note appended to Checkpoint 9.6. And, while Opera offers more configurability as regards the visual presentation of hyperlinks, the limitations of relying on font attributes such as underline, strike-through, and font-color to provide information about the currently selected link are obvious. Likewise, offering the user the option to use his or her own style sheet (as is possible with IE5 and O36) is far from sufficient, as--in the absence of a "style sheet wizard"--it places an undue burden upon the user.

SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE: Please also refer to my comments on Checkpoint 1.4

Checkpoint 9.7 Provide a mechanism for highlighting and identifying (through a standard interface where available) active elements of a document. [Priority 3]
Note. User agents may satisfy this checkpoint by supporting the appropriate style sheet mechanisms, such as link highlighting.

IE5
yes
N48
yes
O36
yes

Table information:

Checkpoint 9.8 For dependent user agents only. Provide access to header information for a selected table cell. [Priority 1]

IE5
not available via HAL
N48
not available via HAL
O36
not available via HAL

Checkpoint 9.9 For dependent user agents only. Indicate the row and column dimensions of a selected table. [Priority 3]

IE5
not available via HAL
N48
not available via HAL
O36
not available via HAL

Form control information:

Checkpoint 9.10 Provide the user with access to any label explicitly associated with a form control. [Priority 2]

GENERAL NOTE: The three forms used to evaluate this checkpoint:
1. Seti-Search
<http://www.seti-search.com/>
2. VICUG NYC Survey
<http://www.hicom.net/~oedipus/vicug/survey.html>
3. Universally Accessible RealAudio Download Form (version 1.2)
<http://www.hicom.net/~oedipus/ra_form.html>
are all valid HTML 4.0, as validated by the W3C Validator. Between the three forms, the form control commands tested include: LABEL, LEGEND, FIELDSET, and TABINDEX

IE5
TABINDEX order not followed by UA, LABEL text not spoken, VALUE attribute defined for the INPUT types "submit" and "reset" voiced correctly
N48
Respected TABINDEX order, but did not speak any LABEL text. VALUE attribute defined for the INPUT types "submit" and "reset" voiced correctly.
O36
Respected TABINDEX order, sporadically (and not necessarily accurately) voiced LABELs defined for input fields, VALUE attribute defined for the INPUT types "submit" and "reset" voiced correctly.

Consistency:

Checkpoint 9.11 Maintain consistent user agent behavior and default configurations between software releases. Consistency is less important than accessibility and adoption of system conventions. [Priority 3]

IE5
On the surface, not much has changed between IE4.01SP2 and IE5, although "less frequently" used interfaces, such as the "Organize Favorites" interface, operate in a significantly different manner.
N48
Netscape remains one of the least used browsers on my computer, due in no small part, to the lack of user interface consistency between versions.
O36
Interface has remained consistent since I began using Opera, less than a year ago.

Guideline 10: Notify the user of document and viewport changes

Checkpoint 10.1 Provide information about document and viewport changes (to users and through programming interfaces). [Priority 1]

IE5
HAL is indifferent to MSAA and (currently, at least) has no means of accessing the DOM API
N48
none provided
O36
none currently provided

Checkpoint 10.2 Ensure that when the selection or focus changes, it is in the viewport after the change. [Priority 2]

IE5
yes
N48
no
O36
yes

Checkpoint 10.3 Allow the user to selectively turn on and off notification of common types of document and viewport changes. [Priority 3]

IE5
it is possible (not to mention commendable) to set IE5 to be quite a nag (i.e. prompting every time it encounters a script) by customizing the "Security" property sheets
N48
very little user configurable notification options
O36
mostly toggle options (i.e. "Enable Cookies" and "Disable Cookies") without a "Prompt" option

Checkpoint 10.4 When loading a resource (e.g., document, video clip, audio clip, etc.) indicate what portion of the resource has loaded and whether loading has stalled. [Priority 3]

IE5
some information available via status line
N48
information available via status line
O36
information available via status line; type of information displayed is extremely user-configurable

Checkpoint 10.5 Indicate the relative position of the viewport in a resource (e.g., the percentage of the document that has been viewed, the percentage of an audio clip that has been played, etc.). [Priority 3]

IE5
visually dependent (croll bars)
N48
visually dependent (scroll bars)
O36
yes: both through (optional) scroll bars and through a user-configurable status monitor

Checkpoint 10.6 Prompt the user to confirm any form submission not explicitly initiated by the user. [Priority 2]

IE5
no -- automatic FORM submit on ENTER
N48
no -- automatic FORM submit on ENTER
O36
no -- automatic FORM submit on ENTER

Guideline 11: Allow the user to configure the user agent

Checkpoint 11.1 Allow the user to configure the user agent in named profiles that may be shared (by other users or software). [Priority 2]

IE5
no
N48
yes
O36
yes

Checkpoint 11.2 Allow the user to configure the graphical arrangement of user interface controls. [Priority 3]

IE5
no
N48
perhaps (the only one of which I am personally aware is the ability to drag-and-drop personal toolbar items--which obviously isn't a device-independent means of arranging graphical UI controls)
O36
no

Guideline 12: Provide accessible product documentation and help

Checkpoint 12.1 Provide a version of the product documentation that conforms to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. [Priority 1]

IE5
no
N48
most definitely not
O36
yes (help available in both framed and no frames views)

Checkpoint 12.2 Ensure that all user agent functionalities that promote accessibility are documented. [Priority 1]

IE5
yes
N48
no
O36
yes

Checkpoint 12.3 Describe product features known to promote accessibility in a section of the product documentation. [Priority 2]

IE5
yes
N48
no
O36
yes

Revision History

Previous Versions
Version 1.0
released: 1 September 1999
URI: <http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/w3c-wai-ua/1999JulSep/0301.html>