User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0

Abstract

This document provides guidelines to user agent developers for making their products accessible to people with disabilities. User agents include graphical desktop browsers, multimedia players, plug-ins, voice browsers, and other assistive technologies used to access Web content. Developers must ensure that user agent functionalities are accessible to users with disabilities and that user agents communicate with other user agents to provide additional functionalities necessary for full access to the Web. These guidelines explain how following certain good design principles will make the Web accessible to users with disabilities and will benefit all users. While these guidelines primarily address the accessibility of general-purpose graphical user agents, the principles discussed apply to other types of user agents as well.

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 Working Draft has been prepared for the Austin face to face meeting of the Working Group. This draft follows the 5 November Last Call Working Draft.

This is a W3C Working Draft for review by W3C Members and other interested parties. It is a draft document and may be updated, replaced or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is inappropriate to use W3C Working Drafts as reference material or to cite them as other than "work in progress". This is work in progress and does not imply endorsement by, or the consensus of, either W3C or Members of the WAI User Agent (UA) Working Group.

Please send comments about this document to the public mailing list: w3c-wai-ua@w3.org. Mailing list archives are available on the Web.

This document has been produced as part of the Web Accessibility Initiative. The goals of the WAI UA Working Group are discussed in the WAI UA charter. A list of the UA Working Group participants is available.

A list of current W3C Recommendations and other technical documents can be found at http://www.w3.org/TR.

1. Introduction

This introduction (section 1) provides context for understanding the guidelines listed in section 2. In different sections, the introduction explains:

• The importance and benefits of accessible user agent design,
• The principles of accessible user agent design behind the guidelines,
• A description of how each guideline is organized and presented,
• A list of related resources to help developers implement the guidelines,
• Some of the editorial conventions used in this document,
• How requirements in this document are prioritized,
• How people make claims that software conforms to these guidelines and details about the applicability of some requirements to some user agents.

1.1 Benefits of Accessible Design

For those unfamiliar with accessibility issues pertaining to user agent design, consider that many users with disabilities may be accessing the Web in contexts very different from your own:

• They may not be able to see, hear, move, or may not be able to process some types of information easily or at all.
• They may have difficulty reading or comprehending text.
• They may not have or be able to use a keyboard or mouse.

User agents must be designed to take into account the diverse functional requirements of users with disabilities. This document discusses requirements that user agent developers must satisfy to ensure accessibility of the user agent.

Software that follows the guidelines in this document will not only benefit users with disabilities, it will be more flexible, manageable, extensible, and beneficial to all users. Many users browse the Web with functional requirements similar to those of users with disabilities. For instance:

• They may have a text-only screen, a small screen, or a slow Internet connection (e.g., via a mobile phone browser). These users will benefit from the same features that provide access to people with low vision or blindness.
• They may not speak or understand fluently the language in which content is written or spoken. These users will benefit from the same features that provide access to people who cannot hear the auditory track of a presentation and require captions.
• They may be in a situation where their eyes, ears, or hands are busy or interfered with (e.g., driving to work, working in a loud environment, etc.). These users will benefit from the same features that provide access to people who cannot use a mouse or keyboard due to a visual or physical disability.

The guidelines in this document describe some basic principles of accessible design. However, as the previous examples illustrate, accessible design almost always benefits all users.

1.2 Principles of Accessible Design

This document is organized according to several principles that will improve the design of any type of user agent:

Ensure that the user interface is accessible.

The user must have access to all the functionalities offered by the user agent through its user interface. Since some users cannot use some parts of the the user interface, it needs to be adaptable to their particular functional needs.

One requirement is that users be able to operate the user agent with a variety of input devices (mouse, keyboard, speech input, etc.) and output devices (graphical display, speech output, etc.). Redundant input and output methods (accomplished through the standard input and output APIs supported by the user agent) help users operate the functionalities built into the tool (made available through menus, dialogs, toolbars and other user interface components) as well as those included as part of content (made available through links, form controls, applets, and other active elements).

User agents should provide access to functionalities in different ways to meet the skills and needs of different audiences:

• Contextual access (e.g,. through cascading menus, through help systems, etc.) may help users with cognitive disabilities and any users unfamiliar with the tool.
• Direct access (e.g., through keyboard or voice shortcuts) helps some users with physical disabilities and speeds up use by experienced users. Such access can be vital for users with physical disabilities who have little or no manual dexterity, and increased tendency to push unwanted buttons or keys.

The general topic of user interface accessibility for computer software exceeds the scope of this document. The guidelines do discuss some important user interface topics such as device-independence, configurability, and accessible product documentation. Software developers should also remember that user interfaces must be intuitive, simple, and tested. To help ensure accessibility, people with disabilities should be involved in the design and testing of the software. Features that are known to promote accessibility should be made obvious to users and easy to find. The Techniques Document [UA-TECHNIQUES] includes some references to general software accessibility guidelines.

Ensure that the user has access to content.

User agents must ensure access to content:

• By ensuring access to all text, video, sound, and other content, including alternative equivalents for content (e.g., "alt" attribute values in HTML, external long descriptions, etc.) and relationships among content (e.g., table cells and their headers).
• By allowing users to control content rendering parameters (text size, colors, synthesized speech rate and volume, etc.).
• By allowing users to navigate the content (e.g., with scrollbars, navigation of active elements, structured views, etc.).
• By making Web content and user agent information available to assistive technology through standard APIs.

Help orient the user.

User agents can help the user remain oriented in a page or site by supplying context, including:

• Browsing context. Users benefit from knowing the number of frames, the title of the current frame, whether loading for a page or video clip has finished or stalled, etc. Graphical clues about browsing context such as frames, proportional scroll bars, a visually highlighted selection, etc. help some, but not all users, so the context information must be available in a device-independent manner.
• Element context. For instance, users with blindness who navigate by jumping from link to link on a page or presentation benefit from information that will help them decide quickly whether to follow the link: whether the link has already been visited, the type of the target resource, the length of an audio or video clip that will be started, whether the link involves a fee, etc.
• Summary information about specific elements (e.g., the dimensions of a table, the length of an audio clip, the structure of a form, etc.)

The user agent should also minimize the chances the user will become disoriented. User agents should:

• For changes to the content or viewport that the user does not initiate, allow the user to request notification when these changes occur. (e.g., when a viewport opens, a script is executed, etc.).
• Allow the user to return to known states. The "back" functionality is a valuable "undo" tool for returning to a known state.

Follow operating system standards and conventions and use open specifications.

Following platform and operating system standards and guidelines promotes accessibility in a number of ways:

• Observing platform and operating system conventions in user interface design, software installation, and software documentation improves usability.
• Using standard platform and operating system interfaces makes it possible for assistive technologies to access information predictably.

So that desktop browsers can make information available to assistive technologies, they must communicate information about content and the user interface through standard interfaces. Even when a user agent implements a feature natively, it should make relevant information available through standard interfaces. This will benefit assistive technologies, scripting tools, and automated test engines. It will also promote modularity and software reuse.

1.3 How the Guidelines are Organized

The twelve guidelines in this document state general principles for the development of accessible user agents. Each guideline includes:

• The guideline number.
• The statement of the guideline.
• The rationale behind the guideline and some groups of users who benefit from it.
• A list of checkpoint definitions.

The checkpoint definitions in each guideline explain how the guideline applies to particular user agent features or behavior. Each checkpoint definition includes:

• The checkpoint number.
• The statement of the checkpoint.
• The priority of the checkpoint.
• Optional informative notes, clarifying examples, and cross references to related guidelines or checkpoints.
• A link to a corresponding section of the Techniques Document [UA-TECHNIQUES], where the checkpoint is discussed in detail, including information about implementation and examples.

Each checkpoint is intended to be specific enough so that someone reviewing a user agent may verify that the checkpoint has been satisfied. Note. While the checkpoints have been designed to be verifiable, some may be difficult to verify without documentation from vendors about what features and APIs they support.

An appendix to this document [UA-CHECKLIST] lists all checkpoints for convenient reference.

1.4 Related Resources

A related document, entitled "Techniques for User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0" [UA-TECHNIQUES], suggests techniques for satisfying each requirement. It also includes references to other accessibility resources (such as platform-specific software accessibility guidelines) that provide additional information on how a user agent may satisfy each checkpoint. The Techniques provided are informative examples only, and other strategies may be used to meet the checkpoint as well as, or in place of, those discussed. The Techniques Document has been designed to track changes in technology and implementation solutions and is expected to be updated more frequently than the current document.

"User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0" is part of a series of accessibility guidelines published by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) . The series also includes "Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0" [WAI-WEBCONTENT] and "Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 1.0" [WAI-AUTOOLS].

1.5 Document conventions

The following editorial conventions are used throughout this document:

• HTML element names are in uppercase letters (e.g., H1, BLOCKQUOTE, TABLE, etc.)
• HTML attribute names are quoted in lowercase letters (e.g., "alt", "title", "class", etc.)

1.6 Priorities

Each checkpoint in this document is assigned a priority that indicates its importance for users with disabilities.

[Priority 1]

This checkpoint must be satisfied by user agents, otherwise one or more groups of users with disabilities will find it impossible to access information. Satisfying this checkpoint is a basic requirement for some individuals to be able to use the Web.

[Priority 2]

This checkpoint should be satisfied by user agents, otherwise one or more groups of users with disabilities will find it difficult to access information. Satisfying this checkpoint will remove significant barriers to Web access.

[Priority 3]

This checkpoint may be satisfied by user agents to make it easier for one or more groups of users with disabilities to access information. Satisfying this checkpoint will improve Web accessibility.

1.7 Conformance

The terms "must", "should", and "may" (and related terms) are used in this document in accordance with RFC 2119 [RFC2119].

User agents must satisfy all the applicable checkpoints for a chosen conformance level.

Conformance levels

This section defines three levels of conformance to this document.

• Conformance Level "A": all Priority 1 checkpoints are satisfied
• Conformance Level "Double-A": all Priority 1 and 2 checkpoints are satisfied
• Conformance Level "Triple-A": all Priority 1, 2, and 3 checkpoints are satisfied

Note. Conformance levels are spelled out in text so they may be understood when rendered as speech.

Claims of conformance to this document must use one of the following two forms.

Form 1: Specify:

• The guidelines title: "User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0"
• The guidelines URI: http://www.w3.org/WAI/UA/WD-WAI-USERAGENT-19991206
• The conformance level satisfied: "A", "Double-A", or "Triple-A".
• The version number and operating system of the software covered by the claim.
• The date of the claim.
• A list consisting of checkpoints that have been satisfied and those that are considered not applicable. The appendix list of checkpoints may be used for this purpose (in tabular format or list format).

Example of Form 1:

This product conforms to W3C's "User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0", available at http://www.w3.org/WAI/UA/WD-WAI-USERAGENT-19991206, level Double-A.

Form 2: Include, on product packaging or documentation, one of three icons provided by W3C. For Web documentation, link the icon to the appropriate W3C explanation of the claim.

Note. In the event this document becomes a W3C Recommendation, information about the icons and how to use them will be available at the W3C Web site. At that time the Working Group will also indicate how claims of conformance can deliver completed list of checkpoints.

Checkpoint applicability

Not every checkpoint or guideline is applicable to every user agent. Generally, a user agent must adhere to checkpoints that ensure accessibility of functionalities that it offers to users and it must implement required functionalities natively. If the user agent supports keyboard input, it must support accessible keyboard input. If the user agent supports images, it must ensure access to each image or an alternative equivalent supplied by the author. If a user agent supports style sheets, it must implement the accessibility features of the style sheet language. If the user agent supports frames, it must ensure access to frame alternatives supplied by the author. In short, if a user agent offers a functionality, it must ensure that people with disabilities have access to that functionality or an equivalent alternative.

Not all user agents support every content type, markup language feature, input or output device interface, etc. When a content type, feature, or device interface is not supported, checkpoints with requirements related to it do not apply to the user agent. Thus, if a user agent supports style sheets at all, all checkpoints related to style sheet accessibility apply. If a user agent does not support style sheets at all, the checkpoints do not apply.

The applicability of checkpoints related to markup language features is determined similarly. If a user agent supports tables, it must support the accessibility features of the language related to tables (or images, or frames, or video, or links, etc.). The Techniques Document includes information about the accessibility features of W3C languages such as HTML, CSS, and SMIL.

To summarize, a checkpoint applies to a user agent unless:

• The checkpoint refers solely to an unsupported input or output device interface. Note that if the device interface is supported at all, it must be supported accessibly.
• The checkpoint includes requirements about a content type (script, image, video, sound, applet, etc.) that the user agent either does not recognize or recognizes but does not support natively.
• The checkpoint requires control of properties of an embedded object (e.g., video or animation rate) that may not be controlled or accessed by the user agent.
• The checkpoint requires technologies that are unsupported by the user agent (e.g., markup language, synchronized multimedia, metadata description language, etc.).

There may be other cases where common sense dictates that a checkpoint does not apply (e.g., a user agent doesn't support a particular natural language, no communication with other software is possible, the checkpoint refers to standards but no standards exist yet, etc.).

2. User Agent Accessibility Guidelines

Guideline 1. Support input and output device-independence

Ensure that the user can interact with the user agent (and the content it renders) through all of the input and output APIs used by the user agent.

Since not all users make use of the same hardware for input or output, software must be designed to work with the widest possible range of devices. For instance, not all users have pointing devices, so software must not rely on them for operation. Users must be able to reach all functionalities offered by the user agent interface with all input device APIs provided by the operating system.

The best way to make this possible is to design software that follows operating system conventions and uses standard APIs for user input and output. When user agents use these standard interfaces, other software can programmatically trigger mouse or keyboard events. For instance, some users who may not be able to enter text easily through a standard physical keyboard can still use voice input, an on-screen keyboard, or other special devices to operate the user agent.

Access to full user agent functionality through the operating system's standard keyboard API (where available) is vital to ensure compatibility between graphical desktop browsers and assistive technologies. Access through the keyboard is available to many users and is widely supported. For this reason, it is an important starting point for ensuring some degree of accessibility on nearly all platforms for accessing the Web. Full access via the keyboard also facilitates voice access to the Web by all users.

Since not all users have speakers or the ability to hear, software must not rely on audio output alone for messages and alerts. Any output provided in audio should also be available through other means (e.g., visual flashes for beeps, text messages for spoken messages, etc.). Text is perhaps the most accessible output medium, since most alternative output mechanisms rely on the presence of system-drawn text on the screen.

Standard interfaces make it possible for users to use a variety of input and output devices, including pointing devices, keyboards, Braille devices, head wands, microphones, touch screens, speech synthesizers, and more.

Checkpoints for user interface accessibility:

1.1 Ensure that every functionality offered through the user interface is available through every input device API used by the user agent. User agents are not required to reimplement low-level functionalities (e.g., for character input or pointer motion) that are inherently bound to a particular API and most naturally accomplished with that API. [Priority 1]

Note. The device-independence required by this checkpoint applies to functionalities described by the other checkpoints in this document unless otherwise stated by individual checkpoints. This checkpoint does not require user agents to use all operating system input device APIs, only to make the software accessible through those they do use.

Techniques for checkpoint 1.1

1.2 Use the standard input and output device APIs of the operating system. [Priority 1]

For example, do not directly manipulate the memory associated with information being rendered since screen review utilities, which monitor rendering through the standard APIs, will not work properly.

Techniques for checkpoint 1.2

1.3 Ensure that the user can interact with all active elements in a device-independent manner. [Priority 1]

For example, users who are blind or have physical disabilities must be able to activate text links, the links in a client-side image map, and form controls without a pointing device. Note. This checkpoint is an important special case of checkpoint 1.1.

Techniques for checkpoint 1.3

1.4 Ensure that every functionality offered through the user interface is available through the standard keyboard API. [Priority 1]

The keystroke-only command protocol of the user interface should be efficient enough to support production use. Functionalities include being able to show, hide, resize and move graphical viewports created by the user agent. Note. This checkpoint is an important special case of checkpoint 1.1.

Techniques for checkpoint 1.4

1.5 Ensure that all messages to the user (e.g., informational messages, warnings, errors, etc.) are available through all output device APIs used by the user agent. Do not bypass the standard output APIs when rendering information (e.g., for reasons of speed, efficiency, etc.). [Priority 1]

For instance, ensure that information about how much content has been viewed is available through output device APIs. Proportional navigation bars may provide this information graphically, but the information must be available (e.g., as text) to users relying on synthesized speech or Braille output.

Techniques for checkpoint 1.5

Guideline 2. Ensure user access to all content

Ensure that users have access to all content, notably author-supplied alternative equivalents for content such as text equivalents and auditory descriptions.

User agents must be able to render content in a range of modes -- auditory (synthesized and prerecorded), tactile (Braille), graphical, or a mix of some of these -- that are required by individuals with disabilities. This high level of accessibility also requires that Web content developers provide alternative equivalents for content. Mechanisms for supplying alternative equivalents for content vary according to markup language (and are described in detail in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines [WAI-WEBCONTENT]). In turn, user agents must ensure that users have access to this content, and any alternatives generated by the user agent itself. User agents should allow users to specify whether primary content should be rendered, or whether alternative equivalents supplied by the author should be displayed, or both.

In addition to alternative equivalents, user agents must take into account author-supplied natural language processing instructions. Based on these instructions, user agents may select appropriate fonts for international characters, to perform bidirectional text rendering (e.g., Arabic mixed with English), or to select the appropriate synthesized speech dictionary.

In dynamic presentations such as synchronized multimedia presentations created with SMIL 1.0 [SMIL], content changes over time. Users with cognitive or physical disabilities may not be able to interact with a presentation within the time frames designed by the author. To ensure that a presentation remains accessible, user agents rendering synchronized presentations must either provide access to content in a time-independent manner or allow users to control the playback rate of the presentation. For information about SMIL accessibility, please refer to "Accessibility Features of SMIL" [SMIL-ACCESS].

Ensuring access to alternative equivalents benefits all users since some users may not have access to some content due to a technological limitation (e.g., their mobile browser cannot display graphics) or simply a configuration preference (e.g., they have a slow Internet connection and prefer not to download images).

Checkpoints for content accessibility:

2.1 Ensure that the user has access to all content, including alternative equivalents for content. [Priority 1]

Note. Although it is not a requirement that alternative equivalents be available at the same time as primary content, some users may benefit from simultaneous access. For instance, users with low vision may want to view images (even imperfectly) but require a text equivalent for the image to be rendered in a very large size or as speech.

Techniques for checkpoint 2.1

2.2 Render content according to natural language identification. [Priority 1]

For example, render text with the appropriate font family or synthesized speech dictionary. Lay out text in the appropriate direction (right-to-left, left-to-right, etc.) Natural language may be identified by markup (e.g., the "lang" attribute in HTML 4.0 ([HTML40] section 8.1) or "xml:lang" in XML 1.0 ([XML], section 2.12), or by the HTTP Content-Language header ([RFC2616], section 14.12). Refer also to checkpoint 2.9 and checkpoint 5.4.

Note. A user agent may not support all languages. When a user agent supports a language identified by a multipart identifier (e.g., "en-us"), the user agent must indicate in its conformance claim which language it claims to support (e.g., "en" alone, "en-us" alone, or both).

Techniques for checkpoint 2.2

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

Techniques for checkpoint 2.3

2.4 When no text equivalent has been supplied, indicate what type of object is present. [Priority 2]

Techniques for checkpoint 2.4

2.5 When a text equivalent for content is explicitly empty (i.e., an empty string), render nothing. [Priority 3]

Techniques for checkpoint 2.5

Checkpoints for user interface accessibility:

2.6 If more than one alternative equivalent is available for content, allow the user to choose from among the alternatives. This includes the choice of viewing no alternatives. [Priority 1]

For example, if a multimedia presentation has several tracks of captions (or subtitles) available (e.g., in different languages, different levels of detail, different reading levels, etc.) allow the user to choose from among them.

Techniques for checkpoint 2.6

2.7 Allow the user to specify that captions and auditory descriptions be rendered at the same time as the associated auditory and visual tracks. [Priority 1]

Note. Respect synchronization cues during rendering.

Techniques for checkpoint 2.7

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

Techniques for checkpoint 2.8

2.9 For identified but unsupported natural languages, allow the user to request notification of language changes. [Priority 3]

Note. The user should be able to request no notification of language changes.

Techniques for checkpoint 2.9

Guideline 3. Allow the user to turn off inaccessible features

Ensure that the user may turn off rendering or behavior specified by the author that may reduce accessibility by obscuring content or disorienting the user.

Some content or behavior specified by the author may make the user agent unusable or may obscure information. For instance, flashing content may trigger seizures in people with photosensitive epilepsy. Blinking can affect screenreader users, since screenreaders (in conjunction with speech synthesizers or Braille displays) may repeat the text every time it blinks. Noisy background images or sounds make make it impossible for users to see or hear other content. Some color combinations may affect users with some visual disabilities.

Dynamically changing Web content, scripts that open viewports, automatically redirect or refresh pages, or cause similar changes unanticipated by the user may disorient some users with cognitive disabilities and may cause problems for some assistive technologies.

Users may need to turn off these effects in order to have access to content. Please also refer to guideline 4 and guideline 10.

Checkpoints for content accessibility:

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

Techniques for checkpoint 3.1

3.2 Allow the user to turn on and off rendering of background audio. [Priority 1]

Techniques for checkpoint 3.2

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

Techniques for checkpoint 3.3

3.4 When the user agent renders audio natively, allow the user to turn on and off rendering of audio. [Priority 1]

Note. To render audio natively means that the user agent drives the speaker directly.

Techniques for checkpoint 3.4

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

Techniques for checkpoint 3.5

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

Techniques for checkpoint 3.6

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

Note. This is particularly important for scripts that cause the screen to flicker, since people with photosensitive epilepsy can have seizures triggered by flickering or flashing particularly in the 4 to 59 flashes per second (Hertz) range.

Techniques for checkpoint 3.7

3.8 Allow the user to turn on and off rendering of images. [Priority 3]

Techniques for checkpoint 3.8

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

For example, when forwarding has been turned off, offer a static link to the target.

Techniques for checkpoint 3.9

3.10 Allow the user to turn on and off automatic content refresh. [Priority 3]

For example, when turned off, indicate to the user that content needs refreshing and allow the user to do so through the user interface.

Techniques for checkpoint 3.10

Guideline 4. Ensure user control over styles

Ensure that the user has control over resource styles that it controls (e.g., color, text size, etc.). The user must be able to override author styles and user agent default styles.

In order to access content, some users may require that it be rendered in a manner other than what the author intended. Users with visual disabilities, including color blindness, may be insensitive to certain colors and may not be able to perceive author-specified or user agent default color combinations. Users with reduced visual acuity, including people who are older, may require larger text than user agent defaults or the text size specified by the author.

User agents must therefore allow the user to control:

• Style parameters (e.g., text size, colors, audio volume, speech pitch, video frame rate, etc.). Style information includes author-specified styles and user agent defaults.
• Aspects of the user interface. User agents must ensure access to selection and focus information and allow users to be notified of and to control author-specified changes to the browsing context that may make content inaccessible.

Note. The checkpoints in this guideline apply to all content, including alternative equivalents.

Refer also to guideline 10.

Checkpoints for fonts and colors:

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

Techniques for checkpoint 4.1

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

For example, allow the user to specify a font family and style directly through the user interface. Or, allow the user to give preferences through a user style sheet. Or allow the user to magnify text.

Techniques for checkpoint 4.2

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

Techniques for checkpoint 4.3

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

Techniques for checkpoint 4.4

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

Techniques for checkpoint 4.5

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

Techniques for checkpoint 4.6

Checkpoints for applets and animations:

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

Techniques for checkpoint 4.7

Checkpoints for video.

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

Techniques for checkpoint 4.8

4.9 Allow the user to control the position of captions. [Priority 1]

Techniques for checkpoint 4.9

4.10 Allow the user to start, stop, pause, fast forward, and rewind video. [Priority 2]

Techniques for checkpoint 4.10

Checkpoints for audio:

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

Note. User agents may not be able to control the playback rate for some audio formats.

Techniques for checkpoint 4.11

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

Techniques for checkpoint 4.12

4.13 Allow the user to start, stop, pause, fast forward, and rewind audio. [Priority 2]

Techniques for checkpoint 4.13

Checkpoints for synthesized speech:

4.14 Allow the user to control synthesized speech playback rate. [Priority 1]

Techniques for checkpoint 4.14

4.15 Allow the user to control synthesized speech volume. [Priority 1]

Techniques for checkpoint 4.15

4.16 Allow the user to control synthesized speech pitch, gender, and other articulation characteristics. [Priority 2]

Techniques for checkpoint 4.16

Checkpoints for user interface accessibility:

4.17 Allow the user to select from available author and user style sheets, including no author or user style sheets. [Priority 1]

Note. The browsers default style sheet is always present.

Techniques for checkpoint 4.17

4.18 Allow the user to control user agent-initiated spawned viewports. [Priority 2]

For example, in HTML, allow the user to control the process of opening a document in a new target frame or a viewport created by author-supplied scripts. In SMIL 1.0, allow the user to control viewports created with show="new". Control may involve prompting the user to confirm or cancel the viewport creation. Users may also want to control the size or position of the viewport and to be able to close the viewport (e.g., with the "back" functionality).

Techniques for checkpoint 4.18

Guideline 5. Observe system conventions and standard interfaces

Communicate with other software (e.g., assistive technologies, the operating system, plug-ins) through applicable interfaces. Observe conventions for the user interface, documentation, installation, etc.

To promote interoperability, user agents should adopt operating system conventions and standard APIs for communication, user interface design, documentation, etc. Following operating system conventions and supporting standard APIs will promote predictability for users as well as assistive technologies that rely on information from other software.

Some operating systems have operating system-level flags and settings that are pertinent to accessibility, such as high-contrast colors and "show" sounds for people with hearing disabilities. User agents should take these global settings into account for their own settings.

Checkpoints for content accessibility:

5.1 Provide accessible APIs to other technologies. [Priority 1]

Techniques for checkpoint 5.1

5.2 Conform to W3C Document Object Model specifications and export interfaces defined by those specifications. [Priority 1]

For example, refer to the DOM ([DOM1], [DOM2]). User agents should export these interfaces using available operating system conventions.

Techniques for checkpoint 5.2

Checkpoints for user interface accessibility:

5.3 Use accessibility resources and conventions of the operating system and supported programming languages, including those for plug-ins and virtual machine environments. [Priority 1]

For instance, if the user agent supports Java applets and provides a Java Virtual Machine to run them, the user agent should support the proper loading and operation of a Java native assistive technology. This assistive technology can provide access to the applet as defined by Java accessibility standards.

Techniques for checkpoint 5.3

5.4 Provide programmatic read and write access to user agent functionalities and user interface controls. [Priority 1]

For example, ensure that assistive technologies have access to information about the current input configuration so that they can trigger functionalities through keyboard events, mouse events, etc. Refer also to checkpoint 5.3.

Techniques for checkpoint 5.4

5.5 Implement selection and focus mechanisms and make the selection and focus available to users and through APIs. [Priority 1]

Refer also to checkpoint 7.1 and checkpoint 5.4. Note. This checkpoint is an important special case of checkpoint 5.4.

Techniques for checkpoint 5.5

5.6 Provide programmatic notification of changes to content and user interface controls (including selection and focus). [Priority 1]

Refer also to checkpoint 5.3.

Techniques for checkpoint 5.6

5.7 Provide programmatic exchange of information in a timely manner. [Priority 2]

This is important for synchronous alternative renderings and simulation of events.

Techniques for checkpoint 5.7

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

Refer also to checkpoint 10.5.

Techniques for checkpoint 5.8

Guideline 6. Implement accessible specifications

Implement open specifications such as W3C Recommendations. Implement the accessibility features of any specification.

W3C specifications promote interoperability, which improves accessibility through predictability and openness. W3C accessibility guidelines (including the present guidelines) also recommend implementing W3C specifications (e.g., HTML 4.0 [HTML40], CSS 1 [CSS1], CSS 2 [CSS2], MathML [MATHML], SMIL 1.0 [SMIL], etc.) for the following reasons:

• W3C specifications include "built-in" accessibility features.
• W3C specifications undergo early review to ensure that accessibility issues are considered during the design phase.
• W3C specifications are developed in an open, industry consensus process.

Checkpoints for content accessibility:

6.1 Implement the accessibility features of supported specifications (markup languages, style sheet languages, metadata languages, graphics formats, etc.). [Priority 1]

Note. The Techniques Document [UA-TECHNIQUES] discusses accessibility features of W3C specifications.

Techniques for checkpoint 6.1

6.2 Conform to W3C specifications when they are appropriate for a task. [Priority 2]

For instance, for markup, implement HTML 4.0 [HTML40] or XML 1.0 [XML]. For style sheets, implement CSS ([CSS1], [CSS2]). For mathematics, implement MathML [MATHML]. For synchronized multimedia, implement SMIL 1.0 [SMIL]. For access to the structure of HTML or XML documents, implement the DOM ([DOM1], [DOM2]). Refer also to checkpoint 5.2.

Note. For reasons of backward compatibility, user agents should continue to support deprecated features of specifications. The current guidelines refer to some deprecated language features that do not necessarily promote accessibility but are widely deployed.

Techniques for checkpoint 6.2

Guideline 7. Provide navigation mechanisms

Provide a variety of navigation mechanisms: direct access, contextual access, searches, structured navigation, etc. Users may find all of these mechanisms useful in different browsing situations.

Navigation mechanisms help all users find the information they seek. User agents should provide a variety of mechanisms - from simple scrolling through content to search mechanisms to sequential navigation - to meet the diverse needs of users, in particular users of devices that render content serially (e.g., synthesized speech output or single-line refreshable Braille displays). So that users of serial devices are not required to view an entire page or presentation to find information, user agents should provide more direct navigation mechanisms.

Authors are encouraged to include navigation mechanisms (e.g., image maps or navigation bars) designed for their content, but user agents should provide generic mechanisms, some of which are described here:

• Sequential access (e.g., line scrolling, page scrolling, sequential access through active elements, etc.) means advancing through rendered content in well-defined steps (line by line, screen by screen, link by link, etc.) forward and backward. Sequential access can provide context, but can be slow. This navigation technique benefits users who cannot scan a page for context and any user unfamiliar with it. Sequential access may be based on element type (e.g., links only), content structure (e.g., navigate from header to header), or other criteria. Structured navigation mechanisms allow users to move rapidly through highly structured content such as books or instructional material.
• Direct access (go to a particular link or paragraph, search for instances of this string, etc.) is faster than sequential access, but context may be lost. Direct access benefits users with some physical disabilities and power users familiar with a document. Searching on text is one important variant of direct access, but other types of direct access are possible (e.g., navigation to a link based on its position in content). Selecting text or structured content with the pointing device is another form of direct access.

User agents should allow users to configure navigation mechanisms (e.g., to allow navigation of links only, or links and headers, or tables and forms, etc.). Refer also to guideline 10..

Checkpoints for user interface accessibility:

7.1 Allow the user to navigate viewports (including frames). [Priority 1]

Note. For example, when all frames of a frameset are displayed side-by-side, allow the user to navigate among them with the keyboard. Or, when frames are accessed or viewed one at a time (e.g., by a text browser or speech synthesizer), provide a list of links to other frames. Navigating into a viewport makes it the current viewport.

Techniques for checkpoint 7.1

7.2 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]

For example, when users navigate "back" and "forth" among views, for each view they should find the viewport position where they left it.

Techniques for checkpoint 7.2

7.3 Allow the user to navigate just among cells of a table (notably left and right within a row and up and down within a column). [Priority 1]

Note. Navigation techniques include keyboard navigation from cell to cell (e.g., using the arrow keys) and page up/down scrolling. Refer also to checkpoint 1.1 and checkpoint 5.4.

Techniques for checkpoint 7.3

7.4 Allow the user to navigate all active elements. [Priority 1]

Navigation mechanisms may range from sequential (e.g., sequential navigation) to direct (e.g., by entering link text) to searching on active elements only (e.g., based on form control text, associated labels, or form control names). Note. This checkpoint is an important special case of checkpoint 7.7.

Techniques for checkpoint 7.4

7.5 Allow the user to navigate just among all active elements. [Priority 2]

Note. In checkpoint 7.4, navigation may include non-active elements in addition to active elements.

Techniques for checkpoint 7.5

7.6 Allow the user to search for rendered text content, including text equivalents of visual and auditory content. [Priority 2]

Note. Use operating system conventions for marking the result of a search (e.g., selection and focus).

Techniques for checkpoint 7.6

7.7 Allow the user to navigate according to structure. [Priority 2]

For example, allow the user to navigate familiar elements of a document: paragraphs, tables, headers, lists, etc. Note. Use operating system conventions to indicate navigation progress (e.g., selection and focus).

Techniques for checkpoint 7.7

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

For example, allow the user to navigate only paragraphs, or only headers and paragraphs, etc.

Techniques for checkpoint 7.8

Guideline 8. Orient the user

Provide information to the user about resource structure, viewport structure, metadata about content, etc. to help the user understand browsing context.

All users require clues to help them understand their "location" when browsing. Graphical user agents provide clues such as proportional scroll bars to indicate how much content has been viewed. A highlighted selection or focus (either visually or aurally) distinguishes the selected or focused content from other content. User agent history allows users to track and undo their browsing path. HTML 4.0 includes THEAD and TBODY elements ([HTML40], section 11.2.3) that allow authors to create table headers and footers so that user agents can scroll table content while keeping table head and foot visible on the screen.

Orientation mechanisms such as these are especially important to users who view content through serial means such as speech or Braille (current tactile technology is limited in the amount of information that can be displayed). Users of graphically displayed tables can scan a table quickly to understand the position (and related header information) of a particular cell. For users of serial output, user agents should provide this context on demand. Similarly, users need to know about:

• relationships between frames (e.g., how changes in one frame affect another). Refer also to checkpoint 9.1.
• link context. This is important to users how browse by navigating from link to link. Link context includes information about whether the link has been followed, the link title (if present), the nature of the linked resource, whether following the link will cost money, etc.
• form context. Users need to know when they've provided all necessary information in a form before submitting it.

For people with visual disabilities, blindness, or certain types of learning disabilities, it is important that the point of regard remain as stable as possible. The user agent should not disturb the user's point of regard by shifting focus to a different frame or window when an event occurs without notifying the user of the change.

User agents must make orientation information available in an output device-independent manner. Refer also to guideline 1.

Checkpoints for content accessibility:

8.1 Convey the author-specified purpose of each table and the relationships among the table cells and headers. [Priority 1]

For example, provide information about table headers, how headers relate to cells, table caption and summary information, cell position information, table dimensions, etc. Note. This checkpoint is an important special case of checkpoint 2.1.

Techniques for checkpoint 8.1

8.2 Indicate whether a focused link has been marked up to indicate that following it will involve a fee. [Priority 2]

Note. This checkpoint is an important special case of checkpoint 8.3. "Common Markup for micropayment per-fee-links" [MICROPAYMENT] describes how authors may mark up micropayment information in an interoperable manner. This information may be provided through the standard user interface provided the interface is accessible. Thus, any prompt asking the user to confirm payment must be accessible.

Techniques for checkpoint 8.2

8.3 Provide information to help the user decide whether to follow a focused link. [Priority 2]

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 and size of an audio or video clip that will be started, and the expected natural language of target resource.

Techniques for checkpoint 8.3

Checkpoints for user interface accessibility:

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

Note. This includes highlighting and identifying frames. Refer also to checkpoint 9.1.

Techniques for checkpoint 8.4

8.5 Provide an outline view of a resource built from the resource's structural elements (e.g., frames, headers, lists, forms, tables, etc.) [Priority 2]

For example, for each frame in a frameset, provide a table of contents composed of headers where each entry in the table of contents links to the header in the document.

Techniques for checkpoint 8.5

8.6 Allow the user to configure the outline view. [Priority 3]

For example, allow the user to control the level of detail of the outline. Refer also to checkpoint 8.5. Refer also to checkpoint 5.4.

Techniques for checkpoint 8.6

8.7 Allow the user to configure what information about links to present. [Priority 3]

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. Refer also to checkpoint 8.3.

Techniques for checkpoint 8.7

8.8 Provide a mechanism for highlighting and identifying (through a standard interface where available) active elements. [Priority 3]

Note. User agents may satisfy this checkpoint by implementing the appropriate style sheet mechanisms, such as link highlighting.

Techniques for checkpoint 8.8

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

In particular, make changes conservatively to the layout of user interface controls, behavior of existing functionalities, and default keyboard configuration.

Techniques for checkpoint 8.9

Guideline 9. Notify the user of content and viewport changes

Alert users, in an output device-independent fashion, of changes to content or the viewport.

Changes to content or browsing context may disorient users with visual disabilities or certain types of learning disabilities. Unexpected changes may cause users to lose track of how many viewports are open, which is the current viewport, etc. User agents should provide information about changes caused by dynamic content or allow users to turn off scripts entirely (refer to checkpoint 3.7).

User agents must ensure that notifications are available in an output device-independent manner. Refer also to guideline 1.

Checkpoints for user interface accessibility:

9.1 Provide information about user agent-initiated content and viewport changes through the user interface and through APIs. [Priority 1]

For example, inform the users when a script causes a popup menu to appear.

Techniques for checkpoint 9.1

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

Techniques for checkpoint 9.2

9.3 Prompt the user to confirm any form submission triggered indirectly, that is by any means other than the user activating an explicit form submit control. [Priority 2]

For example, do not submit a form automatically when a menu option is selected, when all fields of a form have been filled out, on a mouseover event, etc.

Techniques for checkpoint 9.3

9.4 Allow the user to configure notification preferences for common types of content and viewport changes. [Priority 3]

For example, allow the user to choose to be notified (or not) that a script has been executed, that a new viewport has been opened, that a pulldown menu has been opened, that a new frame has received focus, etc.

Techniques for checkpoint 9.4

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

Techniques for checkpoint 9.5

9.6 Indicate the relative position of the viewport in content (e.g., the percentage of an audio or video clip that has been played, the percentage of a Web page that has been viewed, etc.). [Priority 3]

Note. The user agent may calculate the percentage according to focus position, selection position, or viewport position, depending on how the user has been browsing.

Techniques for checkpoint 9.6

Guideline 10. Allow configuration and customization

Allow users to configure rendering, mouse, keyboard, the user interface, etc. to facilitate daily use of the software.

Web users have a wide range of functional capabilities and so they must be able to configure the user agent to meet their particular requirements.

Refer also to checkpoint 8.9.

Checkpoints for user interface accessibility:

10.1 Provide information directly to the user and through APIs about the current user-specified input configuration (e.g., keyboard or voice bindings specified through the user agent's user interface). [Priority 1]

Techniques for checkpoint 10.1

10.2 Provide information directly to the user and through APIs about the current author-specified input configuration (e.g., keyboard bindings specified in content such as by "accesskey" in HTML 4.0). [Priority 2]

Techniques for checkpoint 10.2

10.3 Allow the user to change and control the input configuration. Users should be able to activate a functionality with a single-stroke (e.g., single-key, single voice command, etc.). [Priority 2]

For voice-activated browsers, allow the user to modify what voice commands activate functionalities Similarly, allow the user to modify the graphical user interface for quick access to commonly used functionalities (e.g., through buttons).

Techniques for checkpoint 10.3

10.4 Use operating system conventions to indicate the input configuration. [Priority 2]

For example, on some operating systems, if a functionality is available from a menu, the letter of the key that will activate that functionality is underlined. Note. This checkpoint is an important special case of checkpoint 5.8.

Techniques for checkpoint 10.4

10.5 Avoid default input configurations that interfere with operating system conventions. [Priority 2]

For example, the default configuration should not include "Alt-F4" or "Control-Alt-Delete" on operating systems where that combination has special meaning to the operating system. In particular, default configurations should not interfere with the mobility access keyboard modifiers reserved for the operating system. Refer also to guideline 5.

Techniques for checkpoint 10.5

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

Users must be able to select from among available profiles or no profile (i.e., the user agent default settings).

Techniques for checkpoint 10.6

10.7 Provide default input configurations for frequently performed operations. [Priority 3]

Make the most frequently used commands easy to access. In particular, provide convenient mappings to functionalities that promote accessibility such as navigation of links.

Techniques for checkpoint 10.7

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

Techniques for checkpoint 10.8

Guideline 11. Provide accessible product documentation and help

Ensure that the user can learn about software features from documentation, notably those that relate to accessibility.

Documentation Documentation includes anything that explains how to install, get help for, use, or configure the product. Users must have access to installation information, either in electronic form (CD-ROM, diskette, over the Web), by fax, or by telephone.

Some people cannot use printed documents. Vendors should provide accessible electronic documentation for users with visual disabilities, learning disabilities, or movement disabilities. Alternative hardcopy formats may also benefit some users.

Since users who are not disabled are generally unaware of software features designed specifically for accessibility, those features should be clearly documented. This will allow users with disabilities to learn about the software more easily.

Documentation of keyboard access is very important to users with visual disabilities and some types of movement disabilities and must be readily available. Without this documentation, a user with a disability (or multiple disabilities) may not think that a particular task can be performed. Or the user may try to use a very inefficient technique to perform a task, such as using a pointing device (like a mouse), or using an assistive technology's mouse emulation keystrokes.

Refer also to checkpoint 5.8.

Checkpoints for user interface accessibility:

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

User agents may provide documentation in many formats, but at least one must be accessible per the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines [WAI-WEBCONTENT]. Alternative equivalents for content, navigation mechanisms, and illustrations will all help make the documentation accessible.

Techniques for checkpoint 11.1

11.2 Document all user agent features that promote accessibility. [Priority 1]

For example, review the documentation or help system to ensure that it discusses the functionalities addressed by the checkpoints of this document.

Techniques for checkpoint 11.2

11.3 Document the default input configuration (e.g., default keyboard bindings). [Priority 1]

Techniques for checkpoint 11.3

11.4 In a dedicated section, document all features of the user agent that promote accessibility. [Priority 2]

For example, list all pertinent features in a chapter entitled "Accessibility Features". Note that this is a more specific requirement than checkpoint 11.2.

Techniques for checkpoint 11.4

3. Appendix: Glossary

Active element

Active elements constitute a user interface for the document. They have associated behaviors that may be activated (or "triggered") either through user interaction or through scripts. Which elements are active depends on the document language and whether the features are supported by the user agent. In HTML documents, for example, active elements include links, image maps, form controls, element instances with a value for the "longdesc" attribute, and element instances with associated scripts (event handlers) explicitly associated with them (e.g., through the various "on" attributes).

An active element's behavior may be triggered through any number of mechanisms, including the mouse, keyboard, an API, etc. The effect of activation depends on the element. For instance, when a link is activated, the user agent generally retrieves the linked resource. When a form control is activated, it may change state (e.g., check boxes) or may take user input (e.g., a text field). Activating an element with a script assigned for that particular activation mechanism (e.g., mouse down event, key press event, etc.) causes the script to be executed.

Most systems use the focus to designate the active element the user wishes to trigger.

Alternative Equivalents for Content

Since rendered content in some forms is not always accessible to users with disabilities, authors must supply alternative equivalents for content. In the context of this document, the equivalent must fulfill essentially the same function for the person with a disability (at least insofar as is feasible, given the nature of the disability and the state of technology), as the "primary" content does for the person without any disability. For example, the text "The Full Moon" might convey the same information as an image of a full moon when presented to users. Note that equivalent information focuses on fulfilling the same function. If the image is part of a link and understanding the image is crucial to guessing the link target, an equivalent must also give users an idea of the link target.

User agents must make the alternative equivalent content available to users or software that require it (in place of and/or in addition to the "primary" content). Alternative representations include text equivalents (long and short, synchronized and unsynchronized) and non-text equivalents (e.g., captions, auditory descriptions, a visual track that shows sign language translation of a written text, etc.).

The Techniques Document [UA-TECHNIQUES] describes the different mechanisms authors use to supply alternative equivalents for content. Please also consult the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines [WAI-WEBCONTENT] and the associated Techniques document [WAI-WEBCONTENT-TECHS].

Assistive Technology

In the context of this document, an assistive technology is a user agent that relies on one or more other user agents to help people with disabilities interact with a computer. For example, screen reader software is an assistive technology because it relies on browsers or other application software to enable Web access, notably for people with visual and learning disabilities.

Examples of assistive technologies that are important in the context of this document include the following:

• screen magnifiers, which are used by people with visual disabilities to enlarge and change colors on the screen to improve the visual readability of text and images.
• screen readers, which are used by people who are blind or have reading disabilities to read textual information through synthesized speech or Braille displays.
• alternative keyboards, which are used by people with certain physical disabilities to simulate the keyboard.
• alternative pointing devices, which are used by people with certain physical disabilities to simulate mouse pointing and button activations."

Beyond this document, an assistive technology consists of software or hardware that has been specifically designed to assist people with disabilities in carrying out daily activities, e.g., wheelchairs, reading machines, devices for grasping, alternative computer keyboards or pointing devices, etc.)

Auditory Description

An auditory description is either a prerecorded human voice or a synthesized voice (recorded or generated on the fly) describing the key visual elements of a presentation. The auditory description is synchronized with the audio track of the presentation, usually during natural pauses in the audio track. Auditory descriptions include information about actions, body language, graphics, and scene changes.

Author Styles

Style property values that originate in documents, their associated style sheets, or come from a server are called author styles.

Captions

Captions (or sometimes "closed captions") are text transcripts that are synchronized with other auditory or visual tracks. They convey information about spoken words and non-spoken sounds such as sound effects. Captions benefit people who are deaf and hard-of-hearing, and anyone who cannot hear the audio (e.g., when in a crowded room). Captions are generally rendered graphically above, below, or superimposed over video. Note. Other terms including the word "caption" may have different meanings in this document. For instance, a "table caption" is a title for the table, often positioned graphically above or below the table. In this document, the intended meaning of "caption" will be clear from context.

Configure

To set user preferences. This may be done through the user agent's user interface, through configuration files, by scripts, etc.

Control

User control of the user agent - interface, behavior, styles, etc. - means that the user can choose preferred behavior from a set of options. For instance, control of colors means that the user can choose from available colors, within the limits offered by the operating system or user agent.

The term "control" also means "user interface component" or "form component" in this document. Which meaning is intended should be apparent from context.

Device Independence

The ability to make use of software via any input or output device API provided by the operating system and used by the user agent. User agents should follow operating system conventions and use standard APIs for device input and output.

Documentation

Documentation includes all product documentation, notably installation instructions, the help system, and all product manuals.

Documents, Elements, and Attributes

A document may be seen as a hierarchy of elements. Element types are defined by a language specification (e.g., HTML 4.0 or an XML application). Elements may include content, which generally contributes to the document's content. Elements may also have attributes that take values.

Events and scripting, Event Handler

When certain events occur (loading or unloading events, mouse press or hover events, keyboard events, etc.), user agents often perform some task (e.g., execute a script). For instance, in most user agents, when a mouse button is released over a link, the link is activated and the linked resource retrieved. User agents may also execute author-defined scripts when certain events occur. The script bound to a particular event is called an event handler. Note. The interaction of HTML, style sheets, the Document Object Model ([DOM1], [DOM2]), and scripting is commonly referred to as "Dynamic HTML" or DHTML. However, as there is no W3C specification that formally defines DHTML, this document will only refer to event handlers and scripts.

Focus, Current Focus

The user focus designates an active element in a document. A viewport has at most one focus. When several viewports co-exist, each may have a focus, but only one is active, called the current focus. The current focus is generally presented (e.g., highlighted) in a way that makes it stand out.

Highlight

Any mechanism used to emphasize selected or focused content. Visual highlight mechanisms include dotted boxes, underlining, and reverse video. Synthesized speech highlight mechanisms may include altering voice pitch or volume.

Input Configuration

Every user agent functionality available to the user is mapped to some user interface mechanism, including menus, buttons, keyboard shortcuts, voice commands. The default input configuration is the mapping the user finds after installation of the software. The documentation should tell users what functionalities are available and the user interface should remind users of the current mapping to the user interface and allow them to figure out quickly how to use the appropriate software features.

Insertion point, Current Insertion Point

The insertion point is the location where document editing takes place. The insertion point may be set by the user (e.g., by a pointing device or the keyboard editing keys) or through an application programming interface (API). A viewport has at most one logical insertion point. When several viewports co-exist, each may have an insertion point, but only one is active, called the current insertion point Note. Graphical user agents that render bidirectional text may render the insertion point at two locations on the screen. Often, the cursor is shown as split into an upper half and a lower half.

The insertion point is generally rendered specially (e.g., on the screen, by a vertical bar or similar cursor).

Native support

A user agent supports a feature natively if it does not require another piece of software (e.g., plug-in or external program) for support. Operating system features adopted as part of the user agent are considered native. However, since the user agent is responsible for the accessibility of native features, it is also considered responsible for the accessibility of adopted operating system features.

Though native support for accessibility features is encouraged, user agents must still make information available through APIs so that assistive technologies meet specialized accessibility needs.

Natural Language

Spoken, written, or signed human languages such as French, Japanese, and American Sign Language. The natural language of content may be indicated in markup (e.g., by the "lang" attribute in HTML 4.0 ([HTML40] section 8.1), the HTML 4.0 "hreflang" attribute for links ([HTML40], section 12.1.5), or by the HTTP Content-Language header ([RFC2616], section 14.12).

Properties, Values, and Defaults

A user agent renders a document by applying formatting algorithms and style information to the document's elements. Formatting depends on a number of factors, including where the document is rendered: on screen, paper, through speakers, a Braille device, a mobile device, etc. Style information (e.g., fonts, colors, voice inflection, etc.) may come from the elements themselves (e.g., certain style attributes in HTML), from style sheets, or from user agent settings. For the purposes of these guidelines, each formatting or style option is governed by a property and each property may take one value from a set of legal values. (The term "property" in this document has the meaning ascribed in CSS 2 ([CSS2], section 3). A reference to "styles" in this document means a set of style-related properties.

The value given to a property by a user agent when it is started up is called the property's default value. User agents may allow users to change default values through a variety of mechanisms (e.g., the user interface, style sheets, initialization files, etc.).

Once the user agent is running, the value of a property for a given document or part of a document may be changed from the default value. The value of the property at a given moment is called its current value. Note that changes in the current value of a property do not change its default value.

Current values may come from author styles, user styles, or user agent defaults.

Recognize

A user agent is said to recognize markup, content types, or rendering effects when it can identify (through built-in mechanisms, DTDs, style sheets, headers, etc) the information. For instance, HTML 3.2 user agents may not recognize the new elements or attributes of HTML 4.0. Similarly, a user agent may recognize blinking content specified by elements or attributes, but may not recognize that an applet is blinking. The Techniques Document [UA-TECHNIQUES] discusses some content that affects accessibility and should be recognized as such.

Rendered content

An element's rendered content is that which a user agent renders for the element. This may be what appears between the element's start and end tags, the value of an attribute (c.f. the "alt", "title", and "longdesc" attributes in HTML), or external data (e.g., the IMG element in HTML). Content may be rendered to a graphical display, to an auditory display (to a speaker as speech and non-speech sounds) or to a tactile display (Braille and haptic displays). Refer also to the description of alternative equivalents for content.

Selection, Current Selection

The user selection generally identifies a range of content (text, images, etc.) in a document. The selection may be structured (based on the document tree) or unstructured (e.g., text-based). Content may be selected through user interaction, scripts, etc. The selection may be used for a variety of purposes: for cut and paste operations, to designate a specific element in a document, to identify what a screen reader should read, etc.

The user selection may be set by the user (e.g., by a pointing device or the keyboard) or through an application programming interface (API). A viewport has at most one user selection (though the selection may be rendered graphically as discontinuous text fragments). When several viewports co-exist, each may have a user selection, but only one is active, called the current selection.

The user selection is usually presented in a way the stands out (e.g., highlighted). On the screen, the selection may be highlighted using colors, fonts, graphics, or other mechanisms. Highlighted text is often used by assistive technologies to indicate through speech or Braille output what the user wants to read. Most screen readers are sensitive to highlight colors. Assistive technologies may provide alternative presentation of the selection through speech, enlargement, or refreshable Braille display.

Text transcript

A text transcript is a text equivalent of audio information (e.g., an audio clip). It provides text for both spoken words and non-spoken sounds such as sound effects. Text transcripts make presentations accessible to people who are deaf-blind (they may be rendered as Braille) and to people who cannot play movies, animations, etc. Transcripts may be generated on the fly (e.g., by speech-to-text converters). Refer also to captions.

Spawned Viewport

Viewports that are created by the user agent process. This refers to viewports that display content and does not include, for example, messages or prompts to the user.

Standard Device APIs

Operating systems are designed to be used by default with devices such as pointing devices, keyboards, voice input, etc. The operating system (or windowing system) provides standard APIs for these devices that should be used by user agents and other software for input and output to those devices. For example, for desktop computers today, user agents are expected to use the mouse and keyboard APIs for input. For touch screen devices or mobile devices, standard input APIs may include stylus, buttons, voice, etc. The display and sound card are considered standard ouput devices for a graphical desktop computer environment and each has a standard API. Note. What is considered "standard" for a particular environment will change over time.

User-initiated and User Agent-initiated

User-initiated actions result from user input to the user agent. User Agent-initiated actions result from scripts, operating system conditions, or built-in user agent behavior.

User Agent

A user agent is an application that retrieves and renders Web resources, including text, graphics, sounds, video, images, and other objects. An user agent may require additional software to handle some types of content. For instance, a browser may run a separate program or plug-in to render sound or video. The additional software is also considered a user agent. User agents include graphical desktop browsers, multimedia players, text browsers, voice browsers, and assistive technologies such as screen readers, screen magnifiers, speech synthesizers, onscreen keyboards, and voice input software.

User Styles

Style property values that come from user interface settings, user style sheets, or other user interactions are called user styles.

Views, Viewports, Current View, and Point of Regard

User agents may handle different types of source information: documents, sound objects, video objects, etc. The user perceives the information through a viewport, which may be a window, frame, a piece of paper, a speaker, a virtual magnifying glass, etc. A viewport may contain another viewport (e.g., nested frames, plug-ins, etc.).

User agents may render the same content in a variety of ways; each rendering is called a view. For instance, a user agent may allow users to view an entire document or just a list of the document's headers. These are two different views of the document.

The view is how source information is rendered and the viewport is where it is rendered. Both the current focus and the current selection must be in the same viewport, called the current viewport. The current viewport is generally highlighted when several viewports co-exist.

Generally, viewports give users access to all rendered information, though not always at once. For example, a video player shows a certain number of frames per second, but allows the user to rewind and fast forward. A graphical browser viewport generally features scrollbars or some other paging mechanism that allows the user to bring the rendered content into the viewport.

The content currently available in the viewport is called the user's point of regard. Since users may be viewing content with browsers that render graphically, as speech, as Braille, etc., what is meant precisely by "the point of regard" may vary. It may, depending on the user agent and browsing context, refer to a two dimensional area (e.g., for graphical rendering) or a single point (e.g., for aural rendering or voice browsing). User agents should not change the point of regard unexpectedly as this can disorient users.

4. Acknowledgments

Many thanks to the following people who have contributed through review and comment: Paul Adelson, James Allan, Denis Anson, Kitch Barnicle, Harvey Bingham, Olivier Borius, Judy Brewer, Bryan Campbell, Kevin Carey, Wendy Chisholm, David Clark, Chetz Colwell, Wilson Craig, Nir Dagan, Daniel Dardailler, B. K. Delong, Neal Ewers, Geoff Freed, John Gardner, Al Gilman, Larry Goldberg, Glen Gordon, John Grotting, Markku Hakkinen, Eric Hansen, Earle Harrison, Chris Hasser, Kathy Hewitt, Philipp Hoschka, Masayasu Ishikawa, Phill Jenkins, Earl Johnson, Jan Kärrman (for help with html2ps), Leonard Kasday, George Kerscher, Peter Korn, Marja-Riitta Koivunen, Josh Krieger, Catherine Laws, Greg Lowney, Scott Luebking, William Loughborough, Napoleon Maou, Charles McCathieNevile, Peter Meijer, Karen Moses, Masafumi Nakane, Mark Novak, Charles Oppermann, Mike Paciello, David Pawson, Michael Pederson, Helen Petrie, David Poehlman, Michael Pieper, Jan Richards, Hans Riesebos, Joe Roeder, Lakespur L. Roca, Gregory Rosmaita, Lloyd Rutledge, Liam Quinn, T.V. Raman, Robert Savellis, Rich Schwerdtfeger, Constantine Stephanidis, Jim Thatcher, Jutta Treviranus, Claus Thogersen, Steve Tyler, Gregg Vanderheiden, Jaap van Lelieveld, Jon S. von Tetzchner, Willie Walker, Ben Weiss, Evan Wies, Chris Wilson, Henk Wittingen, and Tom Wlodkowski,

5. References

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

[CHARMOD]

"Character Model for the World Wide Web", M. Dürst, 25 February 1999. This W3C Working Draft is http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/WD-charmod-19990225.

[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.

[CSS2]

"CSS, level 2 Recommendation", B. Bos, H. Wium Lie, C. Lilley, and I. Jacobs, eds., 12 May 1998. This CSS2 Recommendation is http://www.w3.org/TR/1998/REC-CSS2-19980512.

[CSS-ACCESS]

"Accessibility Features of CSS", I. Jacobs, J. Brewer, The latest version of this W3C Note is available at http://www.w3.org/TR/CSS-access.

[DOM1]

"Document Object Model (DOM) Level 1 Specification", V. Apparao, S. Byrne, M. Champion, S. Isaacs, I. Jacobs, A. Le Hors, G. Nicol, J. Robie, R. Sutor, C. Wilson, and L. Wood, eds. The 1 October 1998 DOM Level 1 Recommendation is http://www.w3.org/TR/1998/REC-DOM-Level-1-19981001

[DOM2]

"Document Object Model (DOM) Level 2 Specification", L. Wood, A. Le Hors, V. Apparao, L. Cable, M. Champion, J. Kesselman, P. Le Hégaret, T. Pixley, J. Robie, P. Sharpe, C. Wilson, eds. The DOM2 specification is a Working Draft at the time of publication.

[HTML40]

"HTML 4.0 Recommendation", D. Raggett, A. Le Hors, and I. Jacobs, eds. The 24 April 1998 HTML 4.0 Recommendation is http://www.w3.org/TR/1998/REC-html40-19980424

[MATHML]

"Mathematical Markup Language", P. Ion and R. Miner, eds. The 7 April 1998 MathML 1.0 Recommendation is http://www.w3.org/TR/1998/REC-MathML-19980407

[MICROPAYMENT]

"Common Markup for micropayment per-fee-links", T. Michel, ed. The latest version of this W3C Working Draft is available at http://www.w3.org/TR/Micropayment-Markup.

[RFC2119]

"Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels", S. Bradner, March 1997.

[RFC2616]

"Hypertext Transfer Protocol -- HTTP/1.1, J. Gettys, J. Mogul, H. Frystyk, L. Masinter, P. Leach, T. Berners-Lee, June 1999.

[SMIL]

"Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL) 1.0 Specification", P. Hoschka, editor. The 15 June 1998 SMIL 1.0 Recommendation is http://www.w3.org/TR/1998/REC-smil-19980615

[SMIL-ACCESS]

"Accessibility Features of SMIL", M-R. Koivunen, I. Jacobs. The latest version of this W3C Note is available at http://www.w3.org/TR/SMIL-access.

[UA-CHECKLIST]

An appendix to this document lists all of the checkpoints, sorted by priority. The checklist is available in either tabular form (at http://www.w3.org/WAI/UA/WD-WAI-USERAGENT-19991206/full-checklist) or list form (at http://www.w3.org/WAI/UA/WD-WAI-USERAGENT-19991206/checkpoint-list).

[UA-TECHNIQUES]

"Techniques for User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0", J. Gunderson, I. Jacobs, eds. This document explains how to implement the checkpoints defined in "User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0". The draft of the Techniques Document available at the time of this document's publication is http://www.w3.org/WAI/UA/WD-WAI-USERAGENT-TECHS-19991206. The latest draft of the techniques is available at http://www.w3.org/WAI/UA/WAI-USERAGENT-TECHS/

[WAI-AUTOOLS]

"Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines", J. Treviranus, J. Richards, I. Jacobs, C. McCathieNevile, eds. The latest Working Draft of these guidelines for designing accessible authoring tools is available at http://www.w3.org/TR/WD-WAI-AUTOOLS/

[WAI-WEBCONTENT]

"Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0", W. Chisholm, G. Vanderheiden, and I. Jacobs, eds. The 5 May 1999 Recommendation is http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/WAI-WEBCONTENT-19990505

[WAI-WEBCONTENT-TECHS]

"Techniques for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0", W. Chisholm, G. Vanderheiden, and I. Jacobs, eds. The latest version of this document is available at http://www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT-TECHS

[WAI-WEBCONTENT-ERT]

"Techniques For Evaluation And Implementation Of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, C. Ridpath. The latest version of this Working Draft is available at http://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/IG/ert/.

[XML]

"Extensible Markup Language (XML) 1.0.", T. Bray, J. Paoli, C.M. Sperberg-McQueen, eds. The 10 February 1998 XML 1.0 Recommendation is http://www.w3.org/TR/1998/REC-xml-19980210

[XSLT]

"XSL Transformations (XSLT) Version 1.0", J. Clark. The 16 November 1999 Recommendation is http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/REC-xslt-19991116.