This document is an appendix to the W3C "User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0". It provides a list of all
checkpoints from the User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0, organized by concept, as a checklist
for user agent developers. Please refer to the Guidelines document
for introductory information, information about related documents, a
glossary of terms, and more.
This list may be used to review a tool or set of tools for
accessibility. For each checkpoint, indicate whether the checkpoint
has been satisfied, has not been satisfied, or is not applicable.
A tabular version of
the list of checkpoints is also available (e.g., for printing).
This section describes the status of this document at the time
of its publication. Other documents may supersede this document. The
latest status of this document series is maintained at the W3C.
This document is an appendix to a Working Draft.
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.
This document has been produced as part of the Web Accessibility Initiative.
The goal of the WAI User Agent
Guidelines Working Group is discussed in the Working Group
charter.
A list of current W3C Recommendations and other technical documents
can be found at http://www.w3.org/TR.
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.
Priority 1 checkpoints
In General (Priority 1)
User Interface (Priority 1)
Device Independence (Priority 1)
- 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.
(Techniques for 1.1)
- 1.3 Ensure that the user can interact with all active elements in a device-independent manner.
(Techniques for 1.3)
- 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.).
(Techniques for 1.5)
For Tables (Priority 1)
- 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).
(Techniques for 7.3)
- 8.1 Convey the author-specified purpose of each table and the relationships among the table cells and headers.
(Techniques for 8.1)
For Images, Animations, and Image Maps (Priority 1)
For Synchronized Multimedia (Priority 1)
- 2.3 Provide time-independent access to time-dependent active elements or allow the user to control the timing of changes.
(Techniques for 2.3)
- 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.
(Techniques for 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.
(Techniques for 2.7)
- 2.8 If a technology allows for more than one audio track, allow the user to choose from among tracks.
(Techniques for 2.8)
- 3.3 Allow the user to turn on and off rendering of video.
(Techniques for 3.3)
- 3.4 When the user agent renders audio natively, allow the user to turn on and off rendering of audio.
(Techniques for 3.4)
- 4.8 Allow the user to control video frame rates.
(Techniques for 4.8)
- 4.9 Allow the user to control the position of captions.
(Techniques for 4.9)
- 4.11 Allow the user to control audio playback rate.
(Techniques for 4.11)
For Events, Applets, and Scripts (Priority 1)
- 3.7 Allow the user to turn on and off support for scripts and applets.
(Techniques for 3.7)
- 9.1 Provide information about user agent-initiated content and viewport changes through the user interface and through APIs.
(Techniques for 9.1)
For Standards and Conventions (Priority 1)
- 1.2 Use the standard input and output device APIs of the operating system.
(Techniques for 1.2)
- 5.1 Provide accessible APIs to other technologies.
(Techniques for 5.1)
- 5.2 Conform to W3C Document Object Model specifications and export interfaces defined by those specifications.
(Techniques for 5.2)
- 5.3 Use accessibility resources and conventions of the operating system and supported programming languages, including those for plug-ins and virtual machine environments.
(Techniques for 5.3)
- 5.4 Provide programmatic read and write access to user agent functionalities and user interface controls.
(Techniques for 5.4)
- 5.6 Provide programmatic notification of changes to content and user interface controls (including selection and focus).
(Techniques for 5.6)
- 6.1 Implement the accessibility features of supported specifications (markup languages, style sheet languages, metadata languages, graphics formats, etc.).
(Techniques for 6.1)
Priority 2 checkpoints
In General (Priority 2)
User Interface (Priority 2)
- 4.16 Allow the user to control synthesized speech pitch, gender, and other articulation characteristics.
(Techniques for 4.16)
- 4.18 Allow the user to control user agent-initiated spawned viewports.
(Techniques for 4.18)
- 8.5 Provide an outline view of a resource built from the resource's structural elements (e.g., frames, headers, lists, forms, tables, etc.)
(Techniques for 8.5)
- 9.2 Ensure that when the selection or focus changes, it is in a viewport after the change.
(Techniques for 9.2)
- 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).
(Techniques for 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.).
(Techniques for 10.3)
- 10.5 Avoid default input configurations that interfere with operating system conventions.
(Techniques for 10.5)
- 10.6 Allow the user to configure the user agent in named profiles that may be shared (by other users or software).
(Techniques for 10.6)
For Links (Priority 2)
For Forms (Priority 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.
(Techniques for 9.3)
For Images, Animations, and Image Maps (Priority 2)
For Synchronized Multimedia (Priority 2)
For Standards and Conventions (Priority 2)
- 5.7 Provide programmatic exchange of information in a timely manner.
(Techniques for 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.
(Techniques for 5.8)
- 6.2 Conform to W3C specifications when they are appropriate for a task.
(Techniques for 6.2)
Priority 3 checkpoints
In General (Priority 3)
- 2.5 When a text equivalent for content is explicitly empty (i.e., an empty string), render nothing.
(Techniques for 2.5)
- 2.9 For identified but unsupported natural languages, allow the user to request notification of language changes.
(Techniques for 2.9)
- 7.8 Allow the user to configure structured navigation.
(Techniques for 7.8)
- 8.8 Provide a mechanism for highlighting and identifying (through a standard interface where available) active elements.
(Techniques for 8.8)
- 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.
(Techniques for 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.).
(Techniques for 9.6)
User Interface (Priority 3)
- 3.9 Allow the user to turn on and off author-specified forwards that occur after a time delay and without user intervention.
(Techniques for 3.9)
- 3.10 Allow the user to turn on and off automatic content refresh.
(Techniques for 3.10)
- 8.6 Allow the user to configure the outline view.
(Techniques for 8.6)
- 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.
(Techniques for 8.9)
- 10.7 Provide default input configurations for frequently performed operations.
(Techniques for 10.7)
- 10.8 Allow the user to configure the graphical arrangement of user interface controls.
(Techniques for 10.8)
For Links (Priority 3)
For Images, Animations, and Image Maps (Priority 3)
For Events, Applets, and Scripts (Priority 3)
- 9.4 Allow the user to configure notification preferences for common types of content and viewport changes.
(Techniques for 9.4)