The Web Accessibility Toolbar 2.0 and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines [WCAG 1.0]
Introduction
The toolbar contains many functions for examining discrete aspects of a web page's content and code. These can be used as an aid for manual checking of many of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines' Checkpoints. None of the toolbar functions listed will tell you whether a page conforms to a particular checkpoint, but they will help you in assessing conformance.
Examples:
For Checkpoint 4.1 Clearly identify changes in the natural language of a document's text.
The 'Doc Info > Show Lang attributes' function will identify language specifications in the code. If the primary language of the page has been specified it will insert the HTML language specification at the top of the content. Any other language specification will be highlighted at the start and end of its scope.
Check that all content in a different language has been identified.
For Checkpoint 3.3 Use style sheets to control layout and presentation.
The 'CSS > Disable CSS' function will render the page without CSS (whether in-line, in-page or from an external file). If non-default colour, font family, font size, etc is still visible then non-CSS presentational specifications are most likely being used. If content still renders in column formats then tables are most likely being used (i.e., non-CSS control of layout).
For Checkpoint 3.5 Use header elements to convey document structure and use them according to specification.
The 'Structure > Headings' function will identify heading markup (i.e., h1 - h6 elements) in the code and highlight their content in the page.
Check that every visual heading has been marked up as a heading and check that the first heading level is an 'h1', the nesting of heading markup is correct, and that heading levels are not skipped.
The 'Structure > Heading Structure' function can be used to check for appropriate heading nesting.
Priority 1 checkpoints
| In General (Priority 1) | Toolbar Function |
|---|---|
| checkpoint1.1 Provide a text equivalent for every non-text element (e.g., via "alt", "longdesc", or in element content). This includes: images, graphical representations of text (including symbols), image map regions, animations (e.g., animated GIFs), applets and programmatic objects, asciiart, frames, scripts, images used as list bullets, spacers, graphical buttons, sounds (played with or without user interaction), stand-alone audio files, audio tracks of video, and video. | Images
|
| checkpoint2.1 Ensure that all information conveyed with color is also available without color, for example from context or markup. | Colour
|
| checkpoint4.1 Clearly identify changes in the natural language of a document's text and any text equivalents (e.g., captions). | Doc Info
|
| checkpoint6.1 Organize documents so they may be read without style sheets. For example, when an HTML document is rendered without associated style sheets, it must still be possible to read the document. | CSS
|
| checkpoint6.2 Ensure that equivalents for dynamic content are updated when the dynamic content changes. | IE
|
| checkpoint7.1 Until user agents allow users to control flickering, avoid causing the screen to flicker. | Images
|
| checkpoint14.1 Use the clearest and simplest language appropriate for a site's content. | Check
|
| And if you use images and image maps (Priority 1) | |
| checkpoint1.2 Provide redundant text links for each active region of a server-side image map. | Images
|
| checkpoint9.1 Provide client-side image maps instead of server-side image maps except where the regions cannot be defined with an available geometric shape. | Images
|
| And if you use tables (Priority 1) | |
| checkpoint5.1 For data tables, identify row and column headers. | Tables
|
| checkpoint5.2 For data tables that have two or more logical levels of row or column headers, use markup to associate data cells and header cells. | Tables
|
| And if you use frames (Priority 1) | |
| checkpoint12.1 Title each frame to facilitate frame identification and navigation. | Frames
|
| And if you use applets and scripts (Priority 1) | |
| checkpoint6.3 Ensure that pages are usable when scripts, applets, or other programmatic objects are turned off or not supported. If this is not possible, provide equivalent information on an alternative accessible page. | IE
|
| And if you use multimedia (Priority 1) | |
| checkpoint1.3 Until user agents can automatically read aloud the text equivalent of a visual track, provide an auditory description of the important information of the visual track of a multimedia presentation. | Doc Info
|
| checkpoint1.4 For any time-based multimedia presentation (e.g., a movie or animation), synchronize equivalent alternatives (e.g., captions or auditory descriptions of the visual track) with the presentation. | Doc Info
|
| And if all else fails (Priority 1) | |
| checkpoint11.4 If, after best efforts, you cannot create an accessible page, provide a link to an alternative page that uses W3C technologies, is accessible, has equivalent information (or functionality), and is updated as often as the inaccessible (original) page. | None |
Priority 2 checkpoints
| In General (Priority 2) | Toolbar Function |
|---|---|
| checkpoint2.2 Ensure that foreground and background color combinations provide sufficient contrast when viewed by someone having color deficits or when viewed on a black and white screen. [Priority 2 for images, Priority 3 for text]. | Colour
|
| checkpoint3.1 When an appropriate markup language exists, use markup rather than images to convey information. | Images
|
| checkpoint3.2 Create documents that validate to published formal grammars. | Check
|
| checkpoint3.3 Use style sheets to control layout and presentation. | CSS
|
| checkpoint3.4 Use relative rather than absolute units in markup language attribute values and style sheet property values. | CSS
|
| checkpoint3.5 Use header elements to convey document structure and use them according to specification. | Structure
|
| checkpoint3.6 Mark up lists and list items properly. | Structure
|
| checkpoint3.7 Mark up quotations. Do not use quotation markup for formatting effects such as indentation. | Structure
|
| checkpoint6.5 Ensure that dynamic content is accessible or provide an alternative presentation or page. | IE
|
| checkpoint7.2 Until user agents allow users to control blinking, avoid causing content to blink (i.e., change presentation at a regular rate, such as turning on and off). | Images
|
| checkpoint7.4 Until user agents provide the ability to stop the refresh, do not create periodically auto-refreshing pages. | Doc Info
|
| checkpoint7.5 Until user agents provide the ability to stop auto-redirect, do not use markup to redirect pages automatically. Instead, configure the server to perform redirects. | Doc Info
|
| checkpoint10.1 Until user agents allow users to turn off spawned windows, do not cause pop-ups or other windows to appear and do not change the current window without informing the user. | Doc Info
|
| checkpoint11.1 Use W3C technologies when they are available and appropriate for a task and use the latest versions when supported. | Doc Info
|
| checkpoint11.2 Avoid deprecated features of W3C technologies. | Doc Info
|
| checkpoint12.3 Divide large blocks of information into more manageable groups where natural and appropriate. | Structure
|
| checkpoint13.1 Clearly identify the target of each link. | Doc Info
|
| checkpoint13.2 Provide metadata to add semantic information to pages and sites. | Doc Info
|
| checkpoint13.3 Provide information about the general layout of a site (e.g., a site map or table of contents). | None |
| checkpoint13.4 Use navigation mechanisms in a consistent manner. | None |
| And if you use tables (Priority 2) | |
| checkpoint5.3 Do not use tables for layout unless the table makes sense when linearized. Otherwise, if the table does not make sense, provide an alternative equivalent (which may be a linearized version). | Tables
|
| checkpoint5.4 If a table is used for layout, do not use any structural markup for the purpose of visual formatting. | Tables
|
| And if you use frames (Priority 2) | |
| checkpoint12.2 Describe the purpose of frames and how frames relate to each other if it is not obvious by frame titles alone. | Frames
|
| And if you use forms (Priority 2) | |
| checkpoint10.2 Until user agents support explicit associations between labels and form controls, for all form controls with implicitly associated labels, ensure that the label is properly positioned. | None |
| checkpoint12.4 Associate labels explicitly with their controls. | Structure
|
| And if you use applets and scripts (Priority 2) | |
| checkpoint6.4 For scripts and applets, ensure that event handlers are input device-independent. | Source
|
| checkpoint7.3 Until user agents allow users to freeze moving content, avoid movement in pages. | None |
| checkpoint8.1 Make programmatic elements such as scripts and applets directly accessible or compatible with assistive technologies [Priority 1 if functionality is important and not presented elsewhere, otherwise Priority 2.] | Source
|
| checkpoint9.2 Ensure that any element that has its own interface can be operated in a device-independent manner. | Doc Info
|
| checkpoint9.3 For scripts, specify logical event handlers rather than device-dependent event handlers. | Structure
|
Priority 3 checkpoints
| In General (Priority 3) | Toolbar Function |
|---|---|
| checkpoint4.2 Specify the expansion of each abbreviation or acronym in a document where it first occurs. | Structure
|
| checkpoint4.3 Identify the primary natural language of a document. | Doc Info
|
| checkpoint9.4 Create a logical tab order through links, form controls, and objects. | Structure
|
| checkpoint9.5 Provide keyboard shortcuts to important links (including those in client-side image maps), form controls, and groups of form controls. | Structure
|
| checkpoint10.5 Until user agents (including assistive technologies) render adjacent links distinctly, include non-link, printable characters (surrounded by spaces) between adjacent links. | None |
| checkpoint11.3 Provide information so that users may receive documents according to their preferences (e.g., language, content type, etc.) | None |
| checkpoint13.5 Provide navigation bars to highlight and give access to the navigation mechanism. | None |
| checkpoint13.6 Group related links, identify the group (for user agents), and, until user agents do so, provide a way to bypass the group. | Doc Info
|
| checkpoint13.7 If search functions are provided, enable different types of searches for different skill levels and preferences. | None |
| checkpoint13.8 Place distinguishing information at the beginning of headings, paragraphs, lists, etc. | None |
| checkpoint13.9 Provide information about document collections (i.e., documents comprising multiple pages). | Doc Info
|
| checkpoint13.10 Provide a means to skip over multi-line ASCII art. | Doc Info
|
| checkpoint14.2 Supplement text with graphic or auditory presentations where they will facilitate comprehension of the page. | None |
| checkpoint14.3 Create a style of presentation that is consistent across pages. | None |
| And if you use images and image maps (Priority 3) | |
| checkpoint1.5 Until user agents render text equivalents for client-side image map links, provide redundant text links for each active region of a client-side image map. | Images
|
| And if you use tables (Priority 3) | |
| checkpoint5.5 Provide summaries for tables. | Tables
|
| checkpoint5.6 Provide abbreviations for header labels. | Source
|
| checkpoint10.3 Until user agents (including assistive technologies) render side-by-side text correctly, provide a linear text alternative (on the current page or some other) for alltables that lay out text in parallel, word-wrapped columns. | none |
| And if you use forms (Priority 3) | |
| checkpoint10.4 Until user agents handle empty controls correctly, include default, place-holding characters in edit boxes and text areas. | none |
Credits
Thanks to Jane Berliss-Vincent for ppdating this page for the WAT version 2.0 (January 2008)
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