Accesskey The accesskey attribute allows page authors to define a shortcut key for interactive page elements (e.g., <a href=”search.htm” accesskey=”s”>Search</a> defines “s” as the accesskey for the search page). Browsers provide varying keyboard shortcut combinations to activate this accesskey. Because of the wide variety of browser and assistive technology shortcut keys, and because there is […]
Read Full Post »
Server-side Image Maps Server-side image maps (typically an <img> with the ismap attribute) allows x and y coordinates of where a user clicks the image with a mouse to be sent to a server for processing. For example, for a state map, the x and y coordinates of where the user clicks could be analyzed […]
Read Full Post »
Image Maps Image maps allow an image to have defined clickable areas or ‘hotspots’. These hotspots are defined in the <area> element using coordinates for geometric shapes. The hotspots are navigated by keyboard users in the order in which they are defined in the source code. The order should be logical – usually either left-to-right, […]
Read Full Post »
Simplify Data Tables Accessibility of data tables can be achieved by identifying table headers and defining whether they are row or column headers (for example, <th scope=”col”>). Complex tables (those that have more than one level of row or column header, or spanned data or header cells) can easily become too complex for screen reader […]
Read Full Post »
Layout Tables Tables in HTML are intended for tabular data. Although using tables for page layout is not considered best practice, this typically has minimal impact on accessibility, as long as two primary guidelines are kept in mind. First, do not use any markup that is typically used to identify data tables. This includes table […]
Read Full Post »
Pop-up Windows Pop-up windows (new windows that are triggered automatically or when a user activates a link) can cause confusion and disorientation for all users. While screen readers typically indicate that a new window has opened, managing multiple windows can be complicated, especially for blind users. Because of the various difficulties with pop-up windows, they […]
Read Full Post »
