Here’s a video on Yahoo!’s YUI Blog that gives a good example of how screen magnifier tools are used. Karo Caran walks us through ZoomText 9.1.
Karo Caran and Victor Tsaran: “Introduction to Screen Magnifiers”
Dennis and Ross discuss several announcements and news items, then go into detail on how, why and when the REL attribute is used and its use for web accessibility.
Download Web Axe Episode 52 (REL Attribute)
Uses of the REL attribute:
- Stylesheets linking
- RSS feed linking
- Browser-Based Navigation (next, prev, content, index, etc)
- Handle for Unobtrusive Javascript
- Nofollow to disallow robot “clickthrus”
- Shortcut icon
- More!
Links
- REL attribute from the W3C
- Link types from the W3C
- Changing the Scope of Link Relationships
- What is the proper use of the ‘rel’ attribute?
- Day 9: Providing additional navigation aids – Dive Into Accessibility
- Lightbox
News & Announcements:
- Accessibility Jobs at Yodlee
- A Video Interview with Shawn Henry, From California to Japan
- Flash Captioning Seminar
- Refresh Detroit
E-shop accessibility: from theory to reality is an article from Juicy Studio discussing issues and proposed solutions for web accessible e-commerce web sites.
Here’s a thoughtful response from Accessibility expert Joe Dolson in his post Accessible e-Commerce Tips.
Option lists with many items may cause problems for users with assistive technology, such as screen readers. The solution is to use the Optgroup element to split options in the Select list into manageable groups. This also better practice for usability.
Download Web Axe Episode 51 (Option Groups [OptGroup])
WCAG 1.0 says: Guideline 2.3 Divide large blocks of information into more manageable groups where natural and appropriate. [Priority 2]
Links
- The SELECT, OPTGROUP, and OPTION elements (W3C)
- Grouping Form Controls (W3C)
- Accessibility Conformance Tests, Further Improvements
- Accessible Forms from HTML Dog
Sample Code:
News
- What is an on-screen keyboard?
- WCAG 2.0 Polishing the Rough Edges from Jared Smith at WebAIM
Improving accessibility for motor impaired users is a great article from WebCredible.com.
Topics include:
- Provide the largest possible area for links
- Use a focus state for links
- Provide a visible ‘skip to content’ link
- Have users opt in for audio
- What not to do