RE: Using Frames - what problems do screen readers have?

...Regarding frames, it is my understanding that all you need to do to make
the frameset accessible is to use the title attribute on the frameset for
each frame.  But I have no idea how screen readers interpret this.


<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Frameset//EN">

<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>Title of Your Page</TITLE>
</HEAD>

<FRAMESET cols="10%, 90%"
TITLE="Our library of electronic documents"> 
<FRAME SRC="nav.html" title="Navigation bar"> 
<FRAME SRC="doc.html" title="Documents">

</FRAMESET>
 

  Juan C. Ulloa
* Website Specialist 
* Web Services * Bellevue Community College
* julloa@bcc.ctc.edu
* (425) 564-2487
* Mailstop: D261

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Eileen O'Brien [mailto:eobrien@hubbardone.com]
> Sent: Monday, November 17, 2003 10:05 AM
> To: w3c-wai-ig@w3.org
> Subject: RE: Using Frames - what problems do screen readers have?
> 
> 
> Unfortunately I'm not completely aware of the accessibility issues with
> include files, but I know that rather than framesets, I usually build
> sites referencing an include for what would be the left-hand navigation
> frame or header frame (for sites built with ASP).  This allows you to have
> just 1 file that you are updating with navigation elements etc. and it
> helps site performance.  Speaking of which, does anyone know about the
> accessibility issues with .inc files?  I imagine there are issues I'm
> unaware of.
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Eileen
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Julian Voelcker [mailto:asp@tvw.net]
> Sent: Monday, November 17, 2003 11:52 AM
> To: w3c-wai-ig@w3.org
> Subject: Using Frames - what problems do screen readers have?
> 
> 
> 
> I understand that whilst it is not recommended, it is possible to
> create accessible frames.
> 
> We have a web based application that uses frames to split the screen up
> so you have a header strip across the top of the screen, a menu strip
> down the left hand side and then the main area of the screen is split
> horizontally with listings in the top half of the screen and details in
> the bottom half of the screen.
> 
> Users select an area to work on from the menu on the left and then
> browse through the listing to select a particular item that is launched
> in the details frame.  Most of the work in the application is based on
> jumping between the listing and details pages.
> 
> We are just about to redevelop the application in a bid to make it more
> accessible, however want to try to avoid dropping the use of frames
> because they are quite integral to the functionality and loosing them
> will result in a lot more trips to the server and a lot more scrolling
> of the pages.
> 
> I would be interested to hear your comments.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Julian Voelcker
> Cirencester, United Kingdom

Received on Monday, 17 November 2003 13:38:29 UTC