Long Description for JAWS for Windows List of Links Screen Shot

Abstract

This document describes a screen snap-shot contained in Techniques for User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0, which provides techniques for implementing the checkpoints defined in User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0.

There is no implied or presumed endorsement of the hardware or software used in this illustration. Its inclusion serves only as an example to developers of the viability of satisfying the requirements of UAAG checkpoints.

This document is part of a series of accessibility documents published by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

Status of this document

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 is a W3C Working Draft for review by W3C Members and other interested parties. 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 participants in the WAI User Agent (UA) Working Group.

Please send comments about this document to the public mailing list w3c-wai-ua@w3.org (public archives).

This document has been produced as part of the Web Accessibility Initiative. The goals of the User Agent Working Group are described in the charter. A list of the Working Group participants is available.

A list of current W3C Recommendations and other technical documents can be found at http://www.w3.org/TR.

Description of JFW's List of Links Screen Shot

Table of Contents

1. Brief Description of JFW's "List of Links" Dialog Box

2. How the JFW "List of Links" Works

3. Hardware and Software Utilized

4. List of ACCESSKEYs for this document

1. Brief Description of JFW 3.50.25's "List of Links" Dialog Box

NOTE 1: Unless otherwise noted, JFW's "HTML Options" have been left at their default settings. For more information about JFW's "HTML Options", consult the Long Description of JFW 3.5's Default HTML Options Property Sheet, and the accompanying Explanation of JFW 3.5's HTML Options.

NOTE 2: JFW 3.50.25 is the current distribution release of JAWS for Windows. For more information, consult the Henter-Joyce web site, located at: <http://www.hj.com/>

The file named jfw-list-of-links.gif contains a screen shot of Jaws for Window (JFW 3.50.25's "List of Links" feature, which is invoked using the Jaws-specific keystroke INSERT+F7.

The JFW "List of Links" dialog box consists of the following items, listed in tab-order:

1. a list box containing the list of links
2. a "Move to Link" button
3. an "Activate Link" button
4. a Cancel button
5. a "Sort Order" grouping of 2 radio buttons
6. a "Display" grouping of 3 radio buttons

In addition, there is a status bar -- reviewable upon demand, using the standard JFW keystroke for bottom-of- window review, INSERT+PageDown -- which exposes the HREF value defined for the chosen link.

(NOTE: Setting MSIE 5.01 to "Show Friendly URLs" does not change the display of the URL in the "List of Links" status bar.).

Each above-listed item is addressable via a HotKey.

By default, links are sorted by tabbing order. The user can quickly change the sorting criterion to alphabetic, either by tabbing to the radio button labeled "Alphabetically" (which is one of the radio buttons grouped under the "Sort Links" legend, which is echoed by JFW as a single string, "Sort Links Alphabetically", when the radio button receives focus) or by using the ALT+P hotkey.

There are also three "Display" options available to the user:

1. All Links
2. Visited Links Only
3. Unvisited Links

"Display All Links" is the default setting.

As with the "Sort Links" grouping, one can either tab to the "Display" grouping of radio buttons in order to change this value by selecting one of the 3 radio buttons, or one can use the hotkeys associated with each option (ALT+L, ALT+V, and ALT+U, respectively).

NOTE 1: By default, JFW speaks -- and, therefore, lists -- hyperlinks using the TITLE or ALT text defined for the link, if one is present. If no TITLE has been defined for the link, then the hyperlink text (i.e. the text contained between the <A HREF=""> and the </A>) is spoken. In the case of graphically defined hyperlinks, hyperlink text takes precedence over the ALT text defined for the IMG. Currently, this behavior can be modified only by changing the "Text Link Verbosity" setting in the "HTML Options" property sheet of the default JFW configuration file. Thus, one cannot dynamically change the level of "Text Link Verbosity" used in JFW "Links List" on-the-fly. For more information, consult the Long Description of JFW 3.5's Default HTML Options Property Sheet, and the Explanation of JFW 3.5's HTML Options.

NOTE 2: The 3.50.25 build of JFW offers three levels of "Text Link Verbosity":

1. "Speak Alt Tag or Title"
2. "Speak Screen Text"
3. "Speak Longest"

The "HTML Options" property sheet for the default JFW configuration file also allows one to tailor the announcement of graphics, as well as graphical links, on web pages. Neither the "text Link Verbosity" nor the "Graphic Link Verbosity" settings can be dynamically toggled in any mode. For more information, consult the Long Description of JFW 3.5's Default HTML Options Property Sheet, and the accompanying Explanation of JFW 3.5's HTML Options

NOTE 3: As one moves through the list of links, JFW identifies links using the TITLE or, if no TITLE is present, the hyperlink text defined for the link. The JFW "List of Links" does not discriminate between graphical and non-graphical hyperlinks, save that it will announce the ALT text defined for the image over any hyperlink text that may be included as part of the anchor. However, if the link associated with the graphic has a TITLE, the TITLE defined for the hyperlink takes precedence over the ALT text defined for the graphic.

NOTE 4: The 3.50.25 build of JFW does not announce any information about the status of and/or type of link as one moves through the list. This is in marked contrast to JFW's default action when using JFW's "Virtual PC Cursor" to either navigate blocks of text or when using JFW's "SpeakAll" command. Thus, using the JFW "List of Links", one cannot obtain the extended link type information available when one is reviewing content using the Virtual PC Cursor, which communicates with MSIE using Microsoft Active Accessibility (MSAA).

The supplemental information about links provided by JFW includes:

1. whether or not the link has been visited
2. whether the link is internal to the document ("this page link")
3. the type of link (i.e. "send mail link"; "image map link"; "ftp link"; etc.)

Sub-Note 4.1: "SpeakAll" is JFW's default action when MSIE 5.01 completely loads a document--please consult the section entitled "A Brief Overview of The User's Experience of Documents Rendered by MSIE 5x When Using JFW 3.5's Virtual PC Cursor" for more information on how the user experiences pages rendered by MSIE 5x when read using JFW 3.5

Sub-Note 4.2: For more information about the type of pseudo-elemental information provided by JFW 3.5 when using the Virtual PC Cursor, consult the section entitled Long Description of JFW 3.5's Default HTML Options Property Sheet, and the accompanying Explanation of JFW 3.5's HTML Options

2. How the JFW "List of Links" works

Hyperlinks are presented in a list box. When the list of links is invoked via the INSERT+F7 keystroke, focus is established in the list box. If the "List of Links" feature is invoked when a page is loaded (i.e. before the user has established focus), the first listed link is highlit.

One can discern the relative position of the link in the list of links using JFW's "Say Window Prompt and Text" command (INSERT+TAB), which causes JAWS to announce:

1. the dialog box title (Links List)
2. the type of control with focus (list view)
3. the current item with focus (the TITLE or hyperlink text defined for the link)
4. the relative position of the link in the list of links (X of Y, where Y is the total number of links)

This orientational mechanism can assist the user, as the first piece of information JFW announces about a page is the number of links it contains. ("Page Has Y Links")

If one invokes the "List of Links" feature after interrupting speech or after manually moving through the page using the Virtual PC cursor, the system cursor is placed on the link which either enjoys the Virtual PC cursor's current point-of-regard or the nearest link to the Virtual PC cursor's point-of-regard. For example, if one used the Virtual PC cursor to move to the following sentence, in which the hyperlink text is displayed in blue underlined text, so as to simulate the visual rendering of the hyperlink by a grapical user agent,

A list presentation of this table is also available.

one would hear:

A this page link list presentation of this table is also available.

Pressing INSERT+F7 would spawn the JFW "List of Links", with the "list presentation of this table" link highlit. Similarly, if one were simply listening to the page using JFW's "SpeakAll" feature, heard the sentence cited above, stopped speech, and then pressed the INSERT+F7 key combination, the list item

list presentation of this table

would be the item-with-focus when the "List of Links" is spawned.

(Note: By default, when a page finishes loading, JFW announces the total number of links in the document, and then begins to "SpeakAll". Speech can be squelched by depressing the CONTROL key.)

Choosing "Move to Link" causes the Virtual PC Cursor to be moved to the chosen link, without activating the link. By default, in build 3.50.25, JFW tracks the Virtual PC Cursor with MSIE's system caret.

3. Hardware and Software Utilized

Computer:

Gateway Solo Laptop (LS2500)

RAM: 224MB

CPU: Pentium II, 366MHz

OS: Windows95 (version 4.01.0.971.B)

Video Card Details:

type: NeoMagic MagicGraph 128XD

software version: 4.10.01.0009-Q6.16.02

drivers: nmgc.drv, nmgcVdd.vxd,NmgcDD.dll

Sound Card: NeoMagic MagicWave 3DX Sound System

driver: NMA255.VXD version >4.0.13.2420

Speech Synthesizers:

Software Synthesizer: Eloquence for JFW

Hardware Synthesizer: DECTalk Express (using JFW-supplied device drivers)

Screen-Reader: JAWS for Windows 3.50.25

Note: Using JFW desktop keyboard layout, in conjunction with a MicronPC Windows95 keyboard.

User Agent:

MSIE 5.01 Version: 5.00.2919.6307

Cipher Strength: 128-bit

4. List of ACCESSKEYs

• 1 (Section 1: Description of JFW's "List of Links")
• 2 (Section 2: Explanation of JFW's "List of Links")
• 3 (Section 3: Software & Hardware Used)
• 4 (Section 4: List of ACCESSKEYs -- this list)
• A (Abstract)
• C (Contents)
• G (User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0
• T (Techniques for User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0