Accessibility Guidelines for Authoring Tools: Conformance Evaluation Process

Is your tool:

If the answer to any of these questions is "yes", then the authoring tool accessibility guidelines apply to your softare.  This document will help you determine whether your tool complies with the guidleines or not.

 

General Questions:

1: [Priority 2] Does the tool support the latest version of all the markup languages it can be used to produce? (2.1)

PART 1: Images (including Image Maps)

IMPORTANT NOTE: Not all the image-related checkpoints in the guidelines apply to all kinds of tools. Therefore, the image part of the conformance evaluation process has been split into two sections:

SECTION A (Tool is a Markup Editor)

IMPORTANT DEFINITION: Equivalent Alternatives (EA)

An equivalent alternative (EA) is content that fulfills essentially the same function or purpose upon presentation to the user as the potentially inaccessible primary content. EAs play an important role in accessible authoring practices since certain types of content may not be accessible to all users (e.g., video, images, audio, etc.). For more information, see the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines WCAG 1.0.

The Images Part of this document will refer to two priorities (1 and 3; there are 2's) of EAs according to the priority assigned to it by the WCAG 1.0 recommendation. If a priority is not specified then both priority levels are assumed. The following is a list of EAs followed by their priority and the relevant WCAG checkpoint that assigned the priority.

for Images:

  • img:alt, img:longdesc, input:alt (HTML) - [Priority 1] (wcag 1.1)
  • g:title, g:desc (SVG) - [Priority 1] (wcag 1.1)
  • img:alt, img:longdesc, img:text (SMIL) - [Priority 1] (wcag 1.1)

for Image Maps:

  • area:alt (HTML) - [Priority 1] (wcag 1.1)
  • server-side image map regions:redundant text links (HTML) - [Priority 1] (wcag 1.2)
  • client-side image map regions:redundant text links (HTML) - [Priority 3] (wcag 1.5)

for Objects displaying Images:

  • object: text equivalent in the element content (HTML) - [Priority 1] (wcag 1.2)

NOTE: It is assumed that the term EA will refer to those EAs appropriate to the type of markup or image produced. (ex. an HTML editor only needs to be checked for the EAs relevant to HTML)

Inserting an Image:

INSTRUCTIONS: Use the tool to insert an image into a document and then answer questions X to Y. If the tool is capable of inserting an image by drag and drop, test this method as well. Answer questions Q1 to Q4.

Q1: [Priority 1] Did the tool allow you to add the Equivalent Alternatives (EAs) for the image (including typing one by hand after insertion)? (1.1)

Q2: [Priority 1] Did the tool automatically generate EAs based on the file name, size or other information that is not necessarily related to the function of the image.? (3.4)

Q3: [Priority 2] Did the tool support the PNG format for inserting raster images and the SVG format for inserting vector graphics? (2.1)

Q4: [Priority 3] Does the tool let you search for, reuse or otherwise manage the EAs of images? (3.5)

Saving:

INSTRUCTIONS: Use the tool to save the document. Answer questions Q5 and Q6.

Q5: [Priority 1] Did the tool prompt (require, suggest or notify you of the absence of information and then provide a means for rectifying the situation) you to add Priority 1 EAs for all the images at some point during the creation of the document (ex. at insertion of each image, after the successful save, etc.)? (3.1)

Q6: [Priority 3] Did the tool prompt (require, suggest or notify you of the absence of information and then provide a means for rectifying the situation) for the addition of Priority 3   EAs for all the images at some point during the creation of the document (ex. at insertion of each image, after the successful save, etc.)? (3.1)

Re-saving and Reformatting:

INSTRUCTIONS: Create a new file with the following markup (appropriate to the tool). The EAs are shown in bold. Open the file using the authoring tool. Save the file and re-open it in a text editor. Answer question Q7.

HTML:

<html> <head> <title> </title> </head> <body>

<img src="map.gif" alt="Map of the world" longdesc="mapdesc.html">

<form method="POST" action="http://somesite.com/prog/someprog">
<p><input type="image" src="map.gif" name="mapbutton" alt="Buy map"></form>

<img src="map.gif" alt="Image map of the world" usemap="#map1">
<p>[<a href="na.html">North America</a>]
[<a href="sa.html">South America</a>]</p>
<map name="map1">
<area shape="rect" coords="0,0,30,30" href="na.html" alt="North America">
<area shape="rect" coords="34,34,100,100" href="sa.html" alt="South America"></map>

<a href="http://myserver.com/cgi-bin/imagemap/my-map">
<img src="map.gif" alt="World map (Text links follow)" ismap></a>
<p>[<a href="na.html">North America</a>]
[<a href="sa.html">South America</a>]</p>

<object data="magnify.gif" type="image/gif">Search</object>

</body> </html>

Q7: [Priority 1] Does the tool preserve the values of the EAs during re-saving? (1.2)

INSTRUCTIONS: Create a new file with the markup above (appropriate to the tool). Then "Round-trip" the file by saving it as another format and then saving it back to the original (note: for this to work, the other format chosen must include equivalent EAs, ex. HTML to XHTML and back).  Answer question Q8.

Q8: [Priority 1] Does the tool preserve the values of the EAs during reformatting? (1.2)

INSTRUCTIONS: Create a new file with the following markup (appropriate to the tool). Open the file using the authoring tool. Save the file and re-open it in a text editor. Answer questions Q9 and Q10.

HTML:

<html> <head> <title> </title> </head> <body>
<img src="test.gif" alt="test alt" longdesc="test.html" testattr="test for preserving unknown attributes">
</body> </html>

Q9: [Priority 2] Does the tool preserve the unrecognized markup? ( 4.3)

Q10: [Priority 3] Does the tool notify you that the output of the tool does not conform to W3C specifications (due to the new attribute)? (2.3)

Automatic Markup Generation:

INSTRUCTIONS: If the tool has the ability to add entire elements (ex. IMG),  a groups of elements (toolbar generator) or even build a page for you (ex. a wizard), then use it to generate a page that contains at least one image. Save the file and re-open it in a text editor. Answer questions Q11 to Q13.

Q11: [Priority 1] Does the tool automatically generate valid image markup (ex. is the required ALT attribute present for all HTML4 IMG elements)? (2.2)

Q12: [Priority 1] Are meaningful Priority 1 EAs included for the generated images? (1.3)

Q13: [Priority 3] Are meaningful Priority EAs included for the generated images? (1.3)

Bundled Web Content:

INSTRUCTIONS: If the tool includes templates, open one that has at least one image. Answer questions Q14 and Q15.

Q14: [Priority 1] Are Priority 1 EAs included for the images in the template? (1.4)

Q15: [Priority 3] Are Priority 3 EAs included for the images in the template? (1.4)

INSTRUCTIONS: If the tool includes bundled images (ex. clipart) , insert some into the document. Answer questions Q16 and Q17.

Q16: [Priority 1] Do the images include pre-written Priority 1 EAs? (3.3)

Q17: [Priority 3] Do the images include pre-written Priority 3 EAs? (3.3)

Checking for Accessibility:

INSTRUCTIONS: Create a new file with the following markup (appropriate to the tool) that has had its EAs removed. Open the file using the authoring tool. Answer questions Q18 to Q21.

HTML:

<html> <head> <title> </title> </head> <body>

<img src="map.gif">

<form method="POST" action="http://somesite.com/prog/someprog">
<p><input type="image" src="map.gif" name="mapbutton"></form>

<img src="map.gif" alt="Image map of the world" usemap="#map1">
<map name="map1">
<area shape="rect" coords="0,0,30,30" href="na.html">
<area shape="rect" coords="34,34,100,100" href="sa.html"></map>

<a href="http://myserver.com/cgi-bin/imagemap/my-map">
<img src="map.gif" ismap></a>

<object data="magnify.gif" type="image/gif"></object>

</body> </html>

Q18: [Priority 1] Does the tool check for and notify you when Priority 1 EAs for images are absent? (4.1)

Q19: [Priority 1] Does the tool assist you to add Priority 1 EAs for images when they are found to be absent? (4.2)

Q20: [Priority 3] Does the tool check for and notify you when Priority 3 EAs for images are absent? (4.1)

Q21: [Priority 3] Does the tool assist you to add Priority 3 EAs for images when they are found to be absent? (4.2)

Documentation:

INSTRUCTIONS: Open the tool's documentation. Answer questions Q22 to Q24.

Q22: [Priority 1] Is there documentation for all the features of the tool concerned with addding EAs for images? (6.1)

Q23: [Priority 2] Does the documentation regarding the EAs for images appear well integrated with the rest of the documentation (ex. do all images in the examples include EAs)? (6.2)

Q24: [Priority 3] Is there a dedicated section that documents all the features of the tool concerned with addding EAs for images? (6.3)

User Interface Presence:

INSTRUCTIONS: Insert another image into a document. Then select the image and edit its EAs. Answer question Q25.

Q25: [Priority 2] Does functionality for adding and editing the EAs for images appear well integrated with the overall look and feel of the tool (ex. included within standard image insertion and properties dialogs)? (5.1)

Accessible Interface:

INSTRUCTIONS: Select the same image. This time, try and edit all the properties (not just the EAs) of the image using only the keyboard. Answer question Q26.

Q26: [Priority 1] Does the tool allow you to edit all properties in an accessible fashion? (7.3)

 

Section B (Tool is an Image Editor)

Note: Equivalent Alternatives (EA) for Image Editors

The meaning of the term equivalent alternative (EA) is slightly different for image editors than for markup editors.  For markup editors, image EAs refer to those markup structures that convey alternative content about images in a document. These structures are specific to the markup language produced. For image editors, some of the EAs, those placed in the text tracks of images, are stored in set structures, however other EAs may be stored separately as plain text, RTF, or other format that may be retreived and used by markup editors when the image is inserted into a document.

Therefore, in this section the term Equivalent Alternative (EA) will refer more generally to short descriptive labels and long descriptive text. Both have priority 1, since that is their maximum priority once imported into HTML.

Short Descriptive Labels [Priority 1]:

  • May be stored in image formats with text tracks (i.e. PNG, SVG, WebCGM, JPEG, GIF)
  • Suitable for: img:alt (HTML, SMIL), img:longdesc (HTML), input:alt (HTML), g:title (SVG)

Long Descriptive Text [Priority 1]:

  • May be stored ???
  • Suitable for: img:longdesc (HTML, SMIL), g:desc (SVG)

Creating a New Image:

INSTRUCTIONS: Use the tool to create a new image file. Answer questions Q27 to Q31.

Q27: [Priority 1] Is it possible to use the tool to author short or long descriptive EAs for the image (stored either separately or in text tracks)? (1.1)

Q28: [Priority 1] Did the tool automatically generate EAs based on the file name, size or other information that is not necessarily related to the content or function of the image? (3.4)

Q29: [Priority 2] If the tool is intended to produce raster images, does the tool support the Portable Network Graphics (PNG) format? (2.1)

Q30: [Priority 2] If the tool is intended to produce vector graphics, does the tool support the Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) format? (2.1)

Q31: [Priority 3] Does the tool let you search for, reuse or otherwise manage the EAs of images? (3.5)

Saving:

INSTRUCTIONS: Use the tool to make a change to the image. Then save the image. Answer question Q32.

Q32: [Priority 1] Does the tool prompt (require, suggest or notify you of the absence of information and then provide a means for rectifying the situation) you to add Priority 1 EAs at some point during the creation of the image (ex. after the successful save)? (3.1)

Re-saving and Reformatting:

INSTRUCTIONS: Open the test image "re-saving_test". Save a copy of the image file to "re-saving_test2". Open this file using the image EA viewer tool provided. Answer question Q33.

Q33: [Priority 1] Are EAs (in text tracks or separate files) preserved during re-saving? (1.2)

INSTRUCTIONS: Open the test image "re-saving_test". Save a copy of the image file to another format. Open this file using the image EA viewer tool provided. Answer question Q34.

Q34: [Priority 1] Are EAs (in text tracks or separate files) preserved during conversion to another format, where possible (i.e. EAs in text tracks placed in text track of new format or separate associated file if the new format does not include text tracks)? (1.2)

INSTRUCTIONS: Open a new image or save an image in order to check which imgae formats are available.

Q35: [Priority 3] If the tool produces a raster image in a format besides PNG, does the tool inform you? (2.3)

Q36: [Priority 3] If the tool produces a vector graphic image in a format besides SVG, does the tool inform you? (2.3)

Bundled Web Content:

INSTRUCTIONS: If the tool includes bundled images (ex. clipart), then insert some into the document. Answer questions Q37.

Q37: [Priority 1] Do the images include pre-written Priority 1 EAs? (3.3)

Checking for Accessibility:

INSTRUCTIONS: Open and save "image_noEA". Answer questions Q38 and Q39.

Q38: [Priority 1] Does the tool check for and notify you when Priority 1 EAs for an image are absent? (4.1)

Q39: [Priority 1] Does the tool assist you to add Priority 1 EAs when they are found to be absent? (4.2)

Documentation:

INSTRUCTIONS: Open the tool's documentation. Answer
questions Q40 to Q42.

Q40: [Priority 1] Is there documentation for all the features of the tool concerned with addding EAs for images? (6.1)

Q41: [Priority 2] Does the documentation regarding EAs appear well integrated with the rest of the documentation (ex. do all the image editing process examples include EAs)? (6.2)

Q42: [Priority 3] Is there a dedicated section that documents all the features of the tool concerned with addding EAs? (6.3)

User Interface Presence:

INSTRUCTIONS: If it is possible to edit the EAs of an image, do so now. Answer question Q43

Q43: [Priority 2] Does functionality for adding and editing the EAs appear well integrated with the overall look and feel of the tool (ex. included within standard properties dialogs)? (5.1)

Accessible Interface:

INSTRUCTIONS: This time, try and edit all the properties (not just the EAs) of the image using only the keyboard. Answer question Q44.

Q44: [Priority 1] Does the tool allow you to edit all properties in an
accessible fashion? (7.3)