Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines "Wombat"

The accessibility of authoring tools is defined primarily by existing specifications for accessible software. The accessibility of authoring tool output is defined by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelinesn (WCAG).

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Generating standard markup:

Conformance with standards promotes interoperability and accessibility by making it easier to create specialized user agents that address the needs of users with disabilities. In particular, many assistive technologies used with browsers and multimedia players are only able to provide access to Web documents that use valid markup. Therefore, valid markup is an essential aspect of authoring tool accessibility.

2.1 Use the latest versions of W3C Recommendations when they are available and appropriate for a task. [Priority 2] @@PJ has issue with this

At minimum (required basic functionality):

More advanced: Provide a mechanism for importing new language definitions

Rationale: W3C specifications have undergone review specifically to ensure that they do not compromise accessibility, and where possible, they enhance it.

See also: Techniques for checkpoint 2.1

2.2 Ensure that markup which the tool automatically generates is valid for the language the tool is generating. [Priority 1]

At minimum (required basic functionality): All markup generated by the tool must be valid [@@issue 4: do we need an at minimum for here?]

Rationale: This is necessary for user agents to be able to render Web content in a manner appropriate to a particular user's needs.

See also: Techniques for checkpoint 2.2.

Supporting accessible authoring practices:

2.3 Ensure that the author can produce accessible content in the markup language(s) supported by the tool. [Priority 1]

Rationale: this is a basic requirement to allow the author to create accessible content within the tool.

At minimum (required basic functionality): the author can add or edit any elements or element properties of the language that can enhance accessibility.

More advanced (optional suggested functionality): provide an integrated interface to properties affecting accessibility (see also )

See also: Techniques for checkpoint 2.3

2.4 Ensure that the tool preserves all accessibility information during transformations, and conversions. [Priority 1]

Rationale: Accessibility information is often vulnerable to loss when content is converted or transformed from one format into another.

At minimum (required basic functionality):Accessibility content must be preserved. Where sufficient structure information to allow reversal of the transformation is not preserved, the author must be notified that the transformation cannot be reversed accessibly. [@@issue 1: this requirement is still under discussion]

Optional advanced implementation: use markup, or some other mechanism to record the transformation and ensure reversibility.

Note this checkpoint covers importing from a format the tool does not use.

See also Techniques for checkpoint 2.4

2.5 Ensure that when the tool automatically generates content it conforms to the WCAG. [Relative Priority]

At minimum (required basic functionality) : Any decisions made for the author by the tool should optimize the accessibility of the content (as per WCAG 2.0 [WCAG20]). This applies to the choice of markup type, file type, and markup practices. The author may be able to override the choices proposed or made by the tool.

See also Techniques for checkpoint 2.5

2.6 Ensure that all pre-authored content for the tool conforms to WCAG. [Relative Priority]

For example, templates must include accessible markup and content. Images and multimedia libraries must include accessible alternatives, such as alt text and long descriptions for images and captions, auditory descriptions and collated text transcriptions for movies. Applets and scripts must be accessible and include functional alternatives.

At minimum templates, clip art, scripts, applets, example pages, etc supplied with the tool must conform to WCAG 2.0 [WCAG20] (to the conformance level claimed by the tool).

See also Techniques for checkpoint 2.6

2.7 Allow the author to preserve markup not recognized by the tool. [Priority 2]

At minimum (required basic functionality): prompt the author to confirm before removing or changing unrecognized markup. It is acceptable for a tool to reject a document it cannot process.

More advanced implementations may integrate this with the checking (see checkpoint 5.1) and repair (see checkpoint 5.2) functions, allowing the author finer-grained control.

Note: The author may have included or imported markup that enhances accessibility but is not recognized by the tool.

See also Techniques for checkpoint 2.7

GUIDELINE 3: Support the author in the production of accessible content

At minimum (required basic functionality): A method for adding alternative information, appropriate to the author-tool interaction, must be provided to the author whenever a non-text object (see Note) has been inserted.

Rationale:This checkpoint requires authoring tools to ask for (and support the creation of) alternate text, captions, auditory descriptions, collated text transcripts for video, etc. at times appropriate to the author-tool interaction.

Note: Some checkpoints in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 [WCAG20] do not apply. [@@issue 5: identify which checkpoints apply]

More advanced implementations might provide special authoring facilities that automate some of the process of generating alternative information (ex. voice recognition to produce collated text transcripts).

See also: Techniques for checkpoint 3.1

3.2 Help the author create structured content and separate information from its presentation. [Relative Priority]

At minimum: A method for adding alternative information, appropriate to the author-tool interaction, must be provided to the author whenever a non-text object (see Note) has been inserted.

Note: Some checkpoints in Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 [WCAG20] do not apply. [@@issue 6: identify which ones]

Techniques for checkpoint 3.2

3.3 Do not automatically generate equivalent alternatives or reuse previously authored alternatives without author confirmation, except when the function is known with certainty. [Priority 1]

Rationale: Improperly generated alternatives can interfere with accessibility checking.

At minimum basic required functionality: Usually, when a new object is inserted, the function is unknown, so the tool should prompt the author to enter an appropriate equivalent alternative without providing a generated default entry (e.g. the file name and size). However, alternatives may be automatically generated or re-used when the tool has either placed the object for a specific purpose (e.g. navigation bar) or the user has defined a purpose for the object. Only an alternative that has been explicitly associated with an object may be offered as a default entry for the author to approve.

See also: Techniques for checkpoint 3.3

3.4 Provide functionality for managing, editing, and reusing alternative equivalents for multimedia objects. [Priority 3]

Rationale: Compliance with checkpoint 3.3 may be simplified by providing an alternative equivalent management system.

At minimum: store associations between the multimedia objects and alternatives created by the author, allowing the author to edit the alternatives and reuse them easily.

More advanced implementations might collect alternatives from a variety of sources (the author, prepackaged, the Web) and provide powerful tools for managing the associations, including search functions and object similarity estimates.

See also: Techniques for checkpoint 3.4

Checking and correcting inaccessible content:

Many authoring tools allow authors to create documents with little or no knowledge about the underlying markup. To ensure accessibility, authoring tools must be designed so that they can (where possible, automatically) identify inaccessible markup, and enable its correction even when the markup itself is hidden from the author.

Authoring tool support for the creation of accessible Web content should account for different authoring styles. Authors who can configure the tool's accessibility features to support their regular work patterns are more likely to accept accessible authoring practices (see guideline 5). For example, some authors may prefer to be alerted to accessibility problems when they occur, whereas others may prefer to perform a check at the end of an editing session. This is analogous to programming environments that allow users to decide whether to check for correct code during editing or at compilation.

Note: Validation of markup is an essential aspect of checking the accessibility of content.

3.5 Check for and inform the author of accessibility problems. [Relative Priority]

At minimum (required basic functionality): this utility must provide at least one, automated or manual, check for each WCAG 2.0 [WCAG20] checkpoint (of relevant priority). When this utility runs it must always check those questions pertaining to "In General" WCAG 2.0 checkpoints, but only those "conditional" WCAG 2.0 checkpoints that have their conditions fulfilled by the document.

Rationale: provide the author with a utility that helps check documents for accessibility problems.

More advanced implementation: the checks should be automated to the greatest extent possible.

See also: Techniques for checkpoint 3.5

3.6 Assist authors in correcting accessibility problems. [Relative Priority]

Rationale: once accessibility problems have been found, authoring tools help the author to correct them properly.

At a minimum, provide context-sensitive help with the accessibility checking required by checkpoint 3.5.

Advanced implementations: provide the author with automated or semi-automated correction tools, in addition to guidelines and examples.

See also: Techniques for checkpoint 3.6

3.7 Provide the author with a summary of the document's accessibility status. [Priority 3]

Rationale: encourage authoring tools to notify authors of accessibility problems in a coherent way.

At minimum (required basic functionality): provide a list of the problems by type.

Advanced implementations might integrate the summary with the tool's repair functionality to increase the flexibility with which problems can be corrected (see checkpoint ?.?).

See also: Techniques for checkpoint 3.7

Promoting accessibility in help and documentation:

3.8 Document all features of the tool that promote the production of accessible content. [Priority 1]

Rationale: Documenting each accessibility related feature of the tool (dialog boxes, utility, code views, etc.) will help authors to learn how to use them effectively.

At minimum (required basic functionality): Document the purpose and use of all features of the tool that help create accessible content.

More advanced implementations Provide context-sensitive links to this documentation from the actual features, within the authoring tool user interface. Also provide a dedicated "Accessibility" section of the documentation for this material.

See also: Techniques for checkpoint 3.8

3.9 Document the process of using the tool to produce accessible content. [Relative Priority]

Rationale: Motivated users of the tool may be able to produce accessible content without the support provided by mechanisms such as accessibility checking and repair functions.

At minimum (required basic functionality): Document the techniques required to meet all WCAG checkpoints at the relevant priority level - (these may include work-around methods where the tool does not yet have the appropriate functionality).

Optional advanced functionality: Automating the process of producing accessible content will mean that nothing special needs to be done to meet this checkpoint. But providing context-sensitive linking to this documentation may be an intermediary development strategy.

See also: Techniques for checkpoint 3.9

GUIDELINE 4: Integrate accessibility solutions into the overall "look and feel"

4.1 Ensure that the functionalities for checkpoints 3.1, 3.2, 3.5 and 3.6 are always clearly available to the user [Priority 1]

3. Glossary of Terms and Definitions

Accessibility (Also: Accessible)

Within these guidelines, "accessible Web content" and "accessible authoring tool" mean that the content and tool can be used by people regardless of disability.

To understand the accessibility issues relevant to authoring tool design, consider that many authors may be creating content in contexts very different from your own:

• They may not be able to see, hear, move, or may not be able to process some types of information easily or at all;
• They may have difficulty reading or comprehending text;
• They may not have or be able to use a keyboard or mouse;
• They may have a text-only display, or a small screen.

Accessible design will benefit people in these different authoring scenarios and also many people who do not have a physical disability but who have similar needs. For example, someone may be working in a noisy environment and thus require an alternative representation of audio information. Similarly, someone may be working in an eyes-busy environment and thus require an audio equivalent to information they cannot view. Users of small mobile devices (with small screens, no keyboard, and no mouse) have similar functional needs as some users with disabilities.

Accessibility Information

"Accessibility information" is content, including information and markup, that is used to improve the accessibility of a document. Accessibility information includes, but is not limited to, equivalent alternative information.

Accessibility Problem (Also: Inaccessible Markup)

Inaccessible Web content or authoring tools cannot be used by some people with disabilities. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 [WCAG20] describes how to create accessible Web content.

Accessible Authoring Practice

"Accessible authoring practices" improve the accessibility of Web content. Both authors and tools engage in accessible authoring practices. For example, authors write clearly, structure their content, and provide navigation aids. Tools automatically generate valid markup and assist authors in providing and managing appropriate equivalent alternatives.

Alert

An "alert" draws the author's attention to an event or situation. It may require a response from the author.

Alternative Information (Also: Equivalent Alternative)

Content is "equivalent" to other content when both fulfill essentially the same function or purpose upon presentation to the user. Equivalent alternatives 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.). Authors are encouraged to provide text equivalents for non-text content since text may be rendered as synthesized speech for individuals who have visual or learning disabilities, as braille for individuals who are blind, or as graphical text for individuals who are deaf or do not have a disability. For more information about equivalent alternatives, please refer to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines WCAG 2.0 [WCAG20].

Attribute

This document uses the term "attribute" as used in SGML and XML [XML]: Element types may be defined as having any number of attributes. Some attributes are integral to the accessibility of content (e.g., the "alt", "title", and "longdesc" attributes in HTML).

Auditory Description

An "auditory description" provides information about actions, body language, graphics, and scene changes in a video. Auditory descriptions are commonly used by people who are blind or have low vision, although they may also be used as a low-bandwidth equivalent on the Web. An auditory description is either a pre-recorded human voice or a synthesized voice (recorded or automatically generated in real time). The auditory description must be synchronized with the auditory track of a video presentation, usually during natural pauses in the auditory track.

Authoring Tool

An "authoring tool" is any software that is used to produce content for publishing on the Web. Authoring tools include:

• Editing tools specifically designed to produce Web content (e.g., WYSIWYG HTML and XML editors);
• Tools that offer the option of saving material in a Web format (e.g., word processors or desktop publishing packages);
• Tools that transform documents into Web formats (e.g., filters to transform desktop publishing formats to HTML);
• Tools that produce multimedia, especially where it is intended for use on the Web (e.g., video production and editing suites, SMIL authoring packages);
• Tools for site management or site publication, including tools that automatically generate Web sites dynamically from a database, on-the-fly conversion and Web site publishing tools;
• Tools for management of layout (e.g., CSS formatting tools).

Captions

"Captions" are essential text equivalents for movie audio. Captions consist of a text transcript of the auditory track of the movie (or other video presentation) that is synchronized with the video and auditory tracks. Captions are generally rendered graphically and benefit people who can see but are deaf, hard-of-hearing, or cannot hear the audio.

Conversion Tool

A "conversion tool" is any application or application feature (e.g., "Save as HTML") that transforms convent in one format to another format (such as a markup language).

Check for

As used in checkpoint 4.1, "check for" can refer to three types of checking:

1. In some instances, an authoring tool will be able to check for accessibility problems automatically. For example, checking for validity (checkpoint 2.2) or testing whether an image is the only content of a link.
2. In some cases, the tool will be able to "suspect" or "guess" that there is a problem, but will need confirmation from the author. For example, in making sure that a sensible reading order is preserved a tool can present a linearized version of a page to the author.
3. In some cases, a tool must rely mostly on the author, and can only ask the author to check. For example, the tool may prompt the author to verify that equivalent alternatives for multimedia are appropriate. This is the minimal standard to be satisfied. Subtle, rather than extensive, prompting is more likely to be effective in encouraging the author to verify accessibility where it cannot be done automatically.

Document

A "document" is a series of elements that are defined by a markup language (e.g., HTML 4 or an XML application).

Editing View

An "editing view" is a view provided by the authoring tool that allows editing.

Element

An "element" is any identifiable object within a document, for example, a character, word, image, paragraph or spreadsheet cell. In [HTML4] and [XML], an element refers to a pair of tags and their content, or an "empty" tag - one that requires no closing tag or content.

Inform

To "inform" is to make the author aware of an event or situation through alert, prompt, sound, flash, or other means.

Markup Language

Authors encode information using a "markup language" such as HTML [HTML4], SVG [SVG], or MathML [MATHML].

Presentation Markup

"Presentation markup" is markup language that encodes information about the desired presentation or layout of the content. For example, Cascading Style Sheets [CSS1], [CSS2] can be used to control fonts, colors, aural rendering, and graphical positioning. Presentation markup should not be used in place of structural markup to convey structure. For example, authors should mark up lists in HTML with proper list markup and style them with CSS (e.g., to control spacing, bullets, numbering, etc.). Authors should not use other CSS or HTML incorrectly to lay out content graphically so that it resembles a list.

Prompt

In this document prompt does not refer to the narrow software sense of a "prompt," rather it is used as a verb meaning to urge, suggest and encourage. The form and timing that this prompting takes can be user configurable. "Prompting" does not depend upon the author to seek out the support but is initiated by the tool. "Prompting" is more than checking, correcting, and providing help and documentation as encompassed in guidelines 4, 5, 6. The goal of prompting the author is to encourage, urge and support the author in creating meaningful equivalent text without causing frustration that may cause the author to turn off access options. Prompting should be implemented in such a way that it causes a positive disposition and awareness on the part of the author toward accessible authoring practices.

Property

A "property" is a piece of information about an element, for example structural information (e.g., it is item number 7 in a list, or plain text) or presentation information (e.g., that it is marked as bold, its font size is 14). In XML and HTML, properties of an element include the type of the element (e.g., IMG or DL), the values of its attributes, and information associated by means of a style sheet. In a database, properties of a particular element may include values of the entry, and acceptable data types for that entry.

Structural Markup

"Structural markup" is markup language that encodes information about the structural role of elements of the content. For example, headings, sections, members of a list, and components of a complex diagram can be identified using structural markup. Structural markup should not be used incorrectly to control presentation or layout. For example, authors should not use the BLOCKQUOTE element in HTML [HTML4]to achieve an indentation visual layout effect. Structural markup should be used correctly to communicate the roles of the elements of the content and presentation markup should be used separately to control the presentation and layout.

Transcript

A "transcript" is a text representation of sounds in an audio clip or an auditory track of a multimedia presentation. A "collated text transcript" for a video combines (collates) caption text with text descriptions of video information (descriptions of the actions, body language, graphics, and scene changes of the visual track). Collated text transcripts are essential for individuals who are deaf-blind and rely on braille for access to movies and other content.

Transformation

A "transformation" is a process that changes a document or object into another, equivalent, object according to a discrete set of rules. This includes conversion tools, software that allows the author to change the DTD defined for the original document to another DTD, and the ability to change the markup of lists and convert them into tables.

User Agent

A "user agent" is software that retrieves and renders Web content. User agents include browsers, plug-ins for a particular media type, and some assistive technologies.

View

Authoring tools may render the same content in a variety of ways; each rendering is called a "view." Some authoring tools will have several different types of view, and some allow views of several documents at once. For instance, one view may show raw markup, a second may show a structured tree, a third may show markup with rendered objects while a final view shows an example of how the document may appear if it were to be rendered by a particular browser. A typical way to distinguish views in a graphic environment is to place each in a separate window.

4. Acknowledgments

Many thanks to the following people who have contributed through review and comment: Giorgio Brajnik, Daniel Dardailler, Katie Haritos-Shea, Phill Jenkins, Len Kasday, Marjolein Katsma, William Loughborough, Matthias Müller-Prove, Graham Oliver, Chris Ridpath, Gregory Rosmaita, Heather Swayne, Carlos Velasco.

This document would not have been possible without the work of those who contributed to The Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 1.0

5. References

For the latest version of any W3C specification please consult the list of W3C Technical Reports at http://www.w3.org/TR.

[ATAG10]

"Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 1.0", J. Treviranus, C. McCathieNevile, I. Jacobs, and J. Richards, eds., 3 February 2000. This W3C Recommendation is http://www.w3.org/TR/2000/REC-ATAG10-20000203/.

[ATAG10-TECHS]

"Techniques for Authoring Tool Accessibility," J. Treviranus, J. Richards, I. Jacobs, and C. McCathieNevile editors. The latest version is available at http://www.w3.org/TR/ATAG10-TECHS.

[CONFORMANCE]

"Conformance icons for ATAG 1.0." Information about ATAG 1.0 conformance icons is available at http://www.w3.org/WAI/ATAG10-Conformance.

[CSS1]

"CSS, level 1 Recommendation," B. Bos and H. Wium Lie, editors., 17 December 1996, revised 11 January 1999. This CSS1 Recommendation is http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/REC-CSS1-19990111. The latest version of CSS1 is available at http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-CSS1. Note: CSS1 has been superseded by CSS2. Tools should implement the CSS2 cascade in particular.

[CSS2]

"CSS, level 2 Recommendation," B. Bos, H. Wium Lie, C. Lilley, and I. Jacobs, editors., 12 May 1998. This CSS2 Recommendation is http://www.w3.org/TR/1998/REC-CSS2-19980512. The latest version of CSS2 is available at http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-CSS2.

[HTML4]

"HTML 4.01 Recommendation," D. Raggett, A. Le Hors, and I. Jacobs, editors., 24 December 1999. This HTML 4.01 Recommendation is http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/REC-html401-19991224. The latest version of HTML 4 is available at http://www.w3.org/TR/html4.

[MATHML]

"Mathematical Markup Language," P. Ion and R. Miner, editors., 7 April 1998, revised 7 July 1999. This MathML 1.0 Recommendation is http://www.w3.org/TR/1998/REC-MathML-19990707. The latest version of MathML 1.0 is available at http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-MathML.

[RDF10]

"Resource Description Framework (RDF) Model and Syntax Specification," O. Lassila, R. Swick, editors. The 22 February 1999 Recommendation is http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/REC-rdf-syntax-19990222. The latest version of RDF 1.0 is available at http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-rdf-syntax.

[SVG]

"Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) 1.0 Specification (Working Draft)," J. Ferraiolo, editor. The latest version of the SVG specification is available at http://www.w3.org/TR/SVG.

[UAAG10-TECHS]

"Techniques for User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0," J. Gunderson, and I. Jacobs, editors. The latest version of Techniques for User Agent Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 is available at http://www.w3.org/TR/UAAG10-TECHS/.

[WCAG20]

"Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (Working Draft)," W. Chisholm, G. Vanderheiden, and J. White, editors. The latest version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 is available at http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/. Note: This document is still a working draft.

[WOMBAT-CHECKLIST]

Not available.

[WOMBAT-TECHS]

"Implementation Techniques for Authoring Tools Accessibility Guidelines 'Wombat'," Jutta Treviranus, Charles McCathieNevile, Jan Richards, Matt May. Note: This document is still a working group draft.

[XML]

"The Extensible Markup Language (XML) 1.0," T. Bray, J. Paoli, C. M. Sperberg-McQueen, editors., 10 February 1998. This XML 1.0 Recommendation is http://www.w3.org/TR/1998/REC-xml-19980210. The latest version of the XML specification is available at http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml.