Undrafted Advisory Techniques

From WCAGWiki

The following advisory techniques are labeled "(future link)" in the Understanding WCAG 2.0 Working Draft.

Contents 1 Guideline 1.1 1.1 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 1.1.1 2 Guideline 1.2 2.1 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 1.2.1 2.2 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 1.2.2 2.3 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 1.2.3 (and 1.2.5) 2.4 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 1.2.6 2.5 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 1.2.7 2.6 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 1.2.8 2.7 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 1.2.9 3 Guideline 1.3 3.1 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 1.3.1 3.2 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 1.3.2 3.3 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 1.3.3 4 Guideline 1.4 4.1 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 1.4.1 4.2 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 1.4.2 4.3 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 1.4.3 (and 1.4.6) 4.4 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 1.4.4 4.5 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 1.4.5 and 1.4.9 4.6 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 1.4.7 4.7 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 1.4.8 5 Guideline 2.1 5.1 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 2.1.1 6 Guideline 2.2 6.1 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 2.2.1 6.2 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 2.2.2 6.2.1 Guideline 2.3 6.3 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 2.3.1 and 2.3.2 6.3.1 Guideline 2.4 6.4 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 2.4.1 6.5 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 2.4.2 6.6 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 2.4.3 6.7 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 2.4.5 6.8 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 2.4.6 6.9 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 2.4.7 6.10 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 2.4.7 6.11 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 2.4.10 6.11.1 Guideline 3.1 6.12 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 3.1.1 6.13 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 3.1.2 6.14 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 3.1.3 6.15 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 3.1.4 6.16 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 3.1.5 6.17 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 3.1.6 6.17.1 Guideline 3.2 6.18 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 3.2.1 6.19 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 3.2.3 6.20 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 3.2.4 6.21 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 3.2.5 6.21.1 Guideline 3.3 6.22 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 3.3.1 6.23 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 3.3.3 6.24 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 3.3.4 6.25 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 3.3.5 6.25.1 Guideline 4.1 6.26 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 4.1.2 6.26.1 Conformance 6.27 Undrafted Advisory Techniques for Conformance

Guideline 1.1

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 1.1.1

• Identifying informative non-text content
• Keeping short descriptions short
• Describing images that include text
• Providing a longer description of the non-text content where only a descriptive label is required using a technology-specific technique (for an accessibility-supported content technology) for long description listed above
• Providing different sizes for non-text content when it cannot have an equivalent accessible alternative@@Sofia Done
• Using server-side scripts to resize images of text
• Linking to textual information that provides comparable information (e.g. for a traffic Webcam, a municipality could provide a link to the text traffic report.)
• Providing a transcript of a live audio only presentation after the fact
• Providing more than two modalities of CAPTCHAs@@Sofia Done
• Providing access to a human customer service representative who can bypass CAPTCHA
• Not requiring CAPTCHAs for authorized users
• Writing for browsers that do not support frame
• Providing alternative content for iframe
• Not using long descriptions for iframe
• Providing redundant text links for client-side image maps@@Sofia Done
• Using CSS background, :before or :after rules for decorative images instead of img elements@@Sofia
• Displaying empty table cells
• Using the ARIA presentation role to indicate elements are purely presentational
• Using metadata to associate text transcriptions with a video
• Using metadata to associate text transcriptions with audio-only content

Guideline 1.2

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 1.2.1

• Providing a transcript of a live audio only presentation after the fact
• Linking to textual information that provides comparable information (e.g. for a traffic Webcam, a municipality could provide a link to the text traffic report.)
• Providing accessible alternatives for embedded video and audio content in PDF (PDF)

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 1.2.2

• Providing a note saying "No sound is used in this clip" for video-only clips
• Using SMIL 1.0 to provide captions for all languages for which there are audio tracks
• Using SMIL 2.0 to provide captions for all languages for which there are audio tracks

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 1.2.3 (and 1.2.5)

• Providing audio description in multiple languages in SMIL 1.0
• Providing audio description in multiple languages in SMIL 2.0
• Providing audio description for live synchronized media 1.2.5 only

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 1.2.6

• Using metadata to associate sign language alternatives of a video to enable choice of sign language

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 1.2.7

• Adding extended audio description in multiple languages in SMIL 1.0
• Adding extended audio description in multiple languages in SMIL 2.0
• Providing a Full Text Alternative (PDF)

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 1.2.8

• Providing a corrected script
• Adding detail to audio description

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 1.2.9

• Using metadata to associate text transcriptions with audio-only content

Guideline 1.3

• Guideline-level
  • Making links visually distinct

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 1.3.1

• Using CSS styles to change or enhance the presentation of structure
• Using CSS rather than tables for page layout
• Positioning labels to maximize predictability of relationships This is listed in three places in Understanding (Advisory for 1.3.1, Sufficient for 3.3.4, Advisory for Guideline 3.2)
• Providing labels for all form controls that do not have implicit labels
• Labeling and Describing Form Controls (Flash)
• Creating Accessible Tables (Flash)
• Using h1-h6 to identify headings (PDF)
• Labeling And Describing Form Controls (PDF)
• Using Acrobat Professional tags panel and touchup tool to add structure and meaning to PDf content (PDF)
• Making tables accessible in PDF (PDF)

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 1.3.2

• Using left-justified text for languages that are written left to right and right-justified text for languages that are written right-to-left
• Using appropriate justification for languages that are written right-to-left
• Providing a link to linearized rendering
• Providing a style switcher between style sheets that affect presentation order
• Using the tabindex property to alter reading order (Flash)
• Using the Reading Order Touchup panel to alter a document's reading order (PDF)

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 1.3.3

• Using an image with a text alternative for graphical symbols instead of a Unicode font glyph with the desired graphical appearance but different meaning
• Providing textual identification for buttons that otherwise rely only on sensory information to be understood (Flash)
• Providing textual identification for interactive controls that otherwise rely only on sensory information to be understood (PDF)

Guideline 1.4

• Guideline-level
  • Using readable fonts
  • Making sure any text in images of text is at least 14 points and has good contrast
  • Providing a highly visible highlighting mechanism for links or controls when they receive keyboard focus

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 1.4.1

• Conveying information redundantly using color

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 1.4.2

• Providing a sitewide preference to turn off audio in addition to providing a control near the top of the Web page that turns off sounds that play automatically

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 1.4.3 (and 1.4.6)

• Using a higher contrast value for text that is over a patterned background
• Using a light pastel background rather than a white background behind black text
• Using a light pastel background rather than a white background behind black text to create sufficient but not extreme contrast
• Using Unicode text and style sheets instead of images of text
• Using a higher contrast values for lines in diagrams
• Using greater contrast level for red-black text/background combinations
• Using colors that are composed predominantly of mid spectral components for the light and spectral extremes (blue and red wavelengths) for the dark
• Making icons using simple line drawings that meet the contrast provisions for text
• Providing sufficient color contrast in graphs and charts
• Using a higher contrast ratio for large quantities of small text (future link suggestion for 1.4.3 and 1.4.6 from Dave K @ Trace - not part of current WD)
• Providing sufficient contrast between background and foreground colors (Flash)
• Providing Sufficient Contrast Between Background and Foreground Colors (PDF)

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 1.4.4

• Providing large fonts by default
• Using page-percent for container sizes
• Avoiding scaling font sizes smaller than the user-agent default
• Avoiding justified text
• Providing sufficient inter-line and inter-column spacing
• Providing different sizes for non-text content when it can not have an equivalent accessible alternative
• Avoiding the use of text in raster images
• Using server-side scripts to resize images of text
• Ensuring that text in raster images is at least 18pt
• Scaling text down to 50%
• Preparing a document with accessible text (PDF)

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 1.4.5 and 1.4.9

• Identifying informative non-text content
• Using server-side scripts to resize images of text
• Avoid applying text styling to text characters within a word
• Changing line height @@Sofia
• Specifying the font family @@Sofia
• Changing letter-spacing @@Sofia
• Aligning text @@Sofia
• Changing the case of text @@Sofia
• Indenting paragraphs @@Sofia
• Layering text over images @@Sofia
• Italicizing text @@Sofia
• Increasing font weight of text @@Sofia
• Styling the first line of a block of text @@Sofia
• Styling the first letter of a block of text @@Sofia
• Adding a drop-shadow to text @@Sofia

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 1.4.7

• Providing a way for users to adjust auditory levels of foreground and background sound independently
• Allowing background audio to be controlled independently from foreground sounds (Flash)

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 1.4.8

• Using a hover effect to highlight a paragraph, list items, or table cells
• Presenting text in sans serif font or providing a mechanism to achieve this
• Using vertical (bulleted or numbered) lists rather than inline lists
• Using upper and lower case according to the spelling conventions of the text language
• Providing large fonts by default
• Avoiding the use of text in raster images
• Avoiding scaling font sizes smaller than the user-agent default
• Providing sufficient inter-column spacing
• Avoiding centrally aligned text
• Avoiding chunks of italic text
• Avoiding overuse of different styles on individual pages and in sites
• Making links visually distinct
• Providing expandable bullets
• Show/hide bullet points
• Putting an em-space or two spaces after sentences

Guideline 2.1

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 2.1.1

• Providing keyboard access to important links and form controls
• Using unique letter combinations to begin each item of a list
• Choosing the most abstract event handler
• Using the onactivate event
• Avoiding use of common user-agent keyboard commands for other purposes

Guideline 2.2

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 2.2.1

• Using a script to poll the server and notify a user if a time limit is present
• Use sounds to focus user's attention

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 2.2.2

• Providing a mechanism to stop all content that blinks within a Web page
• Providing the user with a means to stop moving content even if it stops automatically within 5 seconds

Guideline 2.3

• Guideline-level
  • Ensuring that content does not violate spatial pattern thresholds

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 2.3.1 and 2.3.2

• Reducing contrast for any flashing content (also applies to 2.3.2)
• Avoiding fully saturated reds for any flashing content (also applies to 2.3.2)
• Reducing the number of flashes even if they do not violate thresholds (also applies to 2.3.2)
• Providing a mechanism to suppress any flashing content before it begins
• Slowing down live material to avoid rapid flashes (as in flashbulbs)(also applies to 2.3.2)
• Freezing the image momentarily if 3 flashes within one second are detected(also applies to 2.3.2)
• Dropping the contrast ratio if 3 flashes within one second are detected(also applies to 2.3.2)
• Disabling flashing content (Flash)

Guideline 2.4

• Guideline-level
  • Limiting the number of links per page
  • Providing mechanisms to navigate to different sections of the content of a Web page
  • Making links visually distinct
  • Highlighting search terms

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 2.4.1

• Providing keyboard access to important links and form controls
• Providing skip links to enhance page navigation
• Providing access keys
• Using accessibility supported technologies which allow structured navigation by user agents and assistive technologies

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 2.4.2

• Identifying the subject of the Web page
• Providing a meaningful name for identifying frames
• Using unique titles for Web pages
• Providing a descriptive top-level page heading
• Providing titles for flash documents and pages (Flash)
• Using h1-h6 to identify headings (PDF)

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 2.4.3

• Providing a highly visible highlighting mechanism for links or controls when they receive keyboard focus
• Creating alternative presentation orders

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 2.4.5

• Including information about presentation modes in tables of contents and concept maps

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 2.4.6

• Using unique section headings in a Web Page
• Starting section headings with unique information
• Labeling and Describing Form Controls (Flash)
• Properly describing controls (Flash)
• Labeling And Describing Form Controls (PDF)

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 2.4.7

• Highlighting a link or control when the mouse hovers over it
• Providing a highly visible highlighting mechanism for links or controls when they receive keyboard focus

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 2.4.7

• Providing a link to the home page or main page
• Providing an easy-to-read version of information about the organization of a set of Web pages
• Providing a sign language version of information about the organization of a set of Web pages
• Providing an easy-to-read summary at the beginning of each section of content
• Providing Consistent Navigation Mechanisms (PDF)
• Providing Unique Link Titles (PDF)

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 2.4.10

• Using the 'live' property to mark live regions
• Providing mechanisms to navigate to different sections of the content of a Web page

Guideline 3.1

• Guideline-level
  • Setting expectations about auto-generated or user-contributed content
  • Providing sign language interpretation for all content
  • Using the clearest and simplest language appropriate for the content
  • Avoiding centrally aligned text (from LC-1253)
  • Avoiding text that is fully justified (to both left and right margins) in a way that causes poor spacing between words or characters (from LC-1253)
  • Using left-justified text for languages that are written left to right (discuss exceptions for common non left justified formating such as addresses, lyrics or poetry when this is drafted)
  • Using appropriate justification for languages that are written right-to-left (need to verify that this is universally applicable, e.g. have a language/geopolitical expert to run their eyes over this before we include it)
  • Limiting text column width (include information about average line length and other sources -- According to some sources, the average length of a word in English is 4.96, in Swedish 5.94 and in German 6.78 phonemes/word. And the term "words" was not used in Chinese linguistics before it was translated into Chinese from Western linguistics.)
  • Avoiding chunks of italic text (from LC-1253) also 1.4.7
  • Avoiding overuse of different styles on individual pages and in sites (from LC-1253)
  • Making links visually distinct from LC-1300 (Note. 2.4 connection is related to physical more than cognitive) also 1.4.7
  • Using images, illustrations, video, audio, or symbols to clarify meaning
  • Providing practical examples to clarify content
  • Using a light pastel background rather than a white background behind black text
  • Avoiding the use of unique interface controls unnecessarily
  • Using upper and lower case according to the spelling rules of the text language also 1.4.7
  • Avoiding unusual foreign words (this would need to explain what is meant by "unusual")
  • Providing sign language versions of information, ideas, and processes that must be understood in order to use the content
  • Making any reference to a location in a Web page into a link to that location
  • Making references to a heading or title include the full text of the title
  • Providing easy-to-read versions of basic information about a set of Web pages, including information about how to contact the Webmaster
  • Providing a sign language version of basic information about a set of Web pages, including information about how to contact the Webmaster

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 3.1.1

• Specifying the default language in the HTTP header (Christophe; DONE)
• using http or the Content-Language meta tag for metadata
• Specifying the default document language (PDF)

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 3.1.2

• Making text that is not in the default human language of the Web page visually distinct
• Giving the names of any languages used in foreign passages or phrases
• Specifying the human language for a passage or phrase (PDF)

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 3.1.3

• Using the title attribute to provide explanations of words or phrases (also in 3.1.4)
• Using markup and visual formatting to help users recognize words that have special meaning
• Providing a voice-enabled dictionary search so that users who have difficulty typing or spelling can speak the word whose definition they need
• Providing a sign language dictionary to help users who are deaf find the necessary definitions
• Providing a mechanism for finding definitions for all words in text content
• Providing a mechanism to determine the meaning of each word or phrase in text content
• Avoiding unusual foreign words
• Using a dictionary cascade
• Enabling a linked glossary mechanism for particular words. (Flash)
• Creation of a mechanism for identifying specific definitions of words or phrases (PDF)

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 3.1.4

• Using unique abbreviations in a Web page
• Using visual formatting to help users recognize abbreviations
• Providing access to a talking dictionary to support users who might have difficulty decoding written definitions
• Providing a voice-enabled dictionary search so that users who have difficulty typing or spelling can speak the word whose definition they need
• Using a dictionary cascade
• Enabling a linked glossary mechanism for particular words. (Flash)
• Creation of a mechanism for identifying specific definitions of words or phrases (PDF)

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 3.1.5

• Providing text for navigational and landing pages that requires reading ability that is less advanced than the lower secondary education level
• Providing text for interior pages that requires reading ability at the lower secondary education level
• Including content summaries in metadata
• Using the clearest and simplest language appropriate for the content
• Using the Dublin Core accessibility element to associate text content with text, graphical, or spoken supplements
• Using RDF to associate supplements with primary content
• Providing a clear representational image on the site's home page
• Making metadata viewable by humans
• Clearly marking, by use of text or icon, content which has been optimized for easy reading
• Using sentences that contain no redundant words, that is, words that do not change the meaning of the sentence
• Using sentences that contain no more than two conjunctions
• Using sentences that are no longer than the typical accepted length for secondary education (Note: In English that is 25 words)
• Using sentences that do not contain complex words or phrases that could be replaced with more commonly used words without changing the meaning of the sentence
• Providing summaries for different sections of text
• Using metadata to associate alternatives at different reading levels
• Using the Dublin Core accessibility element to associate text content with text, graphical, or spoken supplements
• Using the ISO AfA accessibility element to associate text content with text, graphical, or spoken supplements
• Using the IMS accessibility element to associate text content with text, graphical, or spoken supplements
• Providing Pronounciation Information (Flash)

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 3.1.6

• Providing pronunciations in a sound file, so that users can listen to the pronunciations of the word
• Providing a mechanism for finding pronunciations for all foreign words in text content
• Providing a mechanism to determine the pronunciations of each word or phrase in text content

Guideline 3.2

• Guideline-level
  • Positioning labels to maximize predictability of relationships This is listed in three places in Understanding (Advisory for 1.3.1, Sufficient for 3.3.4, Advisory for Guideline 3.2)

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 3.2.1

• Not causing persistent changes of state or value when a component receives focus, or providing an alternate means to reset any changes

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 3.2.3

• Using templates to ensure consistency across multiple Web pages
• Creating layout, positioning, layering, and alignment
• Providing a consistent navigation structure using reusable components (Flash)
• Providing Consistent Navigation Mechanisms (PDF)

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 3.2.4

• Ensuring that the text alternative conveys the function of the component and what will happen when the user activates it
• Using the same non-text content for a given function whenever possible
• Providing Unique Link Titles (PDF)

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 3.2.5

• Using the target attribute instead of scripts
• Providing normal hyperlinks without the target attribute

Note that these are not quite worded as techniques in Understanding document.

Guideline 3.3

• Hiding optional form fields

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 3.3.1

• Validating form submissions on the server
• Re-displaying a form with a summary of errors
• Providing error notification as the user enters information
• Assisting the user in making corrections by providing links to each error
• Highlighting or visually emphasizing errors where they occur
• Supplementing text with non-text content when reporting errors
• Providing success feedback when data is submitted successfully
• Use sounds to focus user's attention

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 3.3.3

• Making error messages easy to understand and distinguishable from other text in the Web page
• Validating form submissions on the server
• When mandatory information has not been provided, including descriptions or examples of correct information in addition to identifying the field as mandatory
• Repeating and emphasizing suggestions for correcting each input error in the context of its form field
• Providing a way for the user to skip from each item in a list of suggestions to its corresponding form field
• Providing additional contextual help for the form field requiring change
• Accepting input data in a variety of formats
• Providing a text description that contains information about the number of input errors, suggestions for corrections to each item, and instructions on how to proceed
• Providing a text description that contains suggestions for correction as the first item (or one of the first items) of content, or emphasizing this information in the content
• Displaying errors and suggestions in the context of the original form (for example, re-displaying a form where input errors and suggestions for correction are highlighted and displayed in the context of the original form)
• Providing "correct examples" for data and data formats as initial text in mandatory form fields
• Providing links to suggested correction text "close to" form fields, or providing the suggested correction text itself directly on the Web page "next to" form fields
• Providing client-side validation and adding error text via the DOM
• Calling a function from the submit action of a form to perform client side validation

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 3.3.4

• Informing the user what irreversible action is about to happen
• Placing focus in the field containing the error (from LC-727)
• Avoiding use of the same words or letter combinations to begin each item of a drop-down list (from LC-727)

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 3.3.5

• Checking byte of character and auto-converting to expected byte for text input if applicable

Guideline 4.1

• Avoiding deprecated features of W3C technologies

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for 4.1.2

• Providing labels for all form controls that do not have implicit labels
• Using XHTML role, state, and value attributes if repurposing static elements as interactive user interface components

Conformance

Undrafted Advisory Techniques for Conformance

• Expressing a conformance claim to WCAG 2.0 in Dublin Core elements
• Providing reciprocal links between conforming and non-conforming versions
• Excluding non-conforming content from search results
• Providing style switchers @@Christophe
• Using content negotiation
• Providing user settings as a way to store preferences