[vip_students] Supernova:Forms and Flash content!
- From: "Paul Traynor" <paul.traynor@xxxxxxx>
- To: <vip_students@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 22 Apr 2008 12:45:28 +0100
Forms
Besides text, images and links, web pages can also contain forms. The term
"forms" simply relates to the edit areas, check boxes, radio buttons, list
boxes and other controls that might be encountered on a web page.
Generally, forms are provided on web pages to enable data recording in some
fashion. This could simply be an online questionnaire or perhaps personal
details are required when shopping online. Below are some examples of types
of controls you just might encounter and the steps to ensure successful
interaction is achieved whilst in virtual focus mode.
Radio buttons and check boxes
One of the most common controls encountered on a web page is a radio button
or a check box. Activating these and all other types of controls, with the
exception of edit areas and list boxes, is achieved by pressing the SPACEBAR
whilst in virtual focus mode.
And that covers radio buttons and check boxesalso.
When the radio button or check box is encountered all you need to use is the
SPACEBAR to activate or de-activate the control as applicable.
Note: radio controls represent groups of mutually exclusive choices. In any
group of radio controls only one option can be set, for example, you can
only exist in a single age group. On the other hand, a check box is normally
used for options that have two states, such as on or off or yes or no. This
provides a means of selecting multiple items within a group, for example,
selecting more than one product to receive information on.
(Edit areas)
As previously mentioned, interacting with edit areas is slightly different
to the way you interact with other control types. This is because with an
edit area you need to enter in specific data, meaning you need to interact
with the control in the real sense. So, instead of pressing SPACEBAR to
activate a control you need to use an alternate hot key to enter, what is
known as, interactive mode. This hot key is the ENTER key. In this mode we
regain access to the main keyboard so that data can be entered.
To leave interactive mode you can either press the TAB key to move to the
next control and be placed automatically into virtual focus once more or
simply press NUMPAD MINUS (or F4 when using the Function Key hot key set) to
return to auto virtual focus mode at your current position. Back in virtual
focus mode you can continue to navigate in the usual way.
(List boxes)
Finally, there are list boxes. When the virtual focus locates a list box,
depending on your selected verbosity scheme, you will be told you are on a
list box, informed of the currently selected item and the number of items
that are present in the list. To interact with a list box, again the ENTER
key should be used. This will automatically pop up the list (just as if you
clicked on the down arrow button), switching you into live mode, where you
can cursor up and down the list to make your selection.
And that covers all types of controls you are likely to encounter when
navigating through a web page form. The techniques above are important to
remember as you move through the form line by line, however, if you are
familiar with the form and you prefer to navigate the form using the TAB key
then forms mode is a further tool at your disposal.
(Forms mode)
Forms mode provides an easy way to complete a form. Virtual focus will
intelligently detect the label to controls and forms mode will automatically
switch you in and out of virtual focus mode as you TAB through the form,
depending on the control encountered. To toggle forms mode press DOLPHIN KEY
+ ENTER. It can also be selected through the Situation Settings option in
the File menu of Hal and Supernova's control panel.
However, it is important to be aware that the detection of labels does
depend on the way a form has been designed. In some cases, the label to a
control may have been positioned outside of Hal and Supernova's detection
zone. To help address this a number of "Speak" hot keys have been added.
The speak label keys are outlined in the table below.
Speak Label Hot Keys
Action Key Press
Label left Dolphin Key + NumPad 7
Label above Dolphin Key + NumPad 8
Note: labels below and labels right also exist as hot key actions, however,
by default no hot key is assigned to these commands. If you need to use
these speak keys then you will need to manually assign a hot key.
Below are two examples of HTML forms the first is an access friendly form
while the second is a more challenging, less friendly, form. A summary is
also provided to explain why such forms are and are not accessible.
An access friendly form
In a properly designed form the labels to the controls are exactly where
you would expect them. For labels to be automatically detected they should
be positioned adjacent to the control as opposed to above or so far left to
be considered out of range.
Review a web site with a form and see how the detection engine is able to
easily report the labels as you navigate through the form if that form is
well designed.
For example, go to the web site below and play around with the form fields
on it to get a feel for a well designed forms page.
http://www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-accessibility/acces
sible-forms-1.shtml
(An access unfriendly form)
In some forms the labels to the controls are not exactly where you would
expect them. For labels to be automatically detected they should be
positioned adjacent to the control as opposed to above or so far left to be
considered out of range.
It should also be remembered that forms mode is a situation setting. This
means you can create a situation setting within an application settings file
so that forms mode is enabled and disabled on web pages or web sites
seamlessly. To learn more about application settings please refer to the
related tutorial.
And that concludes this particular topic. Understanding how to interact with
forms is becoming increasingly crucial when browsing the world wide web;
whether it is simply entering in a topic to search for in a search engine or
dealing with your shopping or banking online, radio buttons, check boxes,
edit areas and list boxes will most certainly all be encountered.
[Macromedia flash]
The Macromedia Flash player is a plug-in client available for most web
browsers. It plays flash content which is content rich; comprising graphics,
animation, video and sound. These are normally seen as elements within the
web page.
Flash is commonly used to create design elements on a web page, animations,
advertisements and to add video to web sites.
Like with graphics and the use of alternate tags, access to flash depends on
whether the developer has incorporated accessibility into its content. There
is support documentation available on the Macromedia web site and guidelines
from organisations like the RNIB (Web Access Centre) that provide developers
with the knowledge they need to create accessible content.
Accessing accessible flash content is possible using Supernova. Support was
introduced in version 6.51 with the release of version 2.14 of the Default
Application map file.
How to use the Macromedia Flash support
When you encounter flash content on a web page, Supernova will announce
"Embedded Flash Control".
When the focus is on the "Embedded Flash Control" press:
DOLPHIN KEY + F
This will switch you into virtual focus mode where you can then navigate the
content of the flash object. To then return to the previous focus type -
this will normally be auto virtual focus - repeat the key press DOLPHIN KEY
+ F. As you switch between focus modes you will be told what mode you have
entered.
If you would like to try out some accessible flash content then the RNIB has
a number of links to follow. These can be found by going to the RNIB Flash -
Web Access Centre web page.
Suggested links include:
• www.JKRowling.com
A completely Flash based site developed by Lightmaker built with
accessibility in mind.
However, please be aware that most, if not all, guidelines relating to the
creation of flash content recommend that an alternate HTML format should
also be provided if at all possible. So if you encounter an embedded flash
control then continue to review the web page as the data held in the flash
content may already be documented elsewhere.
End of tutorial.
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