Accessibility guidelines for flex, (c) 2007, Skitsanos Inc.

1. SKITSANOS
Adobe
Flex
Accessibility
Evaluation
Accessibility
guidelines
and
test
sheets
Evgenios
Skitsanos
2007
H T T P : / / W W W . S K I T S A N O S . C O M

2. Adobe
Flex
Accessibility
Evaluation
March
1,
2007
Accessibility
policies
vary
from
Web
Application
country
to
country,
but
most
countries,
including
the
European
Accessibility
Evaluation
Union,
have
adopted
standards
based
on
the
Web
Content
The
Federal
Mandate:
Section
508
Standards
Accessibility
Guidelines
(WCAG)
of
the
World
Wide
Web
Consortium.
In
the
United
States,
Section
508
of
Section
508
of
the
U.S.
Rehabilitation
Act
prohibits
federal
agencies
the
U.S.
Rehabilitation
Act
from
buying,
developing,
maintaining,
or
using
electronic
and
mandates
that
web
content
information
technology
that
is
inaccessible
to
people
with
disabilities.
maintained
by
the
federal
government
must
be
made
Although
Section
508
was
enacted
more
than
14
years
ago,
little
accessible
to
people
with
progress
was
made
until
1998,
when
Congress
passed
the
Workforce
disabilities.
This
law
is
based
on
Investment
Act,
amending
the
law
to
give
members
of
the
public
and
W3C
priority
1
checkpoints.
government
employees
with
disabilities
the
right
to
sue
agencies
in
federal
court
and
file
administrative
complaints
for
noncompliance.
The
deadline
for
full
compliance
of
Federal
websites
with
Section
508
was
June
21,
2001.
(It
does
not
apply
to
web
pages
of
private
industry).
Specifically,
the
law
directs
all
Federal
agencies
that
develop,
procure,
maintain,
or
use
electronic
and
information
technology
to
ensure
that
this
technology
is
accessible
to
employees
and
members
of
the
public.
The
amended
Section
508
requires
that:
"…electronic
and
information
technology
allows
Federal
employees
with
disabilities
to
have
access
to
and
use
of
information
and
data
that
is
comparable
to
the
access
to
and
use
of
information
and
data
by
Federal
employees
who
are
not
individuals
with
disabilities,
unless
an
undue
burden
would
be
imposed
on
the
agency."
Read
the
full
regulation.
h t t p : / / w w w . s k i t s a n o s . c o m
Page
2

3. Adobe
Flex
Accessibility
Evaluation
March
1,
2007
Section
508
also
requires
that:
“…individuals
with
disabilities
who
are
members
of
the
public
seeking
information
or
services
from
a
Federal
agency
have
access
to
and
use
of
information
and
data
that
is
comparable
to
that
provided
to
the
public
who
are
not
individuals
with
disabilities,
unless
an
undue
burden
would
be
imposed
on
the
agency.”
The
full
regulation
can
be
viewed
at
www.usdoj.gov.
While
applying
legal
leverage
to
agencies,
Section
508
also
uses
government
buying
power
to
pressure
companies
to
produce
accessible
products.
Section
508
standards
will
become
part
of
the
Federal
Acquisition
Regulation
and
other
federal
laws
that
govern
agency
buying.
Simply
put,
companies
will
no
longer
be
able
to
sell
federal
agencies
any
software
or
hardware
that
fails
to
meet
accessibility
standards.
This
report
would
give
some
explanations
on
current
requirements
on
web
application
usability
and
accessibility,
clarify
number
of
tests
and
their
results
and
describe
couple
of
products
that
exists
today
on
the
market
for
people
with
disabilities.
This
report
describes
the
conformance
of
the
Flex
driven
Web
application
sample
with
W3C's
Web
Content
Accessibility
Guidelines
(WCAG)
1.0.
The
review
process
is
described
document
below
and
is
based
on
the
W3C's
Conformance
Evaluation
method
as
described
in
Evaluating
Web
Sites
for
Accessibility.
Based
on
this
evaluation,
sample
web
application
does
not
meet
WCAG
1.0
-­‐
Conformance
Level
Double
A.
Detailed
review
results
are
available
within
this
document
below.
h t t p : / / w w w . s k i t s a n o s . c o m
Page
3

4. Adobe
Flex
Accessibility
Evaluation
March
1,
2007
Section
508
Checklist
First
thing
you
need
to
know
in
order
to
test
your
web
application
is
what
the
minimal
requirements
that
your
web
application
have
to
fulfill.
There
are
at
least
two
sets
of
requirements
for
this
moment,
one
is
for
HTML
and
another
one
is
for
JavaScript.
Since
target
application
is
going
to
be
implemented
in
Adobe
Flex
we
going
to
review
requirements
related
only
to
Adobe
Flex
framework.
Accessibility
Requirements
for
Scripts,
Plug-­‐ins,
Java,
etc.
The
following
standards
are
excerpted
from
Section
508
of
the
Rehabilitation
Act,
§1194.21.
Full
text
of
Section
508
-­‐
external
link
(http://www.section508.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Content&ID=12).
SEC.
508
STANDARD
(a)
When
software
is
designed
to
run
on
a
system
that
has
a
keyboard,
product
functions
shall
be
executable
from
a
keyboard
where
the
function
itself
or
the
result
of
performing
a
function
can
be
discerned
textually.
(b)
Applications
shall
not
disrupt
or
disable
activated
features
of
other
products
that
are
identified
as
accessibility
features,
where
those
features
are
developed
and
documented
according
to
industry
standards.
Applications
also
shall
not
disrupt
or
disable
activated
features
of
any
operating
system
that
are
identified
as
accessibility
features
where
the
application
programming
interface
for
those
accessibility
features
has
been
documented
by
the
manufacturer
of
the
operating
system
and
is
available
to
the
product
developer.
(c)
A
well-­‐defined
on-­‐screen
indication
of
the
current
focus
shall
be
provided
that
moves
among
interactive
interface
elements
as
the
input
focus
changes.
The
focus
shall
be
programmatically
exposed
so
that
assistive
technology
can
track
focus
and
focus
changes.
(d)
Sufficient
information
about
a
user
interface
element
including
the
identity,
operation
and
state
of
the
element
shall
be
available
to
assistive
technology.
When
an
image
represents
a
program
element,
the
information
conveyed
by
the
image
must
also
be
available
in
text.
(e)
When
bitmap
images
are
used
to
identify
controls,
status
indicators,
or
other
programmatic
elements,
the
meaning
assigned
to
those
images
shall
be
consistent
throughout
an
application's
performance.
(f)
Textual
information
shall
be
provided
through
operating
system
functions
for
displaying
text.
The
minimum
information
that
shall
be
made
available
is
text
content,
text
input
caret
location,
and
text
attributes.
(g)
Applications
shall
not
override
user
selected
contrast
and
color
selections
and
other
individual
display
attributes.
(h)
When
animation
is
displayed,
the
information
shall
be
displayable
in
at
least
one
non-­‐animated
presentation
mode
at
the
option
of
the
user.
(i)
Color
coding
shall
not
be
used
as
the
only
means
of
conveying
information,
indicating
an
action,
prompting
a
response,
or
distinguishing
a
visual
element.
(j)
When
a
product
permits
a
user
to
adjust
color
and
contrast
settings,
a
variety
of
color
selections
capable
of
producing
a
range
of
contrast
levels
shall
be
provided.
(k)
Software
shall
not
use
flashing
or
blinking
text,
objects,
or
other
elements
having
a
flash
or
blink
frequency
greater
than
2
Hz
and
lower
than
55
Hz.
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Page
4

5. Adobe
Flex
Accessibility
Evaluation
March
1,
2007
(l)
When
electronic
forms
are
used,
the
form
shall
allow
people
using
assistive
technology
to
access
the
information,
field
elements,
and
functionality
required
for
completion
and
submission
of
the
form,
including
all
directions
and
cues.
h t t p : / / w w w . s k i t s a n o s . c o m
Page
5

6. Adobe
Flex
Accessibility
Evaluation
March
1,
2007
Software
applications
for
disabled
people
JAWS
The
most
popular
screen
reader
worldwide,
JAWS®
for
Windows®
works
with
your
PC
to
provide
access
to
today’s
software
applications
and
the
Internet.
With
its
internal
software
speech
synthesizer
and
the
computer’s
sound
card,
information
from
the
screen
is
read
aloud,
providing
technology
to
access
a
wide
variety
of
information,
education
and
job
related
applications.
JAWS
also
outputs
to
refreshable
braille
displays,
providing
unmatched
braille
support
of
any
screen
reader
on
the
market.
Get
started
with
training
in
DAISY
format
and
a
trial
version
of
Freedom
Scientific's
FSReader
DAISY
player
software.
Product
home
page:
http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_products/software_jaws.asp
Thunder
Thunder
is
free
screen
reader
talking
software
for
blind
and
visually
impaired
people.
Thunder
will
speak
all
Windows
menus
and
dialog
boxes,
allowing
full
control
of
your
computer.
It
gives
full
speech
feedback
for
most
text-­‐based
word
processing
tasks
including
editing
documents.
Thunder
enables
the
blind
user
to
keep
in
touch
with
friends
and
family
in
complete
privacy
by
using
the
popular
Outlook
Express
e-­‐mail,
which
is
available
on
every
computer.
To
enjoy
the
internet,
use
WebbIE,
the
text
browser,
which
is
part
of
the
Thunder
download.
Product
home
page:
http://www.screenreader.net/
h t t p : / / w w w . s k i t s a n o s . c o m
Page
6

7. Adobe
Flex
Accessibility
Evaluation
March
1,
2007
Accessibility
tests
At
this
moment
JAWS
seems
as
most
advanced
screen
reader
with
rich
functionality
and
capabilities
to
handle
very
complicated
web
content
as
well
with
handling
static
applications
within
user’s
desktops.
Screen
reader
and
Browser
specifics
By
now,
almost
everyone
has
heard
about
the
IE
Security
Update
and
how
it
impacts
ActiveX
control
interaction.
With
the
release
of
JAWS
7.1,
there
are
additional
reasons
to
make
sure
that
you
add
the
HTML
Object
element
in
the
way
suggested
at
the
Active
Content
Developer
Resource
site
(http://www.adobe.com/devnet/activecontent/).
If
you
don't,
here's
an
example
of
the
badness
that
you'll
inflict
on
your
screen
reader
users.
In
JAWS
there
are
two
modes
that
you
need
to
think
about
-­‐
Virtual
PC
Cursor
mode,
which
allows
the
user
to
read
through
the
document
line
by
line
or
using
several
shortcuts;
and
Forms
mode,
which
allows
users
to
interact
with
controls
and
type
information
into
editable
controls.
There
are
two
modes
because
keystrokes
that
are
needed
to
navigate
(e.g.
"f"
takes
you
to
the
first
form
control
on
a
page
in
HTML
or
Flash)
may
also
be
needed
in
a
control
(e.g.
Frank
needs
to
enter
his
name
in
a
TextInput).
When
a
user
locates
a
form
control
in
HTML
or
Flash,
they
hit
'enter'
and
JAWS
says
"forms
mode
on"
and
the
user
can
interact
with
the
control.
To
simplify
your
Flex
application
launching
process
we
do
recommend
using
small
JavaScript
library
called
SWFObject
by
Geoff
Stearns.
SWFObject
is
a
small
JavaScript
file
that
you
can
use
for
embedding
Macromedia
Flash
content
into
your
website.
The
script
detects
Flash
Player
in
all
major
web
browsers
(Mac
OS
and
Windows)
and
is
designed
to
make
embedding
SWF
files
as
easy
as
possible.
Besides
being
very
search
engine–friendly,
SWFObject
degrades
gracefully,
can
be
used
in
valid
HTML
and
XHTML
1.0
documents
(that
is,
when
pages
are
sent
as
text/html
instead
of
application/xhtml+xml),
and
is
forward-­‐compatible.
It
should
work
for
years
to
come.
You
can
read
how
SWFObject
works
on
Adobe
web
site
at
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flash/articles/swfobject_02.html
A
second
issue
with
JAWS
7.1
is
that
when
you
tab
through
a
web
page
in
Virtual
PC
Cursor
mode
and
tab
to
the
not-­‐yet-­‐activated
ActiveX
control
you
might
expect
that
you'd
hear
the
same
information
that
is
available
visually
("Press
SPACEBAR
or
ENTER
to
activate
and
use
this
control"),
but
you
don't.
You
hear
nothing.
If
the
user
is
aware
that
they've
tabbed
onto
something
they
might
hit
ins+tab
to
read
that
item
and
then
they
will
hear
"Flash
movie
start".
If
the
use
is
familiar
with
what
is
going
on
they
might
hit
enter
or
space,
but
neither
will
work.
The
user
needs
to
use
the
arrow
keys
to
navigate
into
the
flash
content
and
if
they
need
to
enter
forms
mode
deal
with
repositioning
their
focus.
h t t p : / / w w w . s k i t s a n o s . c o m
Page
7

8. Adobe
Flex
Accessibility
Evaluation
March
1,
2007
All
of
this
is
a
consequence
of
changes
made
to
JAWS
for
version
7.1.
If
you
enable
"legacy
Internet
Explorer
Support"
in
the
JAWS
Configuration
Manager's
HTML
Options
dialog
all
of
these
issues
go
away,
but
you
can't
count
on
users
doing
that.
Avoid
all
this
by
using
the
method
recommended
at
the
Active
Content
Developer
Resource
site
(http://www.adobe.com/devnet/activecontent/).
Product
Accessibility
Templates
Adobe
released
Product
Accessibility
Templates
for
number
of
their
products,
include
Adobe
Flash.
Adobe
Voluntary
Product
Accessibility
Template
(VPAT)
spells
out
the
details
of
the
law
and
outlines
the
accessibility-­‐related
features
of
various
products.
A
Voluntary
Product
Accessibility
Template,
or
VPAT,
is
a
standardized
form
that
lists
all
of
the
regulations
of
Section
508
and
explains
how
a
given
product
helps
you
comply
with
each
regulation.
The
VPAT
was
developed
by
the
Information
Technology
Industry
Council
to
be
used
across
the
software
industry.
The
purpose
of
the
Voluntary
Product
Accessibility
Template
is
to
assist
federal
contracting
officials
in
making
preliminary
assessments
regarding
the
availability
of
commercial
electronic
and
information
technology
products
and
services
with
features
that
support
accessibility.
It
is
assumed
that
these
product
and
service
providers
will
offer
additional
contact
information
to
facilitate
more
detailed
inquiries.
The
first
table
of
the
Accessibility
Template
provides
a
summary
view
of
the
Section
508
standards.
The
subsequent
tables
provide
more
detailed
information
on
each
subsection.
Each
table
contains
three
columns.
Column
one
of
the
Summary
Table
describes
the
subsections
of
subparts
B
and
C
of
Section
508
standards.
The
second
column
of
the
Summary
Table
describes
the
supporting
features
of
the
product
or
refers
readers
to
a
corresponding
Detail
table.
Finally,
the
third
column
of
the
Summary
Table
contains
any
additional
remarks
and
explanations
about
the
product.
In
the
subsequent
(Detail)
tables,
the
first
column
lists
the
lettered
criteria
of
each
subsection.
The
second
column
describes
the
supporting
features
of
the
product
as
specified
by
that
criteria.
The
third
column
contains
any
additional
remarks
and
explanations
about
the
product
relating
to
the
specified
criteria.
VPAT
for
Flash
Player
version
8
had
been
used,
since
there
no
materials
published
yet
for
Flash
9.
Summary
Table
Voluntary
Product
Accessibility
Template
Criteria
Supporting
Features
Remarks
and
explanations
Section
1194.21
Software
Please
refer
to
the
following
The
criteria
of
this
section
apply
to
Applications
and
Operating
VPAT
for
Macromedia
Flash
8
Macromedia
Flash
8,
the
application
Systems
features
that
meet
these
used
to
create
Macromedia
Flash
criteria.
Player
8
content.
Section
1194.22
Web-­‐based
Please
refer
to
the
following
The
criteria
of
this
section
apply
to
internet
information
and
VPAT
for
Macromedia
Flash
8
Macromedia
Flash
8,
the
application
h t t p : / / w w w . s k i t s a n o s . c o m
Page
8

9. Adobe
Flex
Accessibility
Evaluation
March
1,
2007
applications
features
that
meet
these
used
to
create
Macromedia
Flash
criteria.
Player
8
content.
Section
1194.23
These
criteria
do
not
apply
to
Telecommunications
Products
Macromedia
Flash
8.
Section
1194.24
Video
and
Please
refer
to
the
following
The
criteria
of
this
section
apply
to
Multi-­‐media
Products
VPAT
for
Macromedia
Flash
8
Macromedia
Flash
8,
the
application
features
that
meet
these
used
to
create
Macromedia
Flash
criteria.
Player
8
content.
Section
1194.25
Self-­‐ These
criteria
do
not
apply
to
Contained,
Closed
Product
Macromedia
Flash
8.
Section
1194.26
Desktop
and
These
criteria
do
not
apply
to
Portable
Computers
Macromedia
Flash
8.
Section
1194.31
Functional
Please
refer
to
the
following
The
criteria
of
this
section
apply
to
Performance
Criteria
VPAT
for
Macromedia
Flash
8
Macromedia
Flash
8,
the
application
features
that
meet
these
used
to
create
Macromedia
Flash
criteria.
Player
8
content.
Section
1194.41
Information,
Please
refer
to
the
following
The
criteria
of
this
section
apply
to
Documentation,
and
Support
VPAT
for
Macromedia
Flash
8
Macromedia
Flash
8,
the
application
features
that
meet
these
used
to
create
Macromedia
Flash
criteria.
Player
8
content.
Section
1194.21
Software
Applications
and
Operating
Systems
–
Detail
Voluntary
Product
Accessibility
Template
Criteria
Supporting
Features
Remarks
and
explanations
(a)
When
software
is
designed
Criteria
partially
met:
to
run
on
a
system
that
has
a
In
Macromedia
Flash
8,
keyboard,
product
functions
interaction
with
the
Stage
and
shall
be
executable
from
a
the
Timeline
is
not
possible
keyboard
where
the
function
using
the
keyboard.
itself
or
the
result
of
performing
a
function
can
be
discerned
textually.
(b)
Applications
shall
not
Criteria
met
with
minor
disrupt
or
disable
activated
exceptions:
features
of
other
products
that
Macromedia
Flash
8
does
not
are
identified
as
accessibility
interfere
with
accessibility
features,
where
those
features
features
native
to
operating
are
developed
and
systems,
with
the
exception
of
documented
according
to
button
images
in
the
Property
industry
standards.
and
Tag
inspectors
which
are
Applications
also
shall
not
difficult
to
see
when
using
the
disrupt
or
disable
activated
Windows
XP
high
contrast
features
of
any
operating
mode.
system
that
are
identified
as
accessibility
features
where
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9

10. Adobe
Flex
Accessibility
Evaluation
March
1,
2007
the
application
programming
interface
for
those
accessibility
features
has
been
documented
by
the
manufacturer
of
the
operating
system
and
is
available
to
the
product
developer.
(c)
A
well-­‐defined
on-­‐screen
Criteria
fully
met.
indication
of
the
current
focus
shall
be
provided
that
moves
among
interactive
interface
elements
as
the
input
focus
changes.
The
focus
shall
be
programmatically
exposed
so
that
Assistive
Technology
can
track
focus
and
focus
changes.
(d)
Sufficient
information
Criteria
met
with
minor
about
a
user
interface
element
exceptions:
Macromedia
Flash
including
the
identity,
8
does
not
provide
operation
and
state
of
the
information
about
whether
element
shall
be
available
to
individual
panels
are
open
or
Assistive
Technology.
When
an
closed
to
assistive
technology.
image
represents
a
program
element,
the
information
conveyed
by
the
image
must
also
be
available
in
text.
(e)
When
bitmap
images
are
Criteria
fully
met.
used
to
identify
controls,
status
indicators,
or
other
programmatic
elements,
the
meaning
assigned
to
those
images
shall
be
consistent
throughout
an
application's
performance.
(f)
Textual
information
shall
be
Criteria
fully
met.
provided
through
operating
system
functions
for
displaying
text.
The
minimum
information
that
shall
be
made
available
is
text
content,
text
input
caret
location,
and
text
attributes.
(g)
Applications
shall
not
Criteria
partially
met:
override
user
selected
contrast
Selected
panels
do
not
and
color
selections
and
other
respond
to
user-­‐selected
individual
display
attributes.
operating
system
color
and
contrast
or
font
display
size
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10

11. Adobe
Flex
Accessibility
Evaluation
March
1,
2007
settings,
including
the
output,
parameters,
bindings,
schema,
and
libary
panels.
(h)
When
animation
is
Criteria
fully
met.
displayed,
the
information
shall
be
displayable
in
at
least
one
non-­‐animated
presentation
mode
at
the
option
of
the
user.
(i)
Color
coding
shall
not
be
Criteria
fully
met.
used
as
the
only
means
of
conveying
information,
indicating
an
action,
prompting
a
response,
or
distinguishing
a
visual
element.
(j)
When
a
product
permits
a
Criteria
fully
met.
user
to
adjust
color
and
contrast
settings,
a
variety
of
color
selections
capable
of
producing
a
range
of
contrast
levels
shall
be
provided.
(k)
Software
shall
not
use
Criteria
fully
met.
flashing
or
blinking
text,
objects,
or
other
elements
having
a
flashing
or
blink
frequency
greater
than
2
Hz
and
lower
than
55
Hz.
(l)
When
electronic
forms
are
Criteria
partially
met:
used,
the
form
shall
allow
The
following
dialog
boxes
in
people
using
Assistive
the
Macromedia
Flash
8
Technology
to
access
the
authoring
application
use
information,
field
elements,
custom
controls
not
readily
and
functionality
required
for
accessible
by
assistive
completion
and
submission
of
technology.
These
include:
the
the
form,
including
all
Preferences
dialog
box,
the
directions
and
cues.
Keyboard
Shortcuts
dialog
box,
and
the
Create
New
Symbol
dialog
box.
Section
1194.22
Web-­‐based
Internet
information
and
applications
-­‐
Detail
Voluntary
Product
Accessibility
Template
Criteria
Supporting
Features
Remarks
and
explanations
(a)
A
text
equivalent
for
every
non-­‐ Criteria
fully
met.
text
element
shall
be
provided
(e.g.,
via
"alt",
"longdesc",
or
in
h t t p : / / w w w . s k i t s a n o s . c o m
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11

12. Adobe
Flex
Accessibility
Evaluation
March
1,
2007
element
content).
(b)
Equivalent
alternatives
for
any
Criteria
fully
met.
multimedia
presentation
shall
be
synchronized
with
the
presentation.
(c)
Web
pages
shall
be
designed
so
Criteria
fully
met.
that
all
information
conveyed
with
color
is
also
available
without
color,
for
example
from
context
or
markup.
(d)
Documents
shall
be
organized
Criteria
not
applicable
to
this
Macromedia
Flash
8
content
so
they
are
readable
without
product.
works
independently
of
style
requiring
an
associated
style
sheet.
sheets.
(e)
Redundant
text
links
shall
be
Criteria
not
applicable
to
this
Macromedia
Flash
8
content
provided
for
each
active
region
of
product.
does
not
use
server-­‐side
image
a
server-­‐side
image
map.
maps.
(f)
Client-­‐side
image
maps
shall
be
Criteria
not
applicable
to
this
Macromedia
Flash
MX
content
provided
instead
of
server-­‐side
product.
does
not
use
client-­‐side
image
image
maps
except
where
the
maps.
regions
cannot
be
defined
with
an
available
geometric
shape.
(g)
Row
and
column
headers
shall
Criteria
not
met.
Macromedia
be
identified
for
data
tables.
Flash
8
content
does
not
have
primitives
for
table
data.
(h)
Markup
shall
be
used
to
Criteria
not
met.
Macromedia
associate
data
cells
and
header
Flash
8
content
does
not
have
cells
for
data
tables
that
have
two
primitives
for
table
data.
or
more
logical
levels
of
row
or
column
headers.
(i)
Frames
shall
be
titled
with
text
Criteria
not
applicable
to
this
Macromedia
Flash
8
content
that
facilitates
frame
identification
product.
does
not
contain
layout
frames.
and
navigation.
(j)
Pages
shall
be
designed
to
avoid
Criteria
fully
met.
causing
the
screen
to
flicker
with
a
frequency
greater
than
2
Hz
and
lower
than
55
Hz.
(k)
A
text-­‐only
page,
with
Criteria
fully
met.
equivalent
information
or
functionality,
shall
be
provided
to
make
a
web
site
comply
with
the
provisions
of
this
part,
when
compliance
cannot
be
accomplished
in
any
other
way.
The
content
of
the
text-­‐only
page
shall
be
updated
whenever
the
primary
page
changes.
(l)
When
pages
utilize
scripting
Criteria
fully
met.
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12

13. Adobe
Flex
Accessibility
Evaluation
March
1,
2007
languages
to
display
content,
or
to
create
interface
elements,
the
information
provided
by
the
script
shall
be
identified
with
functional
text
that
can
be
read
by
Assistive
Technology.
(m)
When
a
web
page
requires
Criteria
fully
met.
that
an
applet,
plug-­‐in
or
other
application
be
present
on
the
client
system
to
interpret
page
content,
the
page
must
provide
a
link
to
a
plug-­‐in
or
applet
that
complies
with
§1194.21(a)
through
(l).
(n)
When
electronic
forms
are
Criteria
fully
met.
designed
to
be
completed
on-­‐line,
the
form
shall
allow
people
using
Assistive
Technology
to
access
the
information,
field
elements,
and
functionality
required
for
completion
and
submission
of
the
form,
including
all
directions
and
cues.
(o)
A
method
shall
be
provided
Criteria
fully
met.
that
permits
users
to
skip
repetitive
navigation
links.
(p)
When
a
timed
response
is
Criteria
fully
met.
required,
the
user
shall
be
alerted
and
given
sufficient
time
to
indicate
more
time
is
required.
Note
to
1194.22:
The
Board
interprets
paragraphs
(a)
through
(k)
of
this
section
as
consistent
with
the
following
priority
1
Checkpoints
of
the
Web
Content
Accessibility
Guidelines
1.0
(WCAG
1.0)
(May
5
1999)
published
by
the
Web
Accessibility
Initiative
of
the
World
Wide
Web
Consortium:
Paragraph
(a)
-­‐
1.1,
(b)
-­‐
1.4,
(c)
-­‐
2.1,
(d)
-­‐
6.1,
(e)
-­‐
1.2,
(f)
-­‐
9.1,
(g)
-­‐
5.1,
(h)
-­‐
5.2,
(i)
-­‐
12.1,
(j)
-­‐
7.1,
(k)
-­‐
11.4.
Section
1194.24
Video
and
Multimedia
Products
-­‐
Detail
Voluntary
Product
Accessibility
Template
Criteria
Supporting
Features
Remarks
and
explanations
(a)
All
analog
television
displays
Criteria
not
applicable
to
this
Macromedia
Flash
8
does
not
13
inches
and
larger,
and
product.
include
any
display
hardware.
computer
equipment
that
includes
analog
television
receiver
or
display
circuitry,
shall
be
equipped
with
caption
decoder
circuitry
which
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13

14. Adobe
Flex
Accessibility
Evaluation
March
1,
2007
appropriately
receives,
decodes,
and
displays
closed
captions
from
broadcast,
cable,
videotape,
and
DVD
signals.
As
soon
as
practicable,
but
not
later
than
July
1,
2002,
widescreen
digital
television
(DTV)
displays
measuring
at
least
7.8
inches
vertically,
DTV
sets
with
conventional
displays
measuring
at
least
13
inches
vertically,
and
stand-­‐alone
DTV
tuners,
whether
or
not
they
are
marketed
with
display
screens,
and
computer
equipment
that
includes
DTV
receiver
or
display
circuitry,
shall
be
equipped
with
caption
decoder
circuitry
which
appropriately
receives,
decodes,
and
displays
closed
captions
from
broadcast,
cable,
videotape,
and
DVD
signals.
(b)
Television
tuners,
including
Criteria
not
applicable
to
this
Macromedia
Flash
8
does
not
tuner
cards
for
use
in
computers,
product.
include
any
television
tuner
shall
be
equipped
with
secondary
hardware.
audio
program
playback
circuitry.
(c)
All
training
and
informational
Criteria
fully
met.
Designers
may
provide
video
and
multimedia
synchronized
text
and
audio
productions
which
support
the
equivalents
in
Macromedia
Flash
agency's
mission,
regardless
of
8
using
one
of
four
methods.
For
format,
that
contain
speech
or
more
information
on
captioning,
other
audio
information
please
go
to
the
Macromedia
necessary
for
the
comprehension
Accessibility
Resource
Center
of
the
content,
shall
be
open
or
closed
captioned.
(d)
Sufficient
information
about
a
Criteria
fully
met.
user
interface
element
including
the
identity,
operation
and
state
of
the
element
shall
be
available
to
Assistive
Technology.
When
an
image
represents
a
program
element,
the
information
conveyed
by
the
image
must
also
be
available
in
text.
(e)
Display
or
presentation
of
Criteria
fully
met.
alternate
text
presentation
or
audio
descriptions
shall
be
user-­‐
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14

15. Adobe
Flex
Accessibility
Evaluation
March
1,
2007
selectable
unless
permanent.
Section
1194.31
Functional
Performance
Criteria
Voluntary
Product
Accessibility
Template
Criteria
Supporting
Features
Remarks
and
explanations
(a)
At
least
one
mode
of
Criteria
partially
met:
operation
and
information
Macromedia
Flash
8
may
be
retrieval
that
does
not
require
used
to
create
content
that
user
vision
shall
be
provided,
or
does
not
require
user
vision;
support
for
assistive
technology
however,
some
vision
is
used
by
people
who
are
blind
or
required
to
manipulate
the
visually
impaired
shall
be
Stage
and
Timeline
in
provided.
Macromedia
Flash
8.
(b)
At
least
one
mode
of
Criteria
fully
met.
operation
and
information
retrieval
that
does
not
require
visual
acuity
greater
than
20/70
shall
be
provided
in
audio
and
enlarged
print
output
working
together
or
independently,
or
support
for
assistive
technology
used
by
people
who
are
visually
impaired
shall
be
provided.
(c)
At
least
one
mode
of
Criteria
fully
met.
operation
and
information
retrieval
that
does
not
require
user
hearing
shall
be
provided,
or
support
for
assistive
technology
used
by
people
who
are
deaf
or
hard
of
hearing
shall
be
provided.
(d)
Where
audio
information
is
Criteria
fully
met.
important
for
the
use
of
a
product,
at
least
one
mode
of
operation
and
information
retrieval
shall
be
provided
in
an
enhanced
auditory
fashion,
or
support
for
assistive
hearing
devices
shall
be
provided.
(e)
At
least
one
mode
of
Criteria
fully
met.
operation
and
information
retrieval
that
does
not
require
user
speech
shall
be
provided,
or
support
for
assistive
technology
used
by
people
with
disabilities
shall
be
provided.
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15

16. Adobe
Flex
Accessibility
Evaluation
March
1,
2007
(f)
At
least
one
mode
of
operation
Criteria
fully
met.
and
information
retrieval
that
does
not
require
fine
motor
control
or
simultaneous
actions
and
that
is
operable
with
limited
reach
and
strength
shall
be
provided.
Section
1194.41
Information,
Documentation,
and
Support
-­‐
Detail
Voluntary
Product
Accessibility
Template
Criteria
Supporting
Features
Remarks
and
explanations
(a)
Product
support
documentation
Criteria
partially
met:
provided
to
end-­‐users
shall
be
Help
documentation
in
made
available
in
alternate
Macromedia
Flash
8
is
available
in
formats
upon
request,
at
no
four
general
locations.
First,
help
additional
charge.
documentation
can
be
found
in
the
printed
documentation
that
accompanies
Macromedia
Flash
8.
Second,
help
documentation
identical
to
that
found
in
the
printed
documentation
is
available
in
HTML
format
under
the
Help
menu
item
Using
Flash
in
Macromedia
Flash
8.
Third,
help
documentation
is
available
at
the
Macromedia
website,
at
the
Macromedia
Flash
8
product
documentation
site.
(b)
End-­‐users
shall
have
access
to
a
Criteria
fully
met.
Information
on
the
description
of
the
accessibility
and
accessibility
and
compatibility
features
of
products
compatibility
features
of
in
alternate
formats
or
alternate
Macromedia
products
is
methods
upon
request,
at
no
available
at
the
additional
charge.
Macromedia
Accessibility
Center.
(c)
Support
services
for
products
Criteria
fully
met.
shall
accommodate
the
communication
needs
of
end-­‐users
with
disabilities.
Testing
keyboard
access
in
Flash
and
Flex
Testing
for
keyboard
access
is
probably
the
first
test
that
should
be
performed
when
evaluating
the
accessibility
of
Flash
and
Flex
content
and
applications.
Many
developers
are
not
familiar
with
the
ways
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16

17. Adobe
Flex
Accessibility
Evaluation
March
1,
2007
that
users
are
able
to
interact
with
applications
when
using
only
the
keyboard,
so
it
is
important
that
time
is
taken
learn
about
how
keyboard
access
should
work.
For
Windows,
a
useful
resource
is
Microsoft’s
Windows
User
Experience
Guidelines,
and
in
particular
the
section
on
controls
(http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-­‐us/dnwue/html/ch08c.asp).
This
document
provides
detailed
information
about
keyboard
access,
and
is
worth
reading.
In
Flex
and
Flash
components,
keyboard
accessibility
is
designed
into
the
components,
but
for
developers
creating
new
components
or
customizing
controls
it
is
crucial
to
keep
the
expected
keyboard
access
requirements
in
mind.
A
good
starting
point
for
testing
keyboard
access
is
the
following
basic
test
plan:
1. Put
the
mouse
away.
Turn
it
upside
down,
unplug
it,
whatever
it
takes
to
not
use
it.
2. Open
the
application
or
web
page
containing
the
Flash
or
Flex
content.
3. Tab
through
the
application
without
interacting
with
any
controls.
Make
sure
that
you
can
follow
the
focus
visually
and
that
it
follows
an
expected
path.
If
you
have
difficulty
locating
the
focus,
this
is
a
problem
that
needs
to
be
addressed.
Tools
such
as
Inspect32
(http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&familyid=3755582a-­‐a707-­‐
460a-­‐bf21-­‐1373316e13f0)
can
be
used
to
assist
testers
in
locating
the
focus
when
it
is
hard
to
see
–
this
is
just
to
assist
in
development;
don’t
expect
your
users
to
use
this
tool.
4. Tab
in
reverse.
Shift+tab
is
used
to
tab
backwards
through
the
tab
order.
Occasionally
there
are
issues
in
tabbing
that
are
made
apparent
by
reverse
tabbing.
5. Tab
to
specific
controls
and
check
the
behavior
of
each.
For
example,
if
you
tab
to
a
ComboBox
in
a
Flex
1.5
application
make
sure
that
the
behavior
of
the
ComboBox
matches
your
expectations
and
the
documentation
for
the
ComboBox
keyboard
navigation
at
http://livedocs.macromedia.com/flex/15/flex_docs_en/00000232.htm.
6. The
big
challenge
here
is
when
you
are
using
controls
that
you’ve
made
in
a
Flash
movie
(e.g.
a
simple
tab
navigator,
made
from
scratch
and
possibly
without
much
attention
to
proper
keyboard
support)
or
in
a
custom
control
for
Flex
—
make
sure
that
when
you
make
or
significantly
modify
a
control
that
you
determine
what
type
of
control
it
is
and
make
it
conform
to
expected
keyboard
conventions.
7. If
the
Flash
content
has
specific
keyboard
shortcuts
to
perform
functions,
make
sure
that
these
don’t
interfere
with
the
keystrokes
defined
for
specific
controls.
Most
keystroke
conflicts
that
I
see
occur
when
a
screen
reader
is
running,
so
that
will
be
a
necessary
testing
step
for
another
phase
of
testing.
Tab
order
IS
important
The
tab
order
is
really,
really
important,
because
it
not
only
affects
the
logical
usage
order
of
the
application’s
controls,
but
it
also
affects
the
reading
order
for
assistive
technologies.
This
means
that
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17

18. Adobe
Flex
Accessibility
Evaluation
March
1,
2007
you
need
to
set
the
tab
order
for
everything
that
will
be
read
unless
your
application
is
very
simple
and
only
has
object
in
a
single
vertical
or
horizontal
group.
Additional
notes
Primary
tests
we
had
in
mind
to
pass
was
to
help
us
figure
out
behaviors
of
different
screen
readers
and
text
browsers
that
can
be
used
in
tandem
with
screen
readers
in
case
if
screen
reader
itself
does
not
have
capabilities
to
navigate
page/web
application
on
generic
browsers
(Firefox,
Internet
Explorer,
Opera,
Camino,
etc…)
like
it
happened
in
case
with
Thunder.
Another
moment
we
would
like
to
point
your
attention
to
is
that
all
browsers
works
differently
with
screen
readers
like
JAWS.
We
found
for
instance
that
Microsoft
Internet
Explorer
can
perfectly
communicate
with
JAWS
and
basically
whole
Flex
application
works
just
fine,
form
items
are
readable
and
audible,
user
can
easy
navigate
through
UI
with
almost
no
issues.
However,
we
experienced
some
problems
with
Firefox
browser
even
after
special
accessibility
features
as
it
recommended
by
Adobe.
Unfortunately
we
can
not
report
anything
on
Mac
OS
based
browsers
since
we
don’t
have
any
Apple
computers
near
around
to
test.
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18

19. Adobe
Flex
Accessibility
Evaluation
March
1,
2007
Flex
Accessibility
Guidelines
You
create
accessible
content
by
using
accessibility
features
included
with
Flex,
by
taking
advantage
of
ActionScript
designed
to
implement
accessibility,
and
by
following
recommended
design
and
development
practices.
The
following
list
of
recommended
practices
is
not
exhaustive,
but
suggests
common
issues
to
consider.
Depending
on
your
audience's
needs,
additional
requirements
may
arise.
Visually
impaired
users
For
visually
impaired
users,
keep
in
mind
the
following
design
recommendations:
• Design
and
implement
a
logical
tab
order
for
the
tabs.
• Design
the
document
so
that
constant
changes
in
content
do
not
unnecessarily
cause
screen
readers
to
refresh.
For
example,
you
should
group
or
hide
looping
elements.
• Provide
captions
for
narrative
audio.
Be
aware
of
audio
in
your
document
that
might
interfere
with
a
user
being
able
to
listen
to
the
screen
reader.
• Use
percentage
sizing
so
that
your
applications
scale
properly
at
smaller
screen
sizes.
This
allows
users
of
screen
magnifiers
to
see
more
of
your
application
at
one
time.
Also
take
into
account
that
many
visually
impaired
users
run
applications
with
lower
screen
resolutions
than
other
users.
• Ensure
that
foreground
and
background
colors
contrast
sufficiently
to
make
text
readable
for
people
with
low
vision.
• Ensure
that
controls
don't
depend
on
the
use
of
a
specific
pointer
device,
such
as
a
mouse
or
trackball.
• Ensure
that
components
are
accessible
by
keyboard.
All
Flex
components
defined
as
accessible
include
keyboard
navigation.
For
a
list
of
these
components
and
the
available
keyboard
commands
for
each,
see
Accessible
components
and
containers.
Color
blind
users
For
color
blind
users,
ensure
that
color
is
not
the
only
means
of
conveying
information.
Users
with
mobility
impairment
For
users
with
mobility
impairment,
keep
in
mind
the
following
design
recommendations:
• Ensure
that
controls
don't
depend
on
the
use
of
a
specific
pointer
device.
• Ensure
that
components
are
accessible
by
keyboard.
All
Flex
components
defined
as
accessible
include
keyboard
navigation.
For
a
list
of
these
components
and
the
available
keyboard
commands
for
each,
see
Accessible
components
and
containers.
Hearing-­‐impaired
users
For
hearing-­‐impaired
users,
ensure
that
you
add
captions
to
audio
content.
Users
with
cognitive
impairment
For
users
with
cognitive
impairments,
such
as
dyslexia,
keep
in
mind
the
following
design
recommendations:
• Ensure
an
uncluttered,
easy-­‐to-­‐navigate
design.
• Provide
graphical
imagery
that
helps
convey
the
purpose
and
message
of
the
application.
These
graphics
should
enhance,
not
replace,
textual
or
audio
content.
• Provide
more
than
one
method
to
accomplish
common
tasks.
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19

20. Adobe
Flex
Accessibility
Evaluation
March
1,
2007
Reviewers
Below
you
will
find
the
list
of
reviewers
participated
in
web
application
accessibility
evaluation
process:
Details
Name
Evgenios
Skitsanos
Affiliated
Company
Skitsanos
Inc
Contact
Details
Phone:
+40-­‐721-­‐834664
Email:
info@skitsanos.com
Expertise
Web
Development,
User
Interface
Prototyping,
User
Interface
design,
Usability,
Computer-­‐Human
Interaction
Natural
Languages
English
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20

21. Adobe
Flex
Accessibility
Evaluation
March
1,
2007
References
• Web
Content
Accessibility
Guidelines
1.0
<http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/>
• Checklist
for
Web
Content
Accessibility
Guidelines
1.0
<http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/full-­‐checklist.html>
• Techniques
for
Web
Content
Accessibility
Guidelines
1.0
<http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10-­‐TECHS/>
• Evaluating
Web
Sites
for
Accessibility
<http://www.w3.org/WAI/eval/>
• Evaluation,
Repair,
and
Transformation
Tools
for
Web
Content
Accessibility
<http://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/existingtools.html>
• Selecting
and
Using
Authoring
Tools
for
Web
Accessibility
[draft]
<http://www.w3.org/WAI/EO/Drafts/impl/software5.html>
• Review
Teams
for
Evaluating
Web
Site
Accessibility
[draft]
<http://www.w3.org/WAI/EO/Drafts/review/reviewteams.html>
• Adobe
-­‐
Section
508
Explained
<http://www.adobe.com/macromedia/accessibility/508standards.html>
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