Forum Discussion
Accessibility Checker - Switch off accessible objects
I'm using the accessibility checker to make all my courses 100% accessible. I open the project file, run the checker and go through each line, one by one.
The most common error is an object (rectangle / line / icon) not being accessible. Why does a horizontal line ever need to be accessible?
So I'm going through turning them all off as they don't need alt text. This is painful, some project files have 000s of errors.
Is there a quick way to untick the accessibility of all shape type objects. Icons from the media library are grouped and the main group and its elements all need to be switched off. The acc checker doesn't allow multi select and when in the timeline selecting all and unticking doesn't always work. Its taking forever!
7 Replies
This doesn’t directly answer your question about the Accessibility Checker and your current work, but it’s more of a helpful workflow tip I’ve found useful for future work. Try designing with accessibility in mind right from the start. For example, the first time you use a line or shape—anything decorative—go ahead and check the box to hide it from accessibility tools. Then, when you copy and paste that object elsewhere, it’s already set up correctly. It’s a small step upfront that ends up being a huge time-saver later on!
Thanks, yes going forwards its easier. Its when you have to pick up very old, large project files and make them compliant its more difficult.
I find trying to use the acc checker with 1000+ items makes it very slow. So I turn on the filter by slide to make it more manageable. It would be useful if the footer which displays the number of issues had brackets showing the number in the current slide, not just the grand total across whole project.
Oh, I like that idea. To look at it slide by slide. And I totally hear you, those old projects up for remediation...its a slag. But so awesome that people want their courses made accessible now. Sending you positive vibes as you click all those checkboxes. Throw on some good tunes or a podcast...LOL.
Hey HVfb0f498d-053b - I understand and appreciate you letting us know about this. Authors can create some really unique and customized courses, and one of the things that lets the checker know to check something is if the shape/object/element is visible to accessibility tools. We've started making improvements around that area where objects are visible to accessibility by default. For example, in SL360 Update 98, we made this enhancement:
- Enhanced: New icons now display as individual icons to accessibility tools by default. You no longer need to hide each shape component of the icon separately.
We are continuing to make improvements to the accessibility checker, and we want to hear your feedback.
Thanks,
Ronnie PilmanIf it is the same shape on multiple slides and on the same place, adding it to a slide master or slide layout with the accessibility unchecked can help. You still have to delete the old ones, but it is less clicks.
It would be helpful if we could multi-select issues (alt text, etc.) and uncheck 'Object is visible..' for all like issues at once.
Hey MikeAnderson-27 - We are looking at way to make this easier! Stay tuned :)
