Forum Discussion
In Case You Missed It (ICYMI): Accessibility Updates in Q2 2026
Welcome to our Q2 2026 update!
This quarter continued our focus on supporting the creation of accessible training and improving the learner experience. From new capabilities for identifying accessibility improvements to refinements for screen reader users, keyboard navigation, and color contrast, these updates reflect our ongoing commitment to accessibility across Rise and Storyline.
Our community continues to grow. We now have 970 members, an increase of 54 this quarter. We’re glad you’re here.
Let’s take a look at what’s new this quarter!
Highlights This Quarter
This quarter's accessibility updates centered around three themes:
Identifying accessibility improvements earlier
Storyline Labs introduces an experimental Color Contrast Check that helps identify color contrast issues across an entire project, while updates to Rise theme colors ensure contrast is calculated correctly across supported theme elements.
Giving authors more control
Storyline now lets you choose which objects are visible to screen readers, giving you greater control over how your training is presented to assistive technologies.
Improving the learner experience
Across Rise and Storyline, we refined screen reader support, keyboard navigation, focus management, and question interactions to provide a more predictable experience for learners using assistive technologies.
Together, these updates continue our focus on supporting accessible training and improving the experience for everyone who creates and completes it.
Product Updates
Rise
- Enhanced: To improve accessibility, we've globally applied WCAG 2.1-compatible contrast to theme color elements that previously had contrast calculated incorrectly.
- Enhanced: Improved screen reader focus behavior so that, after answering a knowledge check, focus moves directly to the next relevant content.
- Enhanced: Improved tooltip behavior so that only meaningful tooltips are displayed for interactive elements like the block selector and sorting activity.
- Enhanced: Preview now opens the entire course, with full navigation.
- Enhanced: The video player is now consistent across the app and provides a refined experience with better responsiveness on mobile devices.
Storyline
- New: Easily control which objects should be visible to screen readers with a new accessibility toggle in the timeline.
- New: Storyline Labs is here! Access experimental features early from the Labs button in the File or View tab.
- Available in Labs: Color Contrast Check helps identify color contrast issues across an entire project using the accessibility checker.
- Fixed: Screen readers announced extra text when certain question types were used.
- Fixed: A trigger designed to fire with a user click incorrectly executed when using a screen reader.
- Fixed: Text-entry fields didn't follow the defined custom focus order during preview.
- Fixed: Windows Narrator read bulleted and numbered list items twice.
- Fixed: Screen readers didn't correctly announce nested list items in the Notes panel.
- Fixed: The accessibility checker incorrectly reported issues on screen recording slides where all objects were hidden from accessibility tools.
- Fixed: The focus order was incorrect for screen readers when the Transcripts tab was opened.
- Fixed: Drop-down question choices didn't display a scrollbar when the list couldn't fit all choices.
Other Updates
Updated Articles