508 Compliance Questions

Sep 09, 2015

We are trying to get our courses revised for 508 compliance. We are running into a few inconsistencies and would like further explanation and help.

1. Just before going to the PREV and NEXT button (using standard Storyline bottom right buttons), there is an extra tab. (A) When JAWS reader is not on, it seems like an extra tab is needed for no reason. (B) When JAWS reader is on, it says "Skip navigation, hit ENTER to return to the slide." I believe this is standard operation per this post http://www.articulate.com/support/storyline-2/skip-player-navigation-when-tabbing-through-elements-with-a-screen-reader?_ga=1.161887999.299404195.1441816963 Correct?

2. We have our menu in the topbar right so it is not always seen. The tabbing seems to not go to the topbar right links consistently. Is this a known issue? Anyone know how to make it go there consistently before or after the PREV/NEXT buttons?

3. If I hit ENTER or SPACEBAR when JAWS says "skip navigation ...", it seems to turn OFF going to the menu altogether until menu is triggered by clicking on it again. Is there another way for the learner to invoke "going to the menu" and "not going to the menu" when using keyboard tabbing/screen reader?

12 Replies
Christie Pollick

Hi, Sighle - 

Thank you for your question! While I am not an expert on 508 Compliance, I wanted to share information on a few different threads that may be of assistance, including this General Info on Storyline and Section 508 Accessibility, as well as this eBook on 6 Best Practices for Designing Accessible E-Learning

You are also welcome to share your .story file here in the thread, and hopefully others in the community are able to chime in with their thoughts or suggestions. :)

Terry Springer

You can turn off the skip navigation function by modifying the "frame.xml" file in the Storyline output > storyline_content folder. Open the frame.xml file with notebook. Near the top of the page in the text you'll see "skip_nav_enabled="true". Change it to "skip_nav_enabled="false" and save the file. You will need to do this each time you publish the project.

Sighle Denier

Thank you both for your replies. I'm just getting back to this. My main concern is #2 above. Both of your answers address #1 and #3 directly and indirectly. I'm not sure I want to turn off the feature, but if the extra tab becomes annoying or we can't get it to go to the menu tab when it is located top right instead of along the side of the course, I may go that route.

What I would really like is an answer to #2 -- is navigation supposed to continue to the tabs in the top right toolbar if the learner does not "skip it"? does it work for other people? (i.e., is it my environment causing the issue)

Thank you again for your follow-up and I will continue to do my own investigation.

Christie Pollick

Hi, Sighle -- Would you be able to provide your file so that we are able to take a closer look with respects to question #2? Please use the Add Attachment button in the bottom left of the reply box here in the thread and we'll be happy to do some testing to rule out whether or not the behavior you are seeing is specific to your environment or not. 

Sighle Denier

Christie, thank you for staying on top of this for us. We did some troubleshooting today and discovered the following so far for our tabbing issue to the menu up in top right corner:

1. It tabs to the menu, resources, contacts on the first page only - we tried swapping the splash page and the introduction and doesn't matter which page it is

2. on the 2nd page it quits tabbing to menu, resources, contacts tabs - we thought maybe the "enter" button on next was telling it to "turn it off", but we tried clicking next instead and get the same results.

I'm attaching the story file and hope you can help us further. Thank you, Sighle

Christie Pollick

Hi, Sighle -- Thanks for your patience while I tested your file. I am seeing the same behavior you described, where you are able to tab to Menu, Resources, Contacts on the 1st page, but none beyond that. I was not able to nail down a fix for what is causing this issue, so I would like our Support Engineers to take a closer look for you. I went ahead and submitted a support ticket on your behalf, so you should be hearing from a member of that staff soon via email. 

I plan to follow along with your case (00650850), and I will share any relevant updates here in the thread for others who may encounter the same issue. :)

Christie Pollick

Your kind words are greatly appreciated, Sighle! Thanks so much, and I hope we can get this sorted out for you as soon as possible!  :)

(I also wanted to note: when you reply via email, your signature information is displayed publicly in the threads, so please feel free to use the Edit button beneath your post to remove those details if you wish. ) 

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