Is there anyway to get assisstive technology (screen readers) to read an Alt Tag applied to a Text Entry Field. While doing 508 testing I ran into the fact that despite what is in the text entry field or its alt tag, JAWS always reads text entry fields as "TEXT ENTRY INPUT". Not the most helpful message.
I created a very small text box positioned slightly above and to the left of the text entry field. I usually position it behind the text entry field which has an opaque white fill.
When a sighted user comes to the slide they will not see the small hidden text box and will use the screen as usual.
When a user with a screen reader comes to the slide and TABS through the elements on the screen they will come to the hidden text box right before they come to the text entry field.
In the text box I insert instructions like "Press the TAB key and then type in your answer to the question ....blah blah blah."
Of course it would be EASIER if the screen reader could read the Alt Text on the text entry field itself. Not sure if that is a limitaion of JAWS or Storyline though.
Definitely a limitation of Storyline. There should be a method to add a label or alt text to form fields. Now that we have a new version of Storyline, the assumption (!) is that users who use screen readers won't press Tab to move through the page, but will use arrow keys. So a well-placed bit of text just before the field would work, BUT, we don't KNOW that the user will press arrow keys, so might not hear the text. Your solution is a workaround but will only work if the person is using arrow keys (because text boxes are no longer focusable). If the person tabs to the text box, they will NOT hear the instruction.
You raise good points, and I appreciate you sharing your experience. Our accessibility journey isn't over as we continue to make progress in our work.
We're still monitoring the impact from NVDA and JAWS not reading the alt text for a text or numeric entry field in Storyline courses, so I'll surface your experience with the right team.
The moment there's more info to share, you'll be the first to know.
Has their been progress on this? I can't find anything current, and my numeric entry fields are just reading as "edit blank" instead of what I have in the alt text?
I'm happy to help! It looks like the screen reader is announcing that the field can be edited, but the value of the field is also blank. I've tested this using NVDA, and I'm hearing "Main Landmark Clickable. (alt text) Edit Space." Here's a video of my testing.
Which screen reader, browser, and version of Storyline 360 are you using?
I can't get it to work :( I would really appreciate any suggestions! I am using Storyline v3.56.26219.0, and it doesn't show me any updates are available. I am just using a free version of NVDA I downloaded from the microsoft store, and I'm using Chrome.
any progress on this issue? When using a screen reader, the alt-text for the data entry box isn't recognized. The screen reader reads 'edit'. I would like to have the alt-text be read as a label or have some associated label so the learner can tab to the data entry box and it reads the associated text.
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Okay here is my work around.
I created a very small text box positioned slightly above and to the left of the text entry field. I usually position it behind the text entry field which has an opaque white fill.
When a sighted user comes to the slide they will not see the small hidden text box and will use the screen as usual.
When a user with a screen reader comes to the slide and TABS through the elements on the screen they will come to the hidden text box right before they come to the text entry field.
In the text box I insert instructions like "Press the TAB key and then type in your answer to the question ....blah blah blah."
Of course it would be EASIER if the screen reader could read the Alt Text on the text entry field itself. Not sure if that is a limitaion of JAWS or Storyline though.
Definitely a limitation of Storyline. There should be a method to add a label or alt text to form fields. Now that we have a new version of Storyline, the assumption (!) is that users who use screen readers won't press Tab to move through the page, but will use arrow keys. So a well-placed bit of text just before the field would work, BUT, we don't KNOW that the user will press arrow keys, so might not hear the text. Your solution is a workaround but will only work if the person is using arrow keys (because text boxes are no longer focusable). If the person tabs to the text box, they will NOT hear the instruction.
Hi there, Karin!
You raise good points, and I appreciate you sharing your experience. Our accessibility journey isn't over as we continue to make progress in our work.
We're still monitoring the impact from NVDA and JAWS not reading the alt text for a text or numeric entry field in Storyline courses, so I'll surface your experience with the right team.
The moment there's more info to share, you'll be the first to know.
This post was removed by the author
Has their been progress on this? I can't find anything current, and my numeric entry fields are just reading as "edit blank" instead of what I have in the alt text?
Hello Sonya!
I'm happy to help! It looks like the screen reader is announcing that the field can be edited, but the value of the field is also blank. I've tested this using NVDA, and I'm hearing "Main Landmark Clickable. (alt text) Edit Space." Here's a video of my testing.
Which screen reader, browser, and version of Storyline 360 are you using?
Ooooooooooo!!! This makes sense! Let me try it like this and I’ll let you know 😊
I can't get it to work :( I would really appreciate any suggestions! I am using Storyline v3.56.26219.0, and it doesn't show me any updates are available. I am just using a free version of NVDA I downloaded from the microsoft store, and I'm using Chrome.
Hi Sonya,
Thank you for sharing an update and the .story file that you are currently working on.
I am using the same version of Storyline 360 with NVDA and Chrome as well.
Here is the course published on the web, and here's what I'm getting from NVDA on those text entry fields:
any progress on this issue? When using a screen reader, the alt-text for the data entry box isn't recognized. The screen reader reads 'edit'. I would like to have the alt-text be read as a label or have some associated label so the learner can tab to the data entry box and it reads the associated text.
We were able to use javascript to make the entry boxes WCAG accessible.
Hi, everyone,
I have great news to share!
We just released another update for Storyline 360. In Update 61, we've included important fixes and new features.
One of the fixes we've included is:
Screen readers didn't announce alt text for data-entry fields.
To take advantage of this update, launch the Articulate 360 desktop app on your computer and click the Update button next to Storyline 360. You'll find our step-by-step instructions here.
Please let us know if you have any questions by posting here or by reaching out to our Support Engineers directly.