Accessibility Issues

Yes! I just did the most recent update for Storyline 360.  Then published to scorm and the screen reader could not read the content and tab order was not consistent with the build. After a lot of trouble shooting with a colleague, we worked out if published on her computer that has not been updated. The course was fully accessible! 

I would love for Articulate to investigate this! My version matches yours except for first number V 1.36.21289.0

Hello there, Christine and Audrey!

Audrey, thank you for sharing your course with our Engineers so that we do some thorough testing!

I noticed you're both using Update 36, where the yellow highlight not appearing on a slide when using the Tab key is intentional when slide content isn't interactive or clickable—such as text boxes without any associated triggers.

Screen readers will still read objects within the Tab Order dialogue or you can use the reader's navigation keys (e.g., Down and Up arrow keys) to move through objects on the slide. When using the Tab key, interactive elements gain focus (the yellow highlight).

Below, are all the details on what this means for Storyline 360, Update 36:

• Slide content is more accessible
• How the accessible player makes navigation easier

Be sure to also check out these general FAQs on accessibility in Articulate 360 tools!

That's a lot of information, so please let us know if there's anything we can answer or if you're seeing different behavior. Our team is also here if you need a second look at testing!

As a developer using Storyline 360, Update 36 it is getting tricky for me to test courses on this version. I cannot see the yellow boxes around the text boxes, icons, images getting highlighted while pressing the tab key. Could you guide me how should I test the builds for accessibility in such case.

Hi Ekta!

What you'll find in this newest update is that the objects don't need to be highlighted in order for the screen reader to read the alternate text. Everything will be read on the slide as long as it's included in the Tab Order.

The tab order that you define for each slide in Storyline 360 controls the reading order of text and images for screen readers as well as the navigation order of interactive elements, such as buttons, hotspots, and data-entry fields. 

Are you finding the screen reader doesn't read certain objects included in the Tab Order?

Hi Lauren!

I am currently checking the accessibility of a few storyline projects. I am using the NVDA screen reader. Here are some issues I have noticed :

-Is it normal that after the text on my slide is first read, the screen reader also reads the buttons, without them being highlighted? It will read the content and then read "Next. Previous. Home." and then, when I tab to get to the button, it will read ''Next - button'' normally.

-While checking quizzes, after using the next button, my screen reader will reread (sometimes up to three or four times) the previous slide before reading the current one.

-Sometimes the yellow square does not appear around interactive items.

-Sometimes I can not access the first interactive item on a slide show or quiz unless I refresh the page or use my mouse to click on the window first.

-Some tab orders are not working : it happens that the question on my slide is skipped or read after the multiple choices are read - even though the question appears first in the tab order.

-Some Next buttons are triggered automatically after the screen reader reads it. (Because it reads it before usimng the tab button or arrows).

-On some quizzes the Try Again button will work just fine when I click through it normally. Unfortunately, when I use tab and arrows, my Try Again button will skip to the next question.

I never encountered any of these problems before the update.

Have a nice day!

Thanks for the response Lauren. This is really helpful.

It would be interesting to know if you can help me find a way to test the tab order for a particular slide during a preview (without any screen reader) within the storyline. My ask is to know if only we have to use the screen reader to check the tab ordering or is it possible to check without it (just like the yellow highlights showed in the earlier versions).

Do let me know, if you have want an elaborative understanding of my query. I will be happy to connect over a call or skype.

Regards

Ekta Jadon

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Hi Jocelyne!

I’m happy to help! It is normal for the screen reader to read off the elements on the slide. This is how users who rely on screen readers know what is on the page. For instance, if you opened up a web page, a screen reader would read off the buttons, semantic structure, and other key elements on a page.

Unfortunately, that one is a bug we’ve logged and still tracking. We’ve noticed screen readers repeating slide elements so I’m interested to see what the fix is for that too!

The yellow box will only highlight interactive elements such as buttons, hotspots, and data entry fields. If those are not highlighted in your course, please let me know!

The Tab Order can be customizable but text and images are read immediately by screen readers (unless this behavior is turned off in your screen reader settings).

I haven’t seen a “Try Again” button skip to another slide. If you’re seeing that, could it be a variable or trigger that is moving the user to the next slide?

You can read more about our recent changes in regards to Slide Content and the Accessible Player.

Hi Ekta!

Learners who use keyboard-only navigation without a screen reader for mobility reasons can press Tab and Shift+Tab to move from one interactive object to another on the slide. Press the spacebar or the Enter key to activate an item.

Since keyboard-only users can see text and images, these objects get skipped when tabbing through the slide content, reducing the number of keystrokes needed to navigate the slide.

This is one way to test the course without a screen reader but this approach depends on your target audience.

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Hi Lauren

I have enabled accessibility and sequenced all required objects but screen reader is not reading the text.

After many tries the only way I found to make screen reader read it, first press Tab once then press up arrow. But even in this method, it starts reading text in reverse order.

Please provide some solution to fix this issue.

Do let me know, if you have want an elaborative understanding of my query. I will be happy to connect over a call or skype.

Greetings, Harbrinder!

What screen reader are you using? Also, what Storyline 360 update was used to publish the course?

You can also work directly with our Engineers right here—and since you have a Teams account, you have access to priority support!

We're all ready to help!

Hi all, 

I'm having a somewhat similar issue. I added graded questions and survey questions directly from the Insert tab, and when I go to Preview that slide, the yellow box only appears around the first answer option. I can scroll through the answers using the up and down arrows, but as soon as I scroll to an answer the player automatically "selects" that answer and shows the correct/incorrect feedback. Which I don't want to happen until the user actually presses enter or something. Am I missing something here?

Hi Sarah and welcome to E-Learning Heroes :)

Thanks for contacting us and sharing what you are experiencing in your project.

By default, graded questions typically have a trigger to submit the interaction when the user clicks submit. I'm curious if you have enabled a different trigger to allow immediate feedback.

With your permission, I'd like to take a look at your project file to investigate what's happening. You can share it publicly here, or send it to me privately by uploading it here. I'll delete it when I'm done troubleshooting.

Hi Leslie,

Yes, I did away with the default submit button and correct/incorrect feedback, because the feedback text ended up being much too small to read. So I built my own feedback layers, and added triggers to make those layers appear when a user clicks the appropriate radio button. I think I did find a solution to my issue though: if I click on each radio button, navigate to "button set," and click "none," the tab key highlights each button separately. 

I've attached my file in case you still want to look at it. I've changed the button set status in slide 6 so far but not in any others. Thanks!

Hello Sarah!

I appreciate you sharing the file! After taking a look, that does seem like the best solution. I know this will help other community members who come across a similar snag!

Hi,

How can I get text that has delayed entry to the slide to be read?

Many thanks,

Jemma

Hi Jemma,

Thanks for reaching out! I did a quick test and noticed that I could only read the text when it was visible on the slide.

No screenreader will announce when a text appears on the screen, so I recommend including that information at the beginning of the timeline so that learners with assistive technologies don't miss out on important content!