My team is producing a course that needs to be 508 compliant. In testing, we've found that ever since we updated to the latest version of Storyline 360 none of the content on the stage is able to be focused using the tab key. It skips right to showing the "Back to top" tab without any of the content getting focused on. This would pose a massive issue.
I ran a test on an older version I happened to have on my box of Storyline 3 and it is working just fine.
Anyone else having this issue? Any thoughts on something I might be missing?
In short, what you're noticing is expected behavior. We just released new accessibility features in the latest update to make it easier for screen readers to read Storyline 360 content.
What you'll notice is that screen readers will automatically read the slide content without tabbing through objects. This is how screen readers already communicate web pages so your users who are using a screen-reader will see a familiar scenario. Secondly, the "Back to Top" button allows users to return to the slide content rather than tab through a web page or the player.
If you would like to change the text "Back to Top", head over to the Text Labels in the Player Properties and you can customize the text.
I'm experiencing the same thing Ryan noted in a course I'm reviewing that should be 508c. If I understand your comment correctly, the update to the interface/player is designed to work better for screen readers, but it comes at a cost to learners who need to interact with the content on the page using keyboard navigation. For example, some click-and-reveal buttons and layer content is no longer recognized when hitting the Tab key even though it's listed correctly in the the Tab Order panel. Our learners need to be able to control their own navigation within the course, as designed. This is a major accessibility problem. I had hoped unchecking the "Disable Skip Navigation shortcut" feature in the Player panel would fix this issue, but it does not.
Do you have any guidance for how a learner can directly interact with the screen content in this new release or how a developer can turn off the new "accessible" player?
3 Replies
Hello Ryan!
In short, what you're noticing is expected behavior. We just released new accessibility features in the latest update to make it easier for screen readers to read Storyline 360 content.
What you'll notice is that screen readers will automatically read the slide content without tabbing through objects. This is how screen readers already communicate web pages so your users who are using a screen-reader will see a familiar scenario. Secondly, the "Back to Top" button allows users to return to the slide content rather than tab through a web page or the player.
If you would like to change the text "Back to Top", head over to the Text Labels in the Player Properties and you can customize the text.
Please let me know if you have any questions!
Hi Lauren,
I'm experiencing the same thing Ryan noted in a course I'm reviewing that should be 508c. If I understand your comment correctly, the update to the interface/player is designed to work better for screen readers, but it comes at a cost to learners who need to interact with the content on the page using keyboard navigation. For example, some click-and-reveal buttons and layer content is no longer recognized when hitting the Tab key even though it's listed correctly in the the Tab Order panel. Our learners need to be able to control their own navigation within the course, as designed. This is a major accessibility problem. I had hoped unchecking the "Disable Skip Navigation shortcut" feature in the Player panel would fix this issue, but it does not.
Do you have any guidance for how a learner can directly interact with the screen content in this new release or how a developer can turn off the new "accessible" player?
Hi Robert!
I've created a quick tutorial for you and answered the questions asked in your reply.
You'll also want to check out this article where we describe how a course behaves for Keyboard-Only Users and Screen Reader Users.
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