I'm using SL360 v3.55.25975.0 and NVDA 2021.1. I'm publishing to an LMS. When I land on a page with layers and open the layer, the text is not read by NVDA. It seems like a bug. Can you please let me know if there is some special key combo to read layers that I'm missing? I've tried all the usual NVDA key commands - down arrow, Insert+down etc. I will be happy to send the file if that helps.
Thanks for the link - I have already read everything on your site about accessibility :-). I also agree that more demos would be helpful. If anyone has mastered accessibility with Storyline, please reach out to me :-)
I look forward to a solution for this problem....hopefully soon :-)
I opened a support case on your behalf and sent a private upload link to share your file. As soon as we receive your project, we'll test things out and reach out with an update!
Hi, We've raised this as a bug too some time ago and are still having the problem on every layer, which currently makes them completely inaccessible. Is there any update please?
I took a look at your support case, and it looks like what you're experiencing may be expected behavior. Would you mind checking out this article, specifically the section below, and letting me know if this is the behavior you're experiencing?
...Screen readers no longer auto-read slide content. Now, a screen reader announces the title of each slide and then waits for the learner to explore the content. This allows the learner to hear multimedia first. It also lets the learner control when the screen reader announces content. Learners simply use their screen reader navigation keys (e.g., the Down and Up arrows) to move through items on the slide.
If that's not what you're experiencing, let me know so I can let my colleague who's handling your support case know that you did a follow up.
No, that's not the case. What's happening is the screen reader is missing out several of the elements and jumping to a later one when it moves between layers. This happens on every slide we have that has layers on, on every course we've tested so far. So if there are two text boxes, a button and an arrow, for example, it will jump straight to the button or arrow and ignore the text despite the other two being correct in the focus order. You can cycle backwards through the order using the up arrow, and everything is there, but these items never appear after the layer jump.
This was recreated by your support agent who stated that "This issue is connected to a report we're currently monitoring, where the screen reader focus doesn't follow the focus order when a layer is displayed". I have been contacted separately to say "We’re still working on this software bug, and we’ll definitely let you know as soon as we have an update".
If this is not the case and there is something that can be fixed I'd really love to know, as we currently have the dilemma of offering courses that are not fully accessible or redesigning large amounts of slides to avoid using layers completely.
This is exactly the problem I am having!! Thank you for articulating it so well. This is really not cool. I have SO MANY LAYERS that need to follow their focus order!
any updates on this? I have one as a storyline block attached to my rise asset and even if the texts and objects are enabled in focus order, NVDA seems to skip heading of the feedback layer. Please reach out to me if you need the sample.
I wanted to share that we intentionally do not automatically read text when a layer is displayed as detailed in this post. This means that tabbing through a slide will read out the interactive objects first and skip through non-interactive elements such as text boxes. These elements can be read by using the up and down arrows.
With that being said, if you're experiencing something else, would you be willing to share a copy of your project file here or in private by opening a support case so we can take a closer look at what's happening? We'll delete it when we're done testing!
I was having similar issues but when revisiting my focus order and making certain the layers were coming in in the right order, I was able to have NVDA read a layer finally. Using the arrow down as a learner would with NVDA.
We have been experiencing the same issue and I raised this as a bug over a year ago but have not had any answers. Content on layers is not read by NVDA correctly so that some text or elements are missed out. For example, NVDA will start reading from the second or third paragraph of a text box on a layer. Has there been any progress on solving the issue?
I see that you've already opened a support case. Great move! It looks like my colleague Mcgem has just picked it up. You're in excellent hands working one-on-one with him, and he should be getting in touch with you shortly!
We can continue this conversation over in your support case to keep all information in one spot.
14 Replies
Frances,
Until someone who has NVDA installed can comment, here are a few links to research. Hopefully, you can find something to try while you wait. :)
https://community.articulate.com/discussions/articulate-storyline/text-not-read-by-screen-reader-nvda
Richard
Hi Richard,
Thanks for the link - I have already read everything on your site about accessibility :-). I also agree that more demos would be helpful. If anyone has mastered accessibility with Storyline, please reach out to me :-)
I look forward to a solution for this problem....hopefully soon :-)
Hello Frances!
I opened a support case on your behalf and sent a private upload link to share your file. As soon as we receive your project, we'll test things out and reach out with an update!
Hi, We've raised this as a bug too some time ago and are still having the problem on every layer, which currently makes them completely inaccessible. Is there any update please?
Hi Judy,
I took a look at your support case, and it looks like what you're experiencing may be expected behavior. Would you mind checking out this article, specifically the section below, and letting me know if this is the behavior you're experiencing?
...Screen readers no longer auto-read slide content. Now, a screen reader announces the title of each slide and then waits for the learner to explore the content. This allows the learner to hear multimedia first. It also lets the learner control when the screen reader announces content. Learners simply use their screen reader navigation keys (e.g., the Down and Up arrows) to move through items on the slide.
If that's not what you're experiencing, let me know so I can let my colleague who's handling your support case know that you did a follow up.
Hi Joe,
No, that's not the case. What's happening is the screen reader is missing out several of the elements and jumping to a later one when it moves between layers. This happens on every slide we have that has layers on, on every course we've tested so far. So if there are two text boxes, a button and an arrow, for example, it will jump straight to the button or arrow and ignore the text despite the other two being correct in the focus order. You can cycle backwards through the order using the up arrow, and everything is there, but these items never appear after the layer jump.
This was recreated by your support agent who stated that "This issue is connected to a report we're currently monitoring, where the screen reader focus doesn't follow the focus order when a layer is displayed". I have been contacted separately to say "We’re still working on this software bug, and we’ll definitely let you know as soon as we have an update".
If this is not the case and there is something that can be fixed I'd really love to know, as we currently have the dilemma of offering courses that are not fully accessible or redesigning large amounts of slides to avoid using layers completely.
Hi Judy,
I reached out to the support engineer on your case letting him know that you were looking for a follow-up. You should be hearing from him soon.
Thanks for the reply!
This is exactly the problem I am having!! Thank you for articulating it so well. This is really not cool. I have SO MANY LAYERS that need to follow their focus order!
any updates on this? I have one as a storyline block attached to my rise asset and even if the texts and objects are enabled in focus order, NVDA seems to skip heading of the feedback layer. Please reach out to me if you need the sample.
Hello Amallie,
Thanks for reaching out!
I wanted to share that we intentionally do not automatically read text when a layer is displayed as detailed in this post. This means that tabbing through a slide will read out the interactive objects first and skip through non-interactive elements such as text boxes. These elements can be read by using the up and down arrows.
With that being said, if you're experiencing something else, would you be willing to share a copy of your project file here or in private by opening a support case so we can take a closer look at what's happening? We'll delete it when we're done testing!
I was having similar issues but when revisiting my focus order and making certain the layers were coming in in the right order, I was able to have NVDA read a layer finally. Using the arrow down as a learner would with NVDA.
Thanks for sharing what worked well for you, Amy! I'm sure it'll be helpful to others that come across this post.
If any other questions come up, feel free to reach out in the E-Learning Heroes Community!
Have a great day! ✨
We have been experiencing the same issue and I raised this as a bug over a year ago but have not had any answers. Content on layers is not read by NVDA correctly so that some text or elements are missed out. For example, NVDA will start reading from the second or third paragraph of a text box on a layer. Has there been any progress on solving the issue?
Hi Kirsten!
Sorry to hear that you've run into this behavior!
I see that you've already opened a support case. Great move! It looks like my colleague Mcgem has just picked it up. You're in excellent hands working one-on-one with him, and he should be getting in touch with you shortly!
We can continue this conversation over in your support case to keep all information in one spot.