Forum Discussion
"Accessible Text" by default : good idea or not ?
Hello,
I was advised to enable the “accessible text” option by default, but after several tests, I don't understand the real interest for users
✅ On paper, it sounds great: you get plain text that can help meet certain accessibility criteria, and even allows for advanced customizations (AAA level) using tools like Stylus.
😬 But in practice:
- I need to leave extra space in every text block, otherwise I get scrollbars almost everywhere as soon as the option is enabled.
- Since the text uses point units (pt), no relative units like em or rem, I can’t resize it globally using Stylus (something like font-size: 200%). I have to target specific elements (e.g. main p span { font-size: 32px !important; }), which seems complicated in terms of real compatibility? (In practice, people use or will have to use the browser's zoom).
- And when I increase font size, line-height, margins, or word spacing using Stylus, the content overflows, triggering scrollbars everywhere and making the interface very hard to read — which makes sense, because Storyline isn't responsive.
- At best, I can change colors and fonts by targeting the right CSS classes
So I’d rather not enable this option by default, and instead let users activate it themselves if they need it. SVG-based text works with screen readers and preserves layout, avoiding the risk of multiple scrollbars on the text blocks (and preventing a buggy interface upon opening, which can occur if "accessible text" is enabled and some users' text display preferences are taken into account ?).
Maybe I’m missing something here — who exactly benefits from this feature, and for what kind of use cases? Thanks for any insights!
1 Reply
Hi Elodie13!
Thanks for reaching out and sharing your thoughts. I've relayed your feedback to our product team!
I'd also like to highlight our Accessibility Sub-Group in E-Learning Heroes. It's full of other Articulate users who also care about making their courses accessible. If you're looking for community insight around Accessible Text in Storyline, that might be a great place to post this query as well.
Have a great rest of your week!