Storyline 360 Tab Order

Hi Sandy, you would just have to customise the tab order on the required slides. It can be a painful process, but you would need to select Tab Order >  Create custom tab order and then drag the elements around into the correct order. This unfortunately has to be done on a per slide basis.

Hmm... just discovered this. It's my first experience of Storyline, and I'm updating an existing course. There's a quiz base layer/correct/incorrect/hint stack of layers. The previous person seems to have neglected accessibility altogether! The tab order is currently stacked the same way, so will screen readers be reading the hint layer first, which is on top at the moment? Do I flip it all? Or do I just sort tabs in each layer and leave them in the stack order with the base at the bottom?

Hi Daniel!

I'd recommend customizing the Tab Order to reflect which objects the user will move to when using keyboard-only navigation.

For example, if the Hint layers are shown after the user clicks a button on the base layer then the button needs to be in the tab order above the objects on the Hint Layer. 

If you have a sample project we can look at, feel free to attach it to this discussion!

Thank you Lauren. Here is a simpler slide, just to make sure I'm on the right path. I've put the more complicated ones aside until I'm sure, so as to not waste effort. I've done a bit of that already! 

I'll try them out with NVDA, but I'm sure there's a steep learning curve with that too!

Hello Daniel!

Thank you for sharing your project!

It looks like the text boxes are behind the other slide content. The order is why NVDA isn't reading off the text first. It also looks like the first items in the Tab Order are from Speak up Instructions 2, which is the third layer. Make sure the Tab Order reflects the path a user needs to go to understand the content. The text on the first slide should be at the top of the Tab Order rather than content on an additional layer.

I'd also recommend moving the objects to the beginning of the timeline unless it is necessary for understanding the content.

I've recorded a quick Peek explaining how to make these changes! Here's the link.

Thanks so much Lauren. That was by far the best and most comprehensive customer feedback I've ever had! 

Hi there, is there any update on requests to have the Base Layer Focus Order be on the top of the list.  I have a slide with 11 layers, and I have to click each object on the slide one click at a time to get to the top of the focus order and it is so time consuming.  Would be nice for them to default on the top or at least drag them all at once to the top. 

Also, could you confirm my actual questions. If I have 11 buttons on my base slide, each button takes you to a layer with information.  When doing the tab order, do I do  the base layer first including all buttons?  or do I do the slide then button 1, then layer 1, then button 2, then layer 2....I still find it confusing.  Would love some help.  I attached my complicated slide, if you could help me figure out how to put it in the right focus order I think this would help so much for future work.  Hope you don't mind instead of creating a new trail, I joined this one.

Thanks Lauren, I am going to take a closer look at your file on Monday.  I have to watch it more closely.  So, if I understand correctly, if my layers are below buttons on my base layer so you can always see everything, I don't have to do what you mention above, but if my entire layer covers my base layer I have to hide the base layer so it doesn't read the information in behind?  And yes the Base layer objects should be at the top, I just really wish articulate would get that working in an upgrade soon, I think I put it in as a request years ago, when you have this many layers it can take 10 minutes just to get all of your base layer objects to the top of the table because they default at the bottom doesn't make sense to me.  Also would love to see the name of the slide move out of the first column as well, as you can't expand that cell so you sometimes can't even see the name of the object, but again I sent in this request years ago.  But focus order is becoming more important so I am really trying now to make sure I have it right on each slide.  I will watch the video again, and if I misunderstand I hope I can reach out hear again.  Thanks for going through all that work creating the video for me.

Hi Lauren, I am attaching a one slide example of a base layer with the layers not hiding any objects on base layer, do I have to use the hide option?  I put the focus order in the order I think is correct.  You mentioned to put all the base layer buttons up first then the layer content, if I understood correctly.

Thanks

T

Hello Teresa!

If you're not choosing to Hide Objects on Base Layer as well as not using a button on the layer to return to the base layer, then the Focus Order needs to reflect how a user will move through the course. Using your course as an example, the Focus Order should be:

• Button One- What is Hematoma?
• Text box- What is Hematoma?
• Text box- It is a localized pooling of blood outside the vein.
• Button Two- Signs and Symptoms
• Text box- Signs and Symptoms include: 
• etc.

I've recorded a Peek of what this quick change looks like when using a screen reader. Link