Tabbing to hyperlinks (accessibility) not working - Storyline 2

We have the same issue, can not tab to a hyperlink.

Hi Kevin and Keith, 

Do you have a example that you've set up that isn't working as expected? To open the hyperlink you should tab to it and then use the enter or space bar key to trigger it and open, and since it's a hyperlink you'll need to open while testing within the intended publish environment as detailed here. 

Hi Ashley,

I've created a quick example. Even in Preview, there's no way via keyboard to get the yellow box around the hypertext or actually trigger its trigger. We have published content that is in the intended publish environment that is behaving in exactly the same manner.

Hi Keith,

Thanks for sharing that sample here. It seems that you've set the hyperlink as a part of a larger text box, and as such that is what the tab key is highlighting, so yes there isn't a way to get to the individual text. I'd suggest look at using individual text boxes for when you need to hyperlink or using transparent shapes (like hotspots) over text so that the user can access those with the tab key. 

Any plans for this to be corrected?

It can be a great deal of additional unplanned work.

Thanks,

Kevin

I think if this is considered intended behaviour, then the documention should be updated to list hyperlinks as non-keyboard accessible. We have already had to change our scripting process to remove drag and drops and hotspots, so it should be made clear that hyperlinks also do not support (and there are no plans to support) keyboard-enabled navigation.

Hyperlink Alternatives

Does not work: 

• In our courses we first attempted to use the default hotspot within Storyline 2.  It did not appear in the tabbing order!

Does work: 

• Insert an object on the screen and then set the transparency to 0% and/or no fill.  The object is placed over the location of the on screen hyperlink.  That is how we accomplished a tab based application. 
• The other option was to put links in the resources tab.  This is the option that really seems to make the most sense, instead of a link in the text.  State:  Please refer to the resources tab for more information.

Just sharing some ideas, while we wait for this issue to be corrected.

Hi all,

Thanks for sharing those additional workarounds too. I've reached out to our Quality Assurance team in regards to this issue to confirm if this is working as expected (in that the text within the box is hyperlinked, and therefore the accessibility tools can only highlight the text box) so that if it's not, they can investigate it further. Since I cannot offer a time frame in regards to an update from them or a potential fix, please continue to use those workarounds as mentioned. 

Once I have additional information to share, I'll post here for all subscribed and if it's determined to be working as expected we'll be able to have documentation updated as well. 

Hi Ashley, any update on this? This is an issue that affects our design process directly for projects we are in the midst of and it would be good to know for sure the official Storyline position on whether embedded hypertext will be officially supported or not. Thanks!

Hi Keith,

I don't have an update to share and unfortunately I don't have a timeframe in regards to when I'll hear back from our QA team. Since it was a behavior I was unsure about (in that you're tabbing to the correct element - the text box, and the link only exists on the text) I did reach out to our team, but I'd advise going forward with the workaround mentioned.