Inconsistencies with Screen Readers
Jun 07, 2021
Hi! My team has been experimenting with the latest accessibility updates in Rise. We're currently working to gain an understanding of screen readers and how they read through Rise courses. We've tested a few different screen readers, such as NVDA, JAWS, and VoiceOver.
One issue we're having is with 2, 3, and 4 column grids. We've noticed that the screen readers listed above will read the alt-text applied to the images within these components, but fail to read the captions underneath the images. The captions get skipped over, even when the element is selected. We're curious if this issue is specific to the image grid components, or if it applies to captions within all image-related components such as image centered or full-width? We're mostly curious about why this happens and if there's anything we can do on our end to fix it.
Thank you!
13 Replies
Hi Kendra! Thanks for reaching out! I understand you're having trouble with using different screen readers and inconsistencies among them. In order to assist you better, I'd like to invite you to submit a case with us so our support engineers can help test our applications against the screenreaders.
Our support engineers will help you get to the bottom of this!
We are experiencing this as well with a three-column grid with images and text beneath it. I will submit a case.
Hi Laurie, thanks for letting us know you submitted a case. I can see you're working with Rowie. You're in good hands!
I have the same issue. What are the results of the support case?
Hi BJ! Please open a support case with us here so our support engineers can test your course.
any new?
Hi Katherine! Are you encountering the same issue? If you are, kindly open a support case with us here so our support engineers can test your course.
Has this issue been resolved?
Hi there, Barbara. From my recent testing, screen readers are not reading both alt text and captions on images, which is incorrect behavior. We'll work on this issue, and I'll update you here once we fix it. Sorry for the trouble!
Hi, everyone!
Great news -- we just fixed the issue where caption text for gallery block images wasn’t read by a screen reader if the alt text was different.
If you continue to have trouble with screen readers reading caption text in a gallery block, please let us know!
Hi there,
I was looking at a four column grid and yes, the above has been fixed in that a screen reader (I'm testing with using JAWS) does read the captions.
However, if the 'Enable zoom on image click' check box in the settings is de-selected, my screen reader skips skips the block. The work around seems to be to put the caption text as the alt text.
Hi Matthew!
Thanks for sharing what you're experiencing with your Four-column grid gallery block when testing with JAWS.
I am unable to replicate this behavior, so I'm curious how you are navigating your course.
To navigate your course effectively, it's important to understand how screen readers interact with images and their alt text. Alt text on images is non-interactive, which means if you're using the tab key to move through the course, the screen reader won't announce this text. However, when an image is set to become interactive through the "enable zoom on image click" feature, it changes how you should navigate.
To ensure the screen reader reads out interactive elements and text, use the down arrow key instead of tabbing. If you prefer hotkeys, the 'G' key is your go-to for moving between images.
Great, thanks Leslie!