In Case You Missed It (ICYMI): Accessibility Updates in Q4 2025
Welcome to our Q4 2025 update! This quarter, we focused on making accessibility easier to create and better to experience. Across Rise and Storyline, we introduced new AI-powered tools for captions, alt text, and narration, expanded options for accessible design, and fixed issues that affected keyboard and screen reader users. Together, these updates help authors save time while building learning experiences that work well for people using a wide range of assistive technologies. We're excited to see our community grow. This quarter, 71 new members joined, bringing us to 824 people who care about accessibility and inclusion. We're happy you're here with us. Let's take a look at what's new this quarter! Product Updates Rise New: Boost your video's accessibility with AI-generated captions you can easily fine-tune using an intuitive built-in editor. New: Add audio to scenario blocks for content that's even more interactive content. Enhanced: Use the Bullet Style options in the text formatting toolbar to modify the size and color of bullets and numbers in lists. Enhanced: Modify the spacing between buttons with this convenient button stack setting. Storyline New (Beta): Easily translate text-to-speech audio and AI-generated narrations with Articulate Localization to make your content more inclusive. Enhanced: Automatically generate alt text for your assets all at once, then edit or finalize each description right from the accessibility checker. Enhanced: Save time and boost accessibility by automatically generating AI captions for uncaptioned audio and video files when you import a Storyline 360 project. Enhanced: Streamline your captioning process with AI Assistant. Generate captions automatically when you import media with flexible settings to fit your workflow. Enhanced: Quickly improve accessibility by generating captions for course audio and video content in one step. Enhanced: Maximize efficiency while ensuring accessibility by generating captions after recording audio in Storyline 360. Enhanced: You can now add alt text to your cover photos to improve accessibility. Enhanced: Improve caption readability on any background by turning text shadow on or off. Enhanced: You can now chat with AI Assistant to generate text-to-speech narration from your slide notes in addition to your slide content or script. Fixed: Marker title text disappeared when turning accessible text off. Fixed: The accessibility checker incorrectly reported missing text styles on slide master layouts even when they were already applied. Fixed: Textboxes displayed scrollbars that couldn't be accessed with the keyboard when users enabled a text-spacing browser extension in Google Chrome. Fixed: Keyboard navigation didn't work for web objects on layers, and screen readers didn't announce their alt text. Fixed: NVDA screen reader users could access disabled buttons through arrow-key navigation. Fixed: Screen readers inconsistently announced the slide title and state. Fixed: Windows Narrator added an unwanted description before the slide title. Fixed: The focus indicator didn't work correctly for hyperlinks and images with zoom enabled. Fixed: A scrollbar didn't appear as expected when text overflowed. Fixed: The text for the keyboard shortcuts toggle didn't meet color contrast guidelines. Fixed: The focus indicator didn't highlight the volume control when users viewed videos in full-screen mode. Other Updates New Articles Accessibility Standards Around the World Updated Articles Storyline 360: Our Accessibility Journey Storyline 360: Navigation for Screen Reader and Keyboard-Only Users Storyline 360: How Screen Reader or Keyboard-only Navigation Works for Multiple Choice and Multiple Response Questions Rise 360 Accessibility Conformance Report Storyline 360: JavaScript Tips and Examples Rise 360: Create Custom Blocks Storyline 360: Tips for Importing Microsoft PowerPoint and Articulate Presenter Content Accessibility Index We also hosted accessibility stations at the Articuland Summit and DevLearn, where we had the chance to talk directly with many of you about accessibility. We shared our Accessibility Quick-Start Guide, a concise course designed to help you understand the basics of accessibility, apply best practices, and know where to go next. at DevLearn and LeslieMcKerchie at Articuland Summit We’d love to hear from you. What update caught your attention this quarter? Are you planning to join us at axe-con 2026? Let us know in the comments below.Introduction
Welcome to our Accessibility Group! We're excited to have you join this collaborative space, where you can find inspiration and connect with like-minded individuals. We're all human and learning on this accessibility journey. Use this group to ask questions, share ideas, support each other, and learn about the latest guidelines and laws. Together, we'll grow in accessibility maturity and create a supportive community through this safe and inclusive space.Return focus to hyper link from layer
This might be a bit of a niche requirement, but it came up a few weeks ago when testing content for a client. If you use a hyperlink (text with a link on it) to show a layer in Storyline, you cannot return the focus to the hyperlink that showed the layer, when closing the layer. Storyline does not return the the focus automatically like it does with other elements such as buttons, nor is it possible to return the focus to a hyperlink using triggers, as the hyperlink is not exposed as an object that you can send focus to. The result is that the focus is returned to the top of the current slide when closing a layer that has been shown using a hyperlink. Maybe the Storyline engineers can fix this up? The solution is a bit of JavaScript. Firstly, we need to add some JavaScript to the Storyline project, to make a function available throughout the project. The best way to do this is to add the following JavaScript to the "When timeline starts on this slide - Execute JavaScript" to the Slide Master. window.RM_focusToLink = function(index) { const arrindex = Number(index) - 1; setTimeout(function(){ var link = document.querySelectorAll('#slide a')[arrindex]; link.focus(); },100); } Then, within the layer, you need to add the following JavaScript to the button (or any other trigger) that is closing the layer: window.RM_focusToLink(1); The number 1 that is placed within the brackets is the argument that needs to be passed to target a specific link on the slide. In this case, it is link number 1 which just means it's the first link on the slide (with regards to the order it appears in the Document Object Model). I did consider targeting the link using the text within the link, but then considered that could be duplicate links with the same name, and so using the index is the safest. For any programmers out there, I'm starting the index at 1 rather than 0 (zero) to make it more user friendly. I have attached a demo file.In Case You Missed It (ICYMI): Accessibility Updates in Q3 2025
Welcome to our Q3 2025 update! This quarter brought big steps forward in accessibility, localization, and learner experience across Rise and Storyline. From new focus order controls and audio enhancements to expanded screen reader support and additional languages, every update helps make course creation and learning more inclusive for everyone. Our community keeps growing, too. This quarter, we welcomed 95 new members, bringing us to 753 people who care about making things more accessible. We’re so glad you’re part of it. Let’s take a look at what’s new this quarter! Product Updates Rise New: Use the custom block focus order panel to set keyboard and screen reader order independently of object order. New: 9 new languages have been added to Articulate Localization. Enhanced: Windows Narrator and Magnifier are now officially supported in published courses, giving learners more ways to engage with content. Enhanced: Chart blocks are now keyboard and desktop screen reader accessible. Enhanced: Learners can adjust the volume and mute audio wherever it appears in training. Enhanced: While authoring, your browser tab updates to show the current lesson title for better context and accessibility. Enhanced: Audio player transcripts are now keyboard and screen-reader accessible. Enhanced: In the custom block, add alt text to objects, object groups, and the canvas. Enhanced: Add audio transcripts to audio objects in custom blocks. Storyline Enhanced: We boosted the accessibility checker's performance to keep even the largest projects running smoothly and added sort order options for easier navigation. Enhanced: Windows Narrator and Magnifier are now officially supported in published courses, giving learners more ways to engage with content. Enhanced: Localization added support for 9 new languages—Khmer, Lao, Luxembourgish, Maori, Nepali, Nyanja, Samoan, Tetum, and Tigrinya. These languages are now available to everyone as text label options. Enhanced: Screen readers provide richer context for multiple choice and drop-down questions, math equations, and the player seekbar, ensuring learners can navigate and track progress more intuitively. Enhanced: Player controls, resources, and glossary terms remain fully accessible when resizing the browser or zooming up to 400%, giving all learners a smoother experience. Enhanced: The accessibility checker now displays scene thumbnails, making it quicker to identify and fix scene-title issues. Fixed: Screen readers ignored the search results in the player menu. Fixed: Screen readers didn't always announce the visited state of buttons or shapes. Fixed: Custom alt text added to buttons, radio buttons, text boxes, and checkboxes couldn't be changed or reset to the default. Fixed: Checkmarks on correct responses now provide text alternatives to conform with WCAG 1.1.1. Fixed: Closed captions from multiple audio files stacked on top of each other when using the seekbar. Fixed: Screen readers didn't announce the default alt text for text-entry fields. Other Updates New Articles Why creating accessible training is always the right move What’s New in Articulate 360: Q2 2025 Microsoft Powers World-Class Customer Support With Localization Localization Best Practices: Learning That Transcends Borders How AI is Transforming Instructional Design Smarter Design, Purposeful Interactivity, and AI as Your Sidekick: Five Member-Powered Takeaways from Articuland Boston Updated Articles Accessibility at Articulate Accessibility Index Storyline 360: Accessibility Checker Covered Issues Storyline 360: Improving Experiences With the Accessibility Checker Articulate 360 FAQs: Accessibility Rise 360: Browser Support Storyline 360: System Requirements Storyline 360 Supports Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Rise 360 Supports Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Combined System Requirements for All Articulate 360 Apps Storyline 360 Supports Section 508 Accessibility Guidelines Rise 360 Supports Section 508 Accessibility Guideline Storyline 360: Our Accessibility Journey Storyline 360: Navigation for Screen Reader and Keyboard-Only Users Storyline 360: How Screen Reader or Keyboard-only Navigation Works for Multiple Choice and Multiple Response Questions Rise 360 Accessibility Conformance Report Training Yukon Training: Using the Storyline 360 Accessibility CheckerIn Case You Missed It (ICYMI): Accessibility Updates in Q4 2024
Welcome to 2025! Since my last update, this accessibility group has grown by 61 members, bringing its total to 403 members. The first ICYMI edition was published on October 23, 2024, and established a foundation, but we can keep it short and sweet from now on. Product Updates: Rise 360 New: Immerse all learners in customizable interactive experiences with accessible scenario blocks that offer alternative text, screen reader support, and a visible focus indicator. New: Select the source course language when exporting your training for translation. Enhanced: Select the text of a hyperlink to apply formatting, including changing the color of the text. Enhanced: Line height and letter spacing are now available in the text formatting toolbar. Storyline 360 Enhanced: Expand your reach with a new AI text-to-speech model that supports Hungarian, Norwegian, and Vietnamese in addition to the 29 other languages already supported. Enhanced: You can now add text-to-speech narration and sound effects to markers. Fixed: Text alignment wasn't preserved in existing projects. Upcoming accessibility features: We've released Rise Accessible Drag-and-Drop Questions (Q1 2025, but released before posting this) and added Rise Math Equations. Current accessibility items on our feature roadmap include: Storyline Accessibility Checker Storyline Math Equations Rise Math Equations Updates in articles, documentation, resource center, or training: Refreshed: Storyline 360: Working with Hyperlinks New blog: What Is Section 508? A Quick Guide to Section 508 Compliance Upcoming webinar: Beginner's Guide to NVDA and Storyline for Accessibility Testing New entry in Storyline 360: Our Accessibility Journey - Accessibility Enhancements to Kick Off 2025Link Purpose not clear in topic heading in Menu
The purpose of the link is made unclear, this ensures users are unaware on where the link actually takes them. Using Jaws, the screen reader repeats the title of the module on menu as "Link: Title of the Menu". When we click on the Link, it takes us to the Home Page/Cover Page of the Course. Hence it should clearly mention that the link takes to the Cover Page of the course. This is an accessibility issue. Are there any way to make the screen reader say the exact location where the menu Title links takes the learner. Any solution to this appreciatedScreen reader focus placed at the bottom of new content
Hello! I perform accessibility evaluations for my organization and recently noticed a screen reader barrier than I had not seen in previous Rise 360 trainings. When completing a section within a module and selecting Continue, the screen reader focus is placed at the bottom of the content, making it appear as though no new content has loaded unless the user navigates backwards or to the top of the page and through all of the previously loaded content. This doesn't happen when hitting Continue to load more content within a section, only when completing one section and moving into the next. (I apologize for not knowing platform specific terms, I haven't built a course myself!) I'm wondering if anyone else has encountered this, and whether it might be due to one of the recent updates, since this was a training newly exported in the past week. Thank you to anyone who might know more!508 and Course navigation with embedded Link
I'm hoping someone can help me. We have some SharePoint Links embedded in our Rise 360 course, and the links take the learner outside the carousel and open in a new window. For 508 compliance, the learner then has to "tab" through the entire page to return to where they left off on the training. Is there a setting where the learner can return to where they left off in the training without tabbing through everything? From our 508 reviewer, we are getting "the focus order of the slide is out of order." I would appreciate any guidance on this. Thanks!
