Suggestions for Making Browsers Work More Effectively with Screen Readers
There are several interesting projects focused on making browsers that will make navigating the web easier for all people, but especially those using screen readers, or alternative keyboard input devices.
pwWebSpeak, developed by Productivity Works is being developed as a browser specifically for people with low vision. This browser takes the HTML source for a page and renders a text only version. The browser included speech capabilities that automatically access this text.
The University of Toronto is working on Panorama, a Helper application for current browsers. This helper will provide some of the same functionality as pwWebSpeak and eventually become a stand-alone browser.
The direction we have taken is to look at what functionality current browsers can incorporate to make them easier to use by everyone.
The ideas expressed below have been brewing for a while and have been spiced with the ideas of the people mentioned above as well as Jon Gunderson, Michael C. Albers, and Eric Bergman.
List of Critical Needs
The ability to display text information of graphic formats, such as the description field of Portable Network Graphics (PNG) format.
The ability to display text information embedded in the HTML of tables (the AXES and AXIS attributes of HTML 3.0).
The ability to produce a page layout summary. For example: This page has X images, Y header one's, etc. This could also include information about the author, last date update, etc.
Keyborad controls for functions, including the ability to navigate by different size "chunks." For example: tab through the page by links, by links visited, by paragraph, by header size, etc.
The ability to include and configure audible cues. For example: a clock ticking as files are being downloaded.
The ability to set bookmarks in the text of a page or to annotate a page.
The ability to change the font, color, and size of buttons and menus.
The ability to view URLs associated with client side image maps if images are not requested.
List of Common Current Features that Are Helpful
The ability to show alt-text.
The ability to turn autoload images "off".
The ability for the user to overwrite HTML author settings of background color, text link colors and font size.
The ability to easily enter and arrange bookmarks.
The underlining of text anchors (this includes alt-text of images that are links).
Review of Current Browsers:
Thoughts about current Web browsers based on an article in PC Magazine that reviewed 13 Web Browsers, combined with our investigations of three of these browsers.
Emissary: The Wollongong Group, Inc.
Interesting Features
- Integrates e-mail and news modules so that a folder can contain newsgroups and messages as well as Web pages.
- Bookmarks can include a mixture of graphics and text.
- E-mail, news and HTML pages can be edited within the same viewer. This allows Web pages to be annotated.
Once the software arrives we will be conducting tests as to the accessibility of these features.
MS Internet Explorer 2.0: Microsoft Corp.
Interesting Features:
- Allows user to tab into edit boxes, even those that are off of the current page.
- Favorites can be organized with folder/desktop metaphor.
- Supports client-side image maps.
- It progressively reduces the graphics resources available to Windows programs, so that a slow-down in screen drawing is noticeable after a while. MS says that it's preparing a fix.
Questions and Comments:
- When images are not loaded, the associated alt-text is only shown when Height and Width attributes are also speicified.
- Alt-text of images that are links is not underlines, making it impossible for users with screen readers to find if searching a page by links.
- Load Location erases previous entry, it would be nice if this was persistent.
- Font size choices are, "Largest, Large, Medium, Small and Smallest" rather than point size.
- No hot key to toggle toolbar, address bar, and status bar.
- History is under File menu rather than Go, which seems the more obvious location.
- Individual items on the Favorites list cannot be edited
More testing needs to be done, but these are our initial findings.
NCSA Mosaic 2.1.1: NCSA.
Interesting Features:
- Can find out which of your HotList sites have changed or are no longer viable.
- Autosurf feature allows you to retrieve each of a home page's links, to a determined depth, and load into cache.
- If a log is kept of the Autosurf, can then browse documents off-line. (Like webwhacker although it doesn't appear to configure anchors to your hard drive).
- Presentation mode takes the File/Edit/View menu off of the browser window and makes it look like a slide show.
- Collaborate feature allows several NCSA Mosaic users to view the same session.
- Can highlight the "current URL" with either a button, a hatching or highlighting. When using the arrow keys, the highlighting will jump from link to link.
Questions and Comments:
- Although can configure links to be underlined, alt-text links are not.
- Alt-text links appear in a different font.
- Font is configured by using "magnification units" of +/- 1-5, although we could not get this to work. Again, does not relate to point size.
- Really nice hot keys to navigate (ex: shift B = back), add URLS and change some of the options (like toggling tool bar, status bar and location bar).
- Configuring user preferences requires the user to navigate through a manila file structure with 13 folder tabs. Would be nice if could navigate by groups instead of having to tab through every per preference page.
Netscape Navigator 2.0:Netscape Communications Corp.
Interesting Features:
- Only browser thus far that supports alt-text in a consistent manner. Alt-text that are associated with Image anchors are underlined, are the same font as the rest of the document, and are consistently rendered.
- Font sizes are adjustable by point size.
- Supports client-side images maps.
- Browser can go through entire bookmark list to see what pages have changed since last visited.
- Document Information available. Possible place for PNG description fields?
Questions and Comments:
- Short cut keys (hot keys) are not available for toggling between toolbar, location and status bars and other functions.
- Have to use a mouse to place cursor in edit boxes, rather than being able to tab into them when first entering a page.
Updated May 21, 1996