Accessibility
Accessibility is the degree to which software is accessible to people with disabilities. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA is a technical standard with the goal of providing a shared standard for web content accessibility. The Web Accessibility Initiative – Accessible Rich Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA) 1.1 is a technical specification that aims to increase the accessibility of rich internet applications with dynamic content. Both standards were developed by the Web Accessibility Initiative of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). VertiGIS Studio Web conforms with the WCAG 2.1 Level AA standard and aims to follow WAI-ARIA 1.1 keyboard navigation guidelines.
VertiGIS Studio Web offers the following accessibility features for end users:
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Screen Readers: Run a screen reader to vocalize and interpret page content.
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Keyboard Shortcuts: Interact with the viewer using only the keyboard.
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Skip Links: Navigate directly to a component by pressing ALT+Q.
These features can be used together.
Screen Readers
Screen readers read user interface (UI) text aloud, so the user can listen to the page instead of seeing it. They do this by monitoring the position of the mouse pointer and reading the text where the pointer is positioned. It does not matter how the pointer is controlled—the user can navigate using a mouse, the keyboard, a sip-and-puff device, or any other type of navigation device.
Screen readers also provide contextual information for the text being read. For example, if the user navigates to the Show Bookmarks button, a screen reader might say "Show Bookmarks button, collapsed". "Show Bookmarks" is the text that the screen reader reads, and "button, collapsed" is the context provided by the screen reader.
The context is essential. It is how the user knows the current state of the application and what will happen when the item is activated—buttons perform an operation, hyperlinks navigate the browser, checkboxes select or clear a setting, and so on.
In order for a user to use a screen reader with VertiGIS Studio Web, the user must have a screen reader installed and running. No additional steps are required. The screen-reading feature of VertiGIS Studio Web is tested using the Firefox browser with NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access) but others may also work.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Keyboard shortcuts allow end users to interact with VertiGIS Studio Web using a keyboard instead of a mouse. The current UI component is highlighted with a border, which is blue by default. Keyboard shortcuts do not interfere with or prevent the user from using the mouse—the user can go back and forth between keyboard shortcuts and the mouse.
VertiGIS Studio Web uses standard shortcuts to navigate the page and select or activate items.
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To do this... |
Press... |
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Navigate forward through the page's components |
Tab * |
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Navigate backward through the page's components |
Shift+Tab |
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Navigate within a composite component such as a menu |
Arrow keys |
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Select or activate the current UI component |
Enter |
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Select checkbox, radio button, or toggle |
Space Bar |
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Pan the map (if selected) |
Arrow keys |
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Rotate the map (if selected) anticlockwise / clockwise - 2D only |
A / D |
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Zoom in / out the map (if selected) - 2D only |
- / + |
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Rotate the map (if selected) left / right - 3D only |
A / D |
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Rotate the map (if selected) up / down - 3D only |
W / S |
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Expand / collapse tree in the layer list |
Right Arrow / Left Arrow |
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Jump to first / last cell in the results table |
Ctrl+Home / Ctrl+End |
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Save the app |
Ctrl+S |
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Toggle the Skip Links menu |
Alt+Q |
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Open Pinpoint Search |
CTRL+SHIFT+F |
* The initial tab operation in a new browser session opens the Skip Links menu, allowing the user to navigate directly to various components.
Geometry-editing Keyboard Shortcuts
The following keyboard shortcuts only work within the context of editing a geometry, for example, editing the geometry of a feature, drawing or measurement.
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To do this... |
Press... |
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Navigate to the next editor widget control (2D only) |
Tab |
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Navigate to the previous editor widget control (2D only) |
Shift+Tab |
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Move the editor widget control that currently has focus (2D only) |
Arrow keys |
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Focus on the rotate control (2D only) |
R |
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Focus on the top-left scale control (2D only) |
S |
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Focus on the move control (2D only) |
M |
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Enable precision mode (2D only) |
Shift (hold) |
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Cancel editing the geometry |
Esc |
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Delete the edited geometry |
Delete |
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Toggle free scaling mode |
Control |
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Complete the edit session with the current geometry |
Enter |
Skip Links
The Skip Links menu allows the user to navigate directly to various landmark components, saving the user from having to press Tab repeatedly to navigate through each component. To open or close the Skip Links menu, press Alt+Q. Use the up and down arrow keys to select a component and then press Enter to navigate to the component.
