Screen Reader Help Over View
Screen reader use with Practice Labs falls into two main areas, the platform and remote devices. ‘The Platform’ comprises of the actual user interface as well as learning content and controls for our Practice Labs and Exam Preps. The ‘Remote devices’ are the remotely hosted devices and their respective operating systems that are served through the platform to the user’s web browser, using bespoke software referred to as ‘the client’.
Screen reader compatibility and requirements will change depending on whether you are interacting with the platform, or with the remote lab devices themselves.
Platform
When using and navigating around the platform, users will be able to use the screen reader installed on their own computers.
When using JAWS or NVDA (non-visual desktop access) for Windows, it is important to note the following:
You will need to interact with the tabs before they can be used
If pressing enter does not work, try the space bar – this is often the way to activate most in-context links
Always refer to screen reader help. There may be additional configuration/workarounds you will need to access this type of website correctly
NVDA specifics
When using this website with NVDA, some things may not quite work as expected. Using NVDA requires a few extra shortcuts and tips.
General navigation:
It must first be noted that NVDA will sometimes not read things as expected. This occurs most frequently at the top of the webpages where the tabbed navigation bar resides. When navigating the top of the webpage you may hear no feedback until you reach an element that NVDA can read. This is because NVDA does not recognise the tabs when they are in HTML/JavaScript form like this. To navigate to your content, you can either press your H key to reach a heading at the beginning of your content, or you can keep pressing your down arrow key until you hear something readable by NVDA.
Navigating between tabs:
Navigating between tabs is not a complicated process, however, it may require some knowledge of browse and focus modes. If you wish you can access the latest NVDA documentation here and then continue reading.
To navigate the tabs on this website you will need to enter focus mode by pressing NVDA key + spacebar. If you are already in browse mode, this will switch to focus mode and you will a click-like sound to signify this. If, however, you are already in focus mode, NVDA will play a beep and you will exit back into browse mode. browse mode needs to be used to navigate the website, however, to navigate between tabs, you will need to use focus mode. To navigate the tabs:
Go to the top of the webpage.
Press down arrow at least once.
Enter focus mode as stated above.
Press your right or left arrow depending on which tab you wish to use. Note that the tabs do not wrap, so if you are at the first tab and press left arrow nothing will happen, and vice versa.
When you have reached the tab you wish to use, press enter. Then exit out of focus mode and back to browse mode as stated above.
That’s it. Just press your heading navigation key to reach the content you wish to read.
JAWS specifics
Navigating with jaws is much, much easier. Jaws does report the tabs at the top of the page, and there is only one shortcut that needs to be remembered. When you have pressed spacebar on the tab view and navigated with left or right arrows, press enter to activate the tab. When you have done this, double tap the numpad+ shortcut to put you back into the virtual PC cursor mode. This works in all interactable elements of the website.
Note: If you do not have a numpad or are using the laptop keyboard layout, replace this shortcut with capslock + semicolon.
Remote Devices
We are in the process of migrating away from our existing HTML and Java clients as they do not have the ability to transfer audio from the remote device to the user’s local machine.
With the introduction of the Connect client however, remote audio is now possible, assuming a number of pre-requisites are met:
Windows devices using an RDP connection, when the ‘Advanced Accessibility’ toggle in the platform section of the ‘Settings and customization’ tab is switched on
Beta device client ‘Connect’ is enabled under the ‘Settings and customization’ tab
The local machine (user’s device) has audio capabilities
The lab device itself is configured to provide audio
If the pre-requisites have been met, when interacting with the remote lab devices, users can use the native assistive technology provided by the operating system on that remote device (Narrator on Windows for example).
We have installed and can install NVDA to our Practice Labs that have compatible remote devices. They would then be accessible under certain configurations.
Console mode and Linux devices
Audio in console mode and Linux devices has provided a number of technical challenges. We will continue our investigations however we may only be able to get audio from Windows devices. If this changes, we will send out an update.
Screen readers
Now that we have audio from Window’s devices over an RDP connection, this opens up the possibility for our accessibility users to use screen readers.
We are aiming to provide a ‘real world’ scenario where screen reader users can use screen reader software compatible with, and installed on, the remote operating system of the device in the Lab. Screen reader software installed on the users’ own computer would work with our platform interface and learning content, however once the user starts to interact with a remote device in the lab, they would become reliant on the assistive technology available on that device.
OSX Voiceover
In regards to Voiceover specifically, the above applies. As we do not have OSX labs and the Voiceover screen reader is native to OSX, Mac users will be able to use Voiceover for the Platform user interface and learning content as they are able to currently, but not within the remote devices themselves.
Narrator and non-native screen readers
Audio is currently available on our servers that have sound devices installed. You can test this using the native Window’s screen reader, Narrator. NVDA, JAWS or any other non-native screen readers will need to be installed onto each device for them to be available.