Article Advise

submitted: Aug 21st 2008 | by: AndrewWhiteman | Total views: 1 | Word Count: 663 | |

The accessibility of a web site relates to whether its content is compatible with all members of its potential audience. If, for example, people with impaired vision are unable to read the text on your pages then your website is inaccessible to them. An accessible website needs to anticipate the requirements of visitors and the different tools and settings they will be using when they browse your pages.

Dreamweaver has a number of features which enable web developers to ensure that content on their pages Is accessible. There are useful dialogs which appear automatically when content added to a page can be made accessible. Dreamweaver also allows web page creators to check their pages for any accessibility issues.

When you install Dreamweaver CS3, there are a couple of program settings which relate to accessibility which you should ensure remain activated. To check that these settings are active, you should choose Preferences in the Edit menu then click on the Accessibility category on the left of the screen. Make sure that the options "Show Attributes For..." "Form objects", "Media" and "Graphics" are all switched on. Also, click on the General category and activate "Use CSS instead of HTML tags".

So what is the result of switching on these various preferences? Well, firstly, Dreamweaver will use CSS tags whenever you format text or the background of the page. The CSS tags contain the formatting information and will be placed in the head area of the page away from the content which will be in the page body. The program will also display a dialog box with accessibility options each time you insert an image, form field or media element such as a Flash movie or video clip.

Thus, whenever you add an image to a page, a dialog will appear prompting you for alternate (alt) text. This attribute makes images more accessible by providing a description of the images to users accessing the web with a slow connection as they wait for the image to load or who have disabled the display of images. The alt text will also be spoken by the screen readers commonly used by web surfers with impaired vision.

You will also notice an option to enter the file path of a file containing a long description of the image. Such a file should be prepared for images containing more detail than can be described with an alt tag, for example, a technical illustration or a photograph containing important details.

Just as the alt text describes the function of images, the label attribute describes the function of each form field. When the accessibility preferences are active, Dreamweaver will prompt you to enter a descriptive tag for each field. In addition, you can specify the tab order of each element. This is the order in which elements within the form can be accessed by users by simply pressing the Tab key.

Every time you add a Flash movie, video clip or other media element to a web page, Dreamweaver will also prompt you to make the media element accessible. There are three attributes which it refers to: the title, access key and tab index. The title should offer a brief description of the media element in a way similar to that in which an alt label describes an image. The access key is a keyboard shortcut which can be used to make the media element active. The tab index indicates where the media element lies in the tab order, the order in which elements are accessed when the Tab key is pressed.

As well as these useful prompts, Dreamweaver will also produce a report of any items on the page with possible issues relating to accessibility. To access this feature, first save the page then choose File - Check Page - Accessibility. Dreamweaver analyses the page then produces a list of items which might need attention. Double-clicking any item in the list activates Dreamweaver's split screen view (showing both code and preview) with the relevant item highlighted in each pane.

About the Author

Author is a developer and trainer with Macresource Computer Solutions, an independent computer training company offering Adobe Dreamweaver Classes in London and throughout the UK.

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