List of Checkpoints for Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 1.0

Abstract

This document is an appendix to the Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 [ATAG10]. It provides a list of all checkpoints from the Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 1.0, organized by priority, as a checklist for authoring tool developers. Please refer to Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 for introductory information, information about related documents, a glossary of terms, and further information. This document is not a substitute for the Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 1.0.

A tabular version of the list of checkpoints is also available.

Status of this document

This section describes the status of this document at the time of its publication. Other documents may supersede this document. The latest status of this document series is maintained at the W3C.

This document is an appendix to Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 1.0, which has been reviewed by W3C Members and other interested parties and has been endorsed by the Director as a W3C Recommendation. It is a stable document and may be used as reference material or cited as a normative reference from another document.

The list of known errors in this document is available at http://www.w3.org/WAI/AU/ATAG-ERRATA. Please report errors in this document to wai-atag-editor@w3.org.

This document has been produced by the Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines Working Group (AUWG) as part of the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). The goals of the Working Group are discussed in the AUWG charter.

A list of current W3C Recommendations and other technical documents including Working Drafts and Notes can be found at http://www.w3.org/TR.

Introduction

This checklist includes all checkpoints from the Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 1.0, organized by priority, as a checklist for authoring tool developers.

Checkpoint Priorities

Each checkpoint has a priority level. The priority level reflects the impact of the checkpoint in meeting the goals of this specification. These goals are:

• That the authoring tool be accessible;
• That the authoring tool produce accessible content by default;
• That the authoring tool encourage the creation of accessible content.

The priority levels are assigned as follows:

[Priority 1]

If the checkpoint is essential to meeting the goals.

[Priority 2]

If the checkpoint is important to meeting the goals.

[Priority 3]

If the checkpoint is beneficial to meeting the goals.

[Relative Priority]

Some checkpoints that refer to generating, authoring, or checking Web content have multiple priorities. The priority depends on the corresponding priority in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 1.0 [WCAG10].

• It is priority 1 to satisfy the checkpoint for content features that are a priority 1 requirement in WCAG 1.0.
• It is priority 2 to satisfy the checkpoint for content features that are a priority 2 requirement in WCAG 1.0.
• It is priority 3 to satisfy the checkpoint for content features that are a priority 3 requirement in WCAG 1.0.

For example:

• Providing text equivalents for images and audio is a priority 1 requirement in WCAG 1.0 since without it one or more groups will find it impossible to access the information. Therefore, it is a priority 1 requirement for the authoring tool to check for (4.1) or ask the author for (3.1) equivalent alternatives for these types of content.
• Grouping links in navigation bars is a priority 3 in WCAG 1.0. Therefore, it is only priority 3 for the authoring tool to check for (4.1) or ask the author for (3.2) groups of links that are not grouped in the markup as a navigation mechanism.

When a checkpoint in this document refers to the WCAG 1.0 [WCAG10], only the WCAG 1.0 checkpoints that refer to content supported or automatically generated by the authoring tool apply. Some of the applicable WCAG 1.0 checkpoints may be satisfied automatically (without author participation) while others require human judgment and support from the tool in the form of prompts and documentation. Different tools may satisfy the same checkpoint differently.

The priority level for each checkpoint has been chosen based on the assumption that the author is a competent, but not necessarily expert, user of the authoring tool, and that the author has little or no knowledge of accessibility. For example, the author is not expected to have read all of the documentation, but is expected to know how to turn to the documentation for assistance.

Priority 1 checkpoints

• Checkpoint 1.1 Ensure that the author can produce accessible content in the markup language(s) supported by the tool. [Priority 1] (Techniques for 1.1)
• Checkpoint 1.2 Ensure that the tool preserves all accessibility information during authoring, transformations, and conversions. [Priority 1] (Techniques for 1.2)
• Checkpoint 2.2 Ensure that the tool automatically generates valid markup. [Priority 1] (Techniques for 2.2)
• Checkpoint 3.4 Do not automatically generate equivalent alternatives. Do not reuse previously authored alternatives without author confirmation, except when the function is known with certainty. [Priority 1] (Techniques for 3.4)
• Checkpoint 6.1 Document all features that promote the production of accessible content. [Priority 1] (Techniques for 6.1)
• Checkpoint 7.2 Allow the author to change the presentation within editing views without affecting the document markup. [Priority 1] (Techniques for 7.2)
• Checkpoint 7.3 Allow the author to edit all properties of each element and object in an accessible fashion. [Priority 1] (Techniques for 7.3)
• Checkpoint 7.4 Ensure that the editing view allows navigation via the structure of the document in an accessible fashion. [Priority 1] (Techniques for 7.4)

Relative Priority checkpoints

Note: These should be assessed by reference to the checkpoints of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines [WCAG10], and may be met at three different levels.

• Checkpoint 1.3 Ensure that when the tool automatically generates markup it conforms to the W3C's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 [WCAG10]. [Relative Priority] (Techniques for 1.3)
• Checkpoint 1.4 Ensure that templates provided by the tool conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 [WCAG10]. [Relative Priority] (Techniques for 1.4)
• Checkpoint 3.1 Prompt the author to provide equivalent alternative information (e.g., captions, auditory descriptions, and collated text transcripts for video). [Relative Priority] (Techniques for 3.1)
• Checkpoint 3.2 Help the author create structured content and separate information from its presentation. [Relative Priority] (Techniques for 3.2)
• Checkpoint 3.3 Ensure that prepackaged content conforms to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 [WCAG10]. [Relative Priority] (Techniques for 3.3)
• Checkpoint 4.1 Check for and inform the author of accessibility problems. [Relative Priority] (Techniques for 4.1)
• Checkpoint 4.2 Assist authors in correcting accessibility problems. [Relative Priority] (Techniques for 4.2)
• Checkpoint 7.1 Use all applicable operating system and accessibility standards and conventions (Priority 1 for standards and conventions that are essential to accessibility; Priority 2 for those that are important to accessibility; Priority 3 for those that are beneficial to accessibility). (Techniques for 7.1)

Priority 2 checkpoints

• Checkpoint 2.1 Use the latest versions of W3C Recommendations when they are available and appropriate for a task. [Priority 2] (Techniques for 2.1)
• Checkpoint 4.3 Allow the author to preserve markup not recognized by the tool. [Priority 2] (Techniques for 4.3)
• Checkpoint 5.1 Ensure that functionality related to accessible authoring practices is naturally integrated into the overall look and feel of the tool. [Priority 2] (Techniques for 5.1)
• Checkpoint 5.2 Ensure that accessible authoring practices supporting Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 [WCAG10] Priority 1 checkpoints are among the most obvious and easily initiated by the author. [Priority 2] (Techniques for 5.2)
• Checkpoint 6.2 Ensure that creating accessible content is a naturally integrated part of the documentation, including examples. [Priority 2] (Techniques for 6.2)
• Checkpoint 7.5 Enable editing of the structure of the document in an accessible fashion. [Priority 2] (Techniques for 7.5)
• Checkpoint 7.6 Allow the author to search within editing views. [Priority 2] (Techniques for 7.6)

Priority 3 checkpoints

• Checkpoint 2.3 If markup produced by the tool does not conform to W3C specifications, inform the author. [Priority 3] (Techniques for 2.3)
• Checkpoint 3.5 Provide functionality for managing, editing, and reusing alternative equivalents for multimedia objects. [Priority 3] (Techniques for 3.5)
• Checkpoint 4.4 Provide the author with a summary of the document's accessibility status. [Priority 3] (Techniques for 4.4)
• Checkpoint 4.5 Allow the author to transform presentation markup that is misused to convey structure into structural markup, and to transform presentation markup used for style into style sheets. [Priority 3] (Techniques for 4.5)
• Checkpoint 6.3 In a dedicated section, document all features of the tool that promote the production of accessible content. [Priority 3] (Techniques for 6.3)

References

For the latest version of any W3C specification please consult the list of W3C Technical Reports.

[ATAG10]

"Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 1.0," J. Treviranus, C. McCathieNevile, I. Jacobs, and J. Richards, eds. The latest version is available at http://www.w3.org/TR/ATAG10.

[WCAG10]

"Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0," W. Chisholm, G. Vanderheiden, and I. Jacobs, eds., 5 May 1999. This Recommendation is http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/WAI-WEBCONTENT-19990505. The latest version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0" is available at http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/.