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Accessibility Support in Web Author

The Oxygen team is dedicated to developing software products that are usable for everyone, including those with physical challenges and disabilities. Oxygen XML Web Author has been designed and enhanced to adhere to the U.S. Government Section 508 accessibility standards and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

The purpose is to ensure that Oxygen XML Web Author is accessible and functional for all people, including the ability to access the functionality of the application through the use of assistive technology, such as screen readers.

Some of the accessibility features in Oxygen XML Web Author include:
  • The ability to work with Web Author using the keyboard, without the need of a mouse.
  • The various UI components and areas within the application (such as dialog boxes and views) are accessible to screen readers. Web Author has been tested with NVDA, JAWS, and VoiceOver.
  • Features (such as change tracking) are interpreted by screen readers.
  • An Enable accessibility optimization option that optimizes the editor for accessibility and provide more information for screen readers.
  • Labels or instructions are provided when content requires user input.
  • Numerous common keyboard shortcuts were enabled and additional shortcuts were added (for example, on Windows, Ctrl+F2 instructs the screen reader to provide more information about an element).
  • Navigation through the various UI components is achieved through keyboard commands (for example, on Windows, Tab, Shift+Tab, arrow keys, Enter, space bar, and Ctrl+F6/Shift+Ctrl+F6 navigates through the main regions of the UI).
  • Color contrasts are adjusted to comply with the required standards.
  • A spell check dialog box (accessed via a toolbar button or F7) provides the ability to cycle through misspelled words and replace them with the correct words.
    Note: The installation kit does not include this feature by default, but it can be enabled by installing a plugin that is available on GitHub.