Accessibility deprecated
Overview
Web accessibility aims at helping users with disabilities to access the web, i.e. perceiving and interacting with web sites or web-based applications. In order to offer everyone – with or without disabilities – the best possible user experience, we continually strive to meet the Level AA conformance as defined by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0.
Accessibility typically covers keyboard support, tab order, focus management, color contrast, semantic markup, WAI-ARIA support, and screen reader support.
We perform screen reader testing with the following typical setups: NVDA with Firefox, JAWS with Internet Explorer and Voiceover with Safari (with accessibility option turned on, i.e. tab highlights each item).
Annual accessibility audits are conducted by the Paciello Group.
History
| Date | Version | Activity |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 13 | 7.2.0 | Introduced fundamental keyboard support |
| Jul 13 | 7.4.0 | Introduced fundamental screen reader support (semantic markup, ARIA tags) |
| Aug 13 | - | Accessibility training (UI) with Steve Faulkner in Hamburg |
| Sep 13 | 7.4.0 | Added support for tabbable panes |
| Nov 13 | 7.4.1 | Added live regions |
| Nov 13 | 7.4.1 | Added support for accessible popup dialogs |
| Feb 14 | 7.4.2 | Added support for accessible modal dialogs |
| Feb 14 | 7.4.2 | Added support for landmark roles |
| Jun 14 | 7.6.0 | Polished ARIA markup to improve accessibility |
| Jun 14 | 7.6.0 | Added high contrast theme |
| Oct 14 | 7.6.1 | Improved keyboard support for mail compose |
| Jan 15 | 7.6.2 | Accessibility audit by the Paciello Group |
| Feb 15 | 7.8.0 | Started to resolve identified issues from recent audit |
| Feb 15 | 7.8.0 | Improved color contrast |
| Mar 15 | - | Workshop/Review with accessibility expert Marco Zehe in Hamburg |
| Jun 15 | 7.8.0 | Partially rearranged DOM elements to appear in source order |
| Feb 16 | - | Workshop/Review with accessibility expert Marco Zehe in Hamburg |
| May 16 | 7.8.1 | Accessibility audit by the Paciello Group |
| Jun 16 | 7.8.2 | Started to resolve identified issues from recent audit |
| Aug 16 | 7.8.3 | Finally fixed remaining tabindex issues |
| Sep 16 | 7.8.3 | Added new accessible date picker |
| Oct 16 | 7.8.3 | Resolving remaining issues from recent audit |
| Dec 16 | 7.8.3 | Retest accessibility audit by the Paciello Group |
| Jan 17 | 7.8.4 | Fixed newly identified minor issues from Dec 16 TPG retest |
| Feb 17 | 7.8.4 | (Address book) Thumb index is now accessible by keyboard |
Roadmap
| Date | Version | Activity |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 17 | 7.8.4 | Focussing on JAWs issues |
| Q1 17 | 7.8.4 | Working on open issues (see below) |
| Q2 17 | 7.8.4 | New accessibility audit |
Open issues
- (Calendar) Timezone popup cannot be explored by screen reader users
- (General) Tokenfield and autocomplete keyboard interaction and screen reader supports needs improvement
- (General) Folder tree context menu does not respond properly in JAWS (when toggled by button)
- (General) Folder tree aria markup needs improvement for screen readers (is too verbose)