Newbie needs help with window control

[Laura Boone]

Hi,
I hope that you can help me. I have to update a website to ensure
that it meets Bobby (read, Section 508) compliant. (FWIW, I am not
the original designer.)

As I try to address all of the Bobby Priority 1 and 2 issues, I find
I'm stuck on a couple of things and hope that you can advise:

(1) RE: http://www.lamardesigns.com/accdnet/accd_discussion.htm


"Is the user made aware that there will be pop-up windows or changes
in the active window? "

There are PDF and Word documents which the user can view or download
from this page. target="_blank"> is coded for each

What mechanism is available for making them aware ? I've read a lot
of stuff about "user agents", but I haven't seen any examples and I
don't understand.


(2) RE: http://www.lamardesigns.com/accdnet/board.htm

"If scripts create pop-up windows or change the active window, make
sure that the user is aware this is happening. "

Again, I think this is very much the same as above. How do I do
this?

I hope that you can help me....I don't have a clue re how to do this.

Thanks in advance !

Laura


Laura

 

[Jim Ley]

There are PDF and Word documents which the user can view or download
from this page. target="_blank"> is coded for each

I would've thought it was easiest to remove the target, it offers
little, however if you want to keep then you normally have to have
some sort of note that it opens in new window, most people seem to do
this with an icon, create an appropriate image indicating it and:

<img alt=" Opens in new window " src="youricon.img">

but personally I'd just remove the alt.

"If scripts create pop-up windows or change the active window, make
sure that the user is aware this is happening. "

On this one, remove all that javascript and the menu, and do the
hovering with simple text and CSS, the actual informing the user you
can do the same as above.

Jim.

 

[Jim Ley]

I am quite surprised that a javascript newsgroup would recommend
removing javascript !

javascript is good enough that it doesn't need to evangelised into
being used where inappropriate, just use it to the strengths.

I'm sure that you can appreciate how nobody likes to hear
that their design just doesn't cut it.

No, I've never really found good ways to do this, have you seen the
(e-mail address removed) mailing list, the archives of that have some
useful discussion on the subject, and some people to ask

http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-evangelist/ for the
archives.

Keeping in mind that the current review is for accessibility purposes,
I was going to tell him that javascript is not supported by the W3C.

You can use javascript of course, but your site must work without it
in WCAG (but not in Section 508, the US people take a different view)

Jim.

 

[Laura Boone]

You can use javascript of course, but your site must work without it
in WCAG (but not in Section 508, the US people take a different view)

Thanks for the tip, Jim.

Now I have another issue....form validation. There is a membership
form at http://www.lamardesigns.com/accdnet/membershiponline.htm
that includes a lot of field validation which is done via JavaScript.
It appears that the only accessibility alternatives provided are to
print-and-snail mail or print-and-fax. I would very much like to
provide a mechanism ...perhaps using HTML/CSS...whereby the form could
be completed online, without the use of Javascript. (As a disability
organization, I think it is advisable that they provide this ....do
you agree ?)

Needless to say, I don't understand Javascript well enough to trust
myself at deciphering the code. (I haven't even touched the
Javascript navgation on this page, for fear I'll impact something
else....in particular, input to the ASP code launched on SUBMIT.)

Would you be able/willing to help me determine the appropriate HTML to
perform the validation without Javascript. I would greatly appreciate
your help. Thanks in advance !

Laura