Textbox.io 2.x Documentation : Creating Accessible Content

Textbox.io is compliant with the W3C's Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines version 2.0 (ATAG 2.0).  The editor assists users in creating accessible content in several ways:

  • Where possible the editor creates accessible content by default - for example, table header and data cells are automatically mapped when the user specifies heading rows and/or columns.
  • Authors can detect and easily rectify accessibility issues using the editor's accessibility checker 
  • The editor provides access to all the properties (e.g. alternative text for images, captions for tables) that an author requires to create accessible content.

Accessibility Checking and Repair 

Textbox.io's accessibility checker provide authors with the ability to both check their content for accessibility issues and, in most cases, take simple, direct action to repair the issue.  The issue will be explained in simple, user friendly terms that authors with little or no understanding of accessibility guidelines can take action on.

For example, if an image without alternative text is detected the accessibility check will prompt the user to provide alternative text.  The user is able to take this action within the accessibility checker directly and is not required to open the image properties dialog or take action outside of the accessibility checker.

A complete list of checks performed by the editor and the corresponding guidelines can be found below.

Accessibility Checks and Guidelines

Document ElementCheck DescriptionWCAG 2.0 GuidelineSection 508 Guideline
ImagesCheck if an image has alternative text1.1.11194.22(a)
ImagesEnsure that the alternative text is not the same as the image's filename1.1.11194.22(a)
TablesCheck if a table has a caption specified1.3.1 
TablesCheck if a table has summary specified1.3.1 
TablesCheck if the table has headers mapped to data cells1.3.11194.22(g,h)
TablesEnsure that table markup is used to correctly structure a table1.3.11194.22(g,h)
TablesEnsure that a summary is provided for complex tables (i.e. tables that contained spanned rows or columns).1.3.1 
HyperlinksCheck that the URLs for adjacent links are not the same2.4.4 
HeadingsCheck for use of paragraphs as headings i.e. applying styling to paragraph text to emulate a heading instead of using heading markup1.3.11194.22(d)
HeadingsEnsure that heading markup is used sequentially i.e. H2s only appear after H1s and H3s only after H2s1.3.1 
ListsDetect the use of paragraphs as lists. I.e. using consecutive paragraphs as ordered or unordered lists1.3.1 
TextCheck that the contrast ratio of text (i.e. ratio of foreground color to background color) meets accessibility guidelines1.4.3