Supported accessible run-time behavior
Accessible UI components provide run-time behavior that helps users who rely on assistive technology (AT) navigate your application with less effort. Pega Platform includes a number of out-of-the-box components that reduce the workload for accessibility development.
UI components in Pega Platform are developed in accordance with WAI-ARIA Authoring Practices 1.1. Consequently, most Pega UI components support accessible navigation without additional markup or configuration.
Keyboard navigation
Keyboard accessibility, or the ability to reach and operate any UI element by keyboard alone, is necessary for users with motor and visual disabilities.
Keyboard users typically press the Tab button to move between interactive elements of an interface, such as controls or fields. When a UI element is in focus, they should be able to control it with a standard keyboard, for example, by using arrow keys to navigate a table. As a best practice, your interface cannot include too many navigation items, because tabbing through a lengthy interface might be difficult for users with motor disabilities.
For the most up-to-date guidelines on keyboard accessibility, see the WAI-ARIA Authoring Practices 1.1 document at the W3C website.
Accessible UI components
The following table lists the most important accessibility components in Pega Platform.
| Control/feature | Keyboard navigation | Additional information |
|---|---|---|
| Buttons | Enter or Spacebar to activate | Unique IDs to help AT manage page focus |
| Collapsed text | Arrow keys to navigate | Non-editable when collapsed |
| Controls |
| |
| Dynamic layouts | Tab to change focus | AT support |
| Error messages | No | |
| Field-level error messages | No | Readable when a change causes the error, such as a failed validation |
| Icons | Yes | Alternative text |
| Modal windows | Esc to close | |
| Overlays | Yes | |
| Read-write controls | Yes | Labels and text alternatives |
| Registry of keyboard shortcuts | N/A | Tabs, arrows, and all modifier keys stored in a single file location |
| Rich Text Editor | Yes | Fully editable by keyboard |
| Skip to content area | Yes | |
| SmartInfo | Tab to change focus | |
| Smart tips | Yes | Focus on the parent control |
| Structural elements of portals | Yes | |
| Tables | Yes | |
| Tabs | Tab to change focus | Activates automatically on focus |
| Wait indicator | N/A | Ability to inform AT about loading status; editable load text in the pyThrobberLoadingText rule |
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