About this report

The Bobby report presents an accessibility evaluation grouped by the three priority levels defined by the Web Access Initiative (WAI), as well as browser compatibility and download statistics. As an automated evaluation tool, Bobby is able to detect many accessibility problems and to highlight other possible problems that must be checked. A "Bobby" hat in the original page (if displayed) indicates that Bobby was able to detect a Priority 1 problem with accessibility. A question mark indicates a Priority 1 item that needs to be checked by the user. Follow the links provided in the report to get details about any problem reported, including how to repair it, if needed. For more information on the report, please access our online documentation.

To be Bobby Approved, a page must pass all of the Priority 1 accessibility checkpoints established by the WAI.



Example of an Accessible HTML Table

This is an example of how one would go about coding a table to be more usable by non-visual users. According to the W3C's HTML 4.01 specification:

"Non-visual user agents such as speech synthesizers and Braille-based devices may use ... TD and TH element attributes to render table cells more intuitively."

The following example includes the ID and SCOPE attributes of the TH element (both would not usually be used together; they were combined for the purposes of this example), and the HEADER attribute of the TD element.

A speech synthesizer might render this table as follows:

Priority 1 Accessibility - Manual Check NeededPriority 1 Accessibility - Manual Check Needed
Caption: Codes to Render Special Characters for HTML, and Which Browsers Support Them
Summary: Numeric and Named Codes to Render Special Characters for HTML and Which Browsers Support Them
number: 32; name: support:N1-N4; IE3-4; WebTV visual: description: Space
number: 33; name: support:N1-N4; IE3-4; WebTV visual: ! description: Exclamation point
number: 34; name: quot; support: N1-N4; IE3-4; WebTV visual: " description: Double quote
number: 35; name: support:N1-N4; IE3-4; WebTV visual: # description: Number symbol
number: 36; name: support:N1-N4; IE3-4; WebTV visual: $ description: Dollar Symbol

ETC ...

Priority 1 Accessibility - Manual Check Needed
Codes to Render Special Characters for HTML, and Which Browsers Support Them
Numbered Entity Named Entity 1 Supported In 2 Intended Rendering Description
32; N1-N4; IE3-4; WebTV Space
33; N1-N4; IE3-4; WebTV ! Exclamation point
34; quot; N1-N4; IE3-4; WebTV Double quote
35; N1-N4; IE3-4; WebTV Number symbol
36; N1-N4; IE3-4; WebTV Dollar symbol
37; N1-N4; IE3-4; WebTV Percent symbol
38; amp; N1-N4; IE3-4; WebTV Ampersand
39; N1-N4; IE3-4; WebTV Single quote
40; N1-N4; IE3-4; WebTV Opening parenthesis
41; N1-N4; IE3-4; WebTV Closing parenthesis
42; N1-N4; IE3-4; WebTV Asterisk
43; N1-N4; IE3-4; WebTV Plus sign
44; N1-N4; IE3-4; WebTV Comma
45; N1-N4; IE3-4; WebTV Minus sign
46; N1-N4; IE3-4; WebTV Period
47; N1-N4; IE3-4; WebTV Slash/virgule/bar
58; N1-N4; IE3-4; WebTV Colon
59; N1-N4; IE3-4; WebTV Semicolon
60; lt; N1-N4; IE3-4; WebTV "Less than" symbol
61; N1-N4; IE3-4; WebTV Equal sign
62; gt; N1-N4; IE3-4; WebTV "Greater than" symbol

1 Personal Observation: Named entities seem to be less uniformly supported than their numbered equivalents.

2 "Nx"=Netscape level; "IEx"=MS Internet Explorer level

See a Bobby report on this page

Return to the Technology page

Priority 1 Accessibility - Manual Check NeededPriority 1 Accessibility - Manual Check NeededPriority 1 Accessibility - Manual Check NeededPriority 1 Accessibility - Manual Check NeededPriority 1 Accessibility - Manual Check NeededPriority 1 Accessibility - Manual Check Needed



Priority 1 Accessibility

This web page does not contain any Priority 1 accessibility errors that Bobby can detect. However, certain items require human judgment; these are listed below. Please review these items; if none of these apply to your page, it qualifies for Bobby Approved status.

User Checks

User checks are triggered by something specific on the page; however, you need to determine whether they apply. Bobby Approval requires that none of them apply to your page. Please review these 3 item(s):

  1. If a table has two or more rows or columns that serve as headers, use structural markup to identify their hierarchy and relationship. (2 instances)
    Line 45, Line 92
  2. Be sure pages are readable and usable if style sheets are ignored.

  3. For tables not used for layout (for example, a spreadsheet), identify headers for the table rows and columns. (1 instance)
    Line 45

The following 5 item(s) are not triggered by any specific feature on your page, but are still important for accessibility and are required for Bobby Approved status.

  1. If you can't make a page accessible, construct an alternate accessible version.

  2. Use the simplest and most straightforward language that is possible.

  3. Avoid ASCII art.

  4. Identify any changes in the document's language.

  5. Ensure that descriptions of dynamic content are updated with changes in content.

If the Priority 1 issues listed do not apply to your page, then it qualifies as Bobby Approved and you are entitled to use the Bobby Approved icon. To obtain the icon and learn how to place it in your page, visit the Icon Guidelines page on the CAST web site.


Priority 2 Accessibility

For a higher level of accessibility you may also want to examine Priority 2 items. This web page does not contain any Priority 2 accessibility errors that Bobby can detect. However, certain items require human judgment; these are listed below.

User Checks

8 Priority 2 issue(s) that Bobby has identified are presented below:

  1. Add a descriptive title to links when needed.

  2. If a table is used for layout only, do not use structural markup to achieve formatting effects. (1 instance)
    Line 92
  3. Check that the foreground and background colors contrast sufficiently with each other.

  4. Mark up quotations with the Q and BLOCKQUOTE elements.

  5. Use header elements in the proper sequence and not for bold text.

  6. Use Q and BLOCKQUOTE for quotations, not indentation.

  7. Avoid using tables to format text documents in columns unless the table can be linearized. (1 instance)
    Line 45
  8. Style sheets should be used to control layout and presentation wherever possible.

The following 8 item(s) are not triggered by any specific feature on your page, but are still important for accessibility.

  1. Use a clear, consistent navigation structure.

  2. Where it's possible to mark up content (for example mathematical equations) instead of using images, use a markup language (such as MathML).

  3. Make sure your document validates to formal published grammars.

  4. Use metadata to add computer-understandable information about the page.

  5. Group related elements when possible.

  6. Ensure that dynamic content is accessible or provide an alternate presentation or page.

  7. Offer a site map or table of contents, and provide a description of the general layout of the site, the access features used, and how to use them.

  8. Use the latest technology specification available whenever possible.



Browser Compatibility Errors

No browser compatibility errors found.

Download Time

The following three-column table gives download time statistics for the images, applets, and objects on this page. The first column contains the URL of each item, the second column the item size in kilobytes, and the third column the approximate download time for each item when using a 28,800 baud modem. At the end of the report, an arbitrary delay of 0.5 seconds is added for each file to account for slow-downs caused by HTTP connection times.

URL
Size
Time (secs)
http://www.albany.net/~oradnio/technology/accessexamples/tablesample.html 9.27 K 2.57
Total
9.27 K
2.57
HTTP Request Delays
--
0.50
Total + Delays
--
3.07

© 2000 CAST. Send feedback to bobby@cast.org. Additional information available at cast.org/bobby.