Compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act refers to the requirement that applications permit their use by individuals with various disabilities.  It mandates that federal agencies make their electronic and information technology accessible to persons with disabilities.  This has two major implications: Government employees must be able to use agency computers, and the general public must be able to use government Web sites.

W3C and others have developed standards for implementing 508 compliant applications as well as testing standards.  While there are various issues, the main issues are the requirement that applications work without the mouse (in other words, all activity in the application can be accomplished using the keyboard without the mouse) and that all controls on the form are can be operated by software that is voice enabled.  Typically employers provide JAWS (a software program used for this purpose) to their employees who require voice activation.  While there are many other issues, keyboard control and voice enabling are the main issues.

For web applications, Section 508 compliance revolves around Part 1194.22, “Web-based Intranet and Internet Information and Applications”.  Additional requirements are included in Part 1194.21, “Software Applications and Operating Systems”.

Note that it is always possible to modify applications built with Iron Speed Designer such that they are not Section 508 compliant.  Developers requiring Section 508 compliance should be careful when customizing their applications.

See

Part 1194.22, Web-based Intranet and Internet Information and Applications

Part 1194.21, Software Applications and Operating Systems

Enabling Skip Navigation Links

Part 1194.22, Web-based Intranet and Internet Information and Applications

Part 1194.22A, All non-text elements should have descriptive "alt" text

Iron Speed Designer creates "alt" attributes for all <img> tags.  Since images in applications are generally only used to provide "look-and-feel" elements, they do not need to be "described".

Part 1194.22B, Multimedia files have synchronized captions

Not applicable.  Iron Speed Designer does not create multimedia files.

Part 1994.22C, Web pages not dependent on color to convey information

Most page styles provided with Iron Speed Designer have good black and white contrast between the highlighted/selected table rows and the "unhighlighted" table rows.  Note that color contrast varies from page style to page style, and Iron Speed Designer does not guarantee that all page styles are well-suited for Section 508 compliance.

Part 1994.22D, Web pages readable without stylesheet

Applications built with Iron Speed Designer are readable without the associated cascading style sheet (CSS) file.

Part 1194.22E, Redundant text links echoeing server-side image map active regions

Not applicable.

Part 1194.22F, Client-side image maps are used instead of server-side image maps whenever possible

Not applicable.

Part 1194.22G, Row and column headers shall be identified for data tables

Iron Speed Designer creates "<th>" tags instead of "<td>" tags for all non-layout HTML.  For example, column headings in tables use <th> tags to differentiate them from table rows, which use <td> tags.

Part 1194.22H, Associate data cells with header cells in data tables

Applications include a "scope" attribute to link data cells and their corresponding column header cells.

Part 1194.22I, Frames should be descriptively titled

Not applicable.

Part 1194.22J, Web pages should be designed to avoid screen flicker

Pages built with Iron Speed Designer do not produce screen flicker.

Part 1194.22K, A text-only page equivalent is provided for the main page if the main page cannot comply with Section 508

Not applicable.  Pages built with Iron Speed Designer are Section 508 compliant.

Part 1194.22L, Web pages utilizing scripting language to display content, or to create interface elements should have associated functional text

The "expand/collapse" tooltip text in panels is based upon the current panel state.

Part 1194.22M, Web pages which require applets, plug-ins, or other application to access should have equivalent HTML version

Not applicable.  Web pages built with Iron Speed Designer do not require applets or plug-ins.

Part 1194.22N, On-line forms should be tie together field labels and field values

"Label for" attributes are created for all field labels, such as those in search and filter controls and edit record panels.  “Id" attributes are created for their corresponding field values.

Part 1194.22O, Allow repetitive navigation to be skipped

Applications built with Iron Speed Designer optionally include a "skip navigation links" anchor at the top of the web page.

Part 1194.22P, If a timed response is required, an alert and option to request more time is provided

Not applicable.  Web pages built with Iron Speed Designer do not require timed responses.

Part 1194.21, Software Applications and Operating Systems

Part 1194.21A, Executing functions from keyboard

Web pages built with Iron Speed Designer are compliant since a user can navigate them and access their functionality without using a mouse, i.e., navigate using "tab", "enter", and "up/down key press".

Part 1194.21B, Applications should not disable accessibility features if available

Not applicable.

Part 1194.21C, Well-defined indication of on-screen focus

The web browser has this functionality already (I.e., HTML elements in focus are highlighted with a "dashed box outline").

Part 1194.21D, Interface elements must be identifiable

Button and menu text have "alt" tags to indicate action of these interface elements.

Part 1194.21E, Consistent use/meaning of bitmap images to identify controls, status indicators, and other programmatic elements

Not applicable.

Part 1194.21F, Textual information shall be provided through operating system functions for displaying text

Not applicable.

Part 1194.21G, Applications shall not override user selected contrast and color selections and other individual display attributes

Not applicable.

Part 1194.21H, Non-animated alternative to any animation used

Not applicable.

Part 1194.21I, Color coding shall not be used as the only means of conveying information

Tables built with Iron Speed Designer use color-highlighting to indicate selection.  Applications comply with Part 1194.22C and most page styles have sufficient contrast as viewed from a black-and-white monitor.

Part 1194.21J, When a product permits a user to adjust color and contrast settings, a variety of color selections capable of producing a range of contrast levels shall be provided

Developers can adjust their applications via the stylesheets to their tastes.

Part 1194.21K, Software should not use flashing or blinking text/objects

Not applicable.

Part 1194.21L, When electronic forms are used, they should be accessible to people using assistive technology

Compliance with Part 1194.22N fulfills this requirement.

Enabling Skip Navigation Links

A “Skip navigation links” link may be optionally displayed at the top of the web pages created by Iron Speed Designer.

This feature may be enabled (or disabled) via the Application Generation Options dialog (ToolsàApplication Generation Options...).  You can change the display properties of the ‘Skip navigation links’ link via your application’s style sheet, located in:

...\MyApp\App_Themes\<Page Style>\BaseStyles.css

Look for this section in your application’s stylesheet:

/**********************************************************************
     * Section 508 Compliance Styles                                      *
 **********************************************************************/
.skipNavigationLinks {
     font-size: 10px;

     color: #666666;
     /* font-size: 1px; */

     /* color: #ffffff; */
 }

As with any style sheet modification, place your customized style sheet class in:

...\MyApp\App_Themes\<Page Style>\Styles.css