ADAPTIVE TECHNIQUE FOR SIGHTLESS ACCESSIBILITY OF DYNAMIC WEB CONTENT

• US 20100070872A1
• Filed: 09/12/2008
• Published: 03/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: accessiBe Ltd.
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Trujillo, Damian
• Granted Patent: US 8,103,956 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/745
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/972 Access to data in other repository systems, e.g. legacy data or dynamic Web page generation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04892 Arrangements for controlling cursor position based on codes indicative of cursor displacements from one discrete location to another, e.g. using cursor control keys associated to different directions or using the tab key arrangements for controlling cursor position based on coordinate signals G06F3/038
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04895 Guidance during keyboard input operation, e.g. prompting
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 21/006 using audible presentation of the information

Abstract

One aspect of the present invention includes adaptive techniques used to render dynamic web content for accessibility software applications, such as screen readers. In one embodiment, an operation for improving webpage browsing with accessibility software includes detecting if an accessibility software application is in use, tracking the position of user focus on the webpage, and presenting information to the user based on the position of user focus on the webpage. In a further embodiment, additional content is rendered on the webpage to screen reader applications, and is placed at the position of the screen reader focus in response to dynamic content appearing or changing on the webpage. This additional content is read by the screen reader to inform the user of the dynamic content change, and/or enable the user to quickly perform a specific action on the webpage.

Claims

1. A method for adaptively improving accessibility of dynamic web content by tracking navigation actions performed by a user on a computer system accessing a webpage, comprising:

detecting keyboard navigation within a webpage accessed by a user through listeners within the webpage to determine if the user is accessing the webpage with an accessibility software application;

configuring a data store to track a position of user focus on the webpage and track whether positional tracking is enabled for the webpage;

performing, by the user, navigation within the webpage, wherein the position of user focus on the webpage is reset responsive to navigation being performed to another webpage;

enabling the positional tracking responsive to navigation being performed within the webpage by a keyboard;

disabling the positional tracking responsive to navigation being performed within the webpage by a mouse;

determining the position of user focus on the webpage and updating the position of user focus within the data store with a position of the accessibility software application on the webpage derived from positional data collected from the listeners; and

presenting information to the user with the accessibility software application at the position of the user focus if positional tracking is enabled, including accessing the data store to retrieve the position of user focus and rendering information to the user at the position of user focus on the webpage retrieved from the data store.

2. The method as in claim 1, wherein the accessibility software application used to access the page interprets textual or image descriptive data and conveys the information to the user via non-visual means.

3. The method as in claim 1, wherein the data store is a browser cookie.

4. A method for adaptively improving sightless accessibility of dynamic web content by delivering enhanced content to a user accessing a webpage on a computer system with a screen reader, comprising:

accessing a webpage by a user, the webpage capable of displaying dynamic content;

determining if the user accessing the webpage is utilizing a screen reader software application to audibly read content displayed within the webpage; and

rendering additional content to improve accessibility of the dynamic content responsive to determining the user accessing the webpage is utilizing a screen reader software application, including;

configuring a data store to store a value of a position of focus of the screen reader navigating the webpage;

tracking the position of screen reader focus on the webpage by calculating the position as the screen reader interacts with objects contained within the webpage and updating the position value within the data store;

displaying the dynamic content within the webpage;

displaying an object within the webpage at the position of screen reader focus responsive to the dynamic content being displayed, wherein the displayed object contains additional content related to the displayed dynamic content; and

interacting with the displayed object using the screen reader to inform the user with information related to the displayed dynamic content, thereby enabling the user to interact with the displayed dynamic content.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising alerting the screen reader to the display of dynamic content within the webpage.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising the screen reader monitoring the dynamic webpage for the display of dynamic content within the webpage.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the information related to the displayed dynamic content enables the user to perform an action on the webpage.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein the displayed object is an image with an alt text attribute containing instructions relevant to the displayed dynamic content, wherein a size attribute of the image is set to 1×

1, and wherein a background attribute of the image is set to match its parent.

9. A system, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory storing instructions operable with the at least one processor for adaptively improving accessibility of dynamic web content by tracking navigation actions performed by a user on a computer system accessing a webpage, comprising;

detecting keyboard navigation within a webpage accessed by a user through listeners within the webpage to determine if the user is accessing the webpage with an accessibility software application;

configuring a data store to track a position of user focus on the webpage and track whether positional tracking is enabled for the webpage;

performing, by the user, navigation within the webpage, wherein the position of user focus on the webpage is reset responsive to navigation being performed to another webpage;

enabling the positional tracking responsive to navigation being performed within the webpage by a keyboard;

disabling the positional tracking responsive to navigation being performed within the webpage by a mouse;

determining the position of user focus on the webpage and updating the position of user focus within the data store with a position of the accessibility software application on the webpage derived from positional data collected from the listeners; and

presenting information to the user with the accessibility software application at the position of the user focus if positional tracking is enabled, including accessing the data store to retrieve the position of user focus and rendering information to the user at the position of user focus on the webpage retrieved from the data store.

10. The system as in claim 9, wherein the accessibility software application used to access the page interprets textual or image descriptive data and conveys the information to the user via non-visual means.

11. The system as in claim 9, wherein the data store is a browser cookie.

12. A system, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory storing instructions operable with the at least one processor for adaptively improving sightless accessibility of dynamic web content by delivering enhanced content to a user accessing a webpage on a computer system with a screen reader, comprising;

accessing a webpage by a user, the webpage capable of displaying dynamic content;

determining if the user accessing the webpage is utilizing a screen reader software application to audibly read content displayed within the webpage; and

rendering additional content to improve accessibility of the dynamic content responsive to determining the user accessing the webpage is utilizing a screen reader software application, including;

configuring a data store to store a value of a position of focus of the screen reader navigating the webpage;

tracking the position of screen reader focus on the webpage by calculating the position as the screen reader interacts with objects contained within the webpage and updating the position value within the data store;

displaying the dynamic content within the webpage;

displaying an object within the webpage at the position of screen reader focus responsive to the dynamic content being displayed, wherein the displayed object contains additional content related to the displayed dynamic content; and

interacting with the displayed object using the screen reader to inform the user with information related to the displayed dynamic content, thereby enabling the user to interact with the displayed dynamic content.

13. The system of claim 12, further comprising alerting the screen reader to the display of dynamic content within the webpage.

14. The system of claim 12, further comprising the screen reader monitoring the dynamic webpage for the display of dynamic content within the webpage.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the information related to the displayed dynamic content enables the user to perform an action on the webpage.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the displayed object is an image with an alt text attribute containing instructions relevant to the displayed dynamic content, wherein a size attribute of the image is set to 1×

1, and wherein a background attribute of the image is set to match its parent.

17. A computer program product comprising a computer usable medium having a computer readable program for adaptively improving accessibility of dynamic web content by tracking navigation actions performed by a user on a computer system accessing a webpage, wherein the computer readable program when executed on a computer causes the computer to:

detect keyboard navigation within a webpage accessed by a user through listeners within the webpage to determine if the user is accessing the webpage with an accessibility software application;

configure a data store to track a position of user focus on the webpage and track whether positional tracking is enabled for the webpage;

perform, by the user, navigation within the webpage, wherein the position of user focus on the webpage is reset responsive to navigation being performed to another webpage;

enable the positional tracking responsive to navigation being performed within the webpage by a keyboard;

disable the positional tracking responsive to navigation being performed within the webpage by a mouse;

determine the position of user focus on the webpage and update the position of user focus within the data store with a position of the accessibility software application on the webpage derived from positional data collected from the listeners; and

present information to the user with the accessibility software application at the position of the user focus if positional tracking is enabled, including accessing the data store to retrieve the position of user focus and rendering information to the user at the position of user focus on the webpage retrieved from the data store.

18. The computer program product as in claim 17, wherein the accessibility software application used to access the page interprets textual or image descriptive data and conveys the information to the user via non-visual means.

19. The computer program product as in claim 17, wherein the data store is a browser cookie.

20. A computer program product comprising a computer usable medium having a computer readable program for adaptively improving sightless accessibility of dynamic web content by delivering enhanced content to a user accessing a webpage on a computer system with a screen reader, wherein the computer readable program when executed on a computer causes the computer to:

access a webpage by a user, the webpage capable of displaying dynamic content;

determine if the user accessing the webpage is utilizing a screen reader software application to audibly read content displayed within the webpage; and

render additional content to improve accessibility of the dynamic content responsive to determining the user accessing the webpage is utilizing a screen reader software application, including;

configuring a data store to store a value of a position of focus of the screen reader navigating the webpage;

tracking the position of screen reader focus on the webpage by calculating the position as the screen reader interacts with objects contained within the webpage and updating the position value within the data store;

displaying the dynamic content within the webpage;

displaying an object within the webpage at the position of screen reader focus responsive to the dynamic content being displayed, wherein the displayed object contains additional content related to the displayed dynamic content; and

interacting with the displayed object using the screen reader to inform the user with information related to the displayed dynamic content, thereby enabling the user to interact with the displayed dynamic content.

21. The computer program product of claim 20, further comprising alerting the screen reader to the display of dynamic content within the webpage.

22. The computer program product of claim 20, further comprising the screen reader monitoring the dynamic webpage for the display of dynamic content within the webpage.

23. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein the information related to the displayed dynamic content enables the user to perform an action on the webpage.

24. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein the displayed object is an image with an alt text attribute containing instructions relevant to the displayed dynamic content, wherein a size attribute of the image is set to 1×

1, and wherein a background attribute of the image is set to match its parent.