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How to access Facebook

How to register with Facebook using a screen reader?

Facebook provides an audio captcha alternative to the written captcha, allowing a screen reading user to register with the site. Click the link ‘an audio captcha’ to switch the interface and listen to the security check.

Image showing how to create a Facebook page

Click the link ‘an audio captcha’ to bypass the written captcha.

Some users have suggested that audio capture does not always work – “it is difficult to comprehend”. Facebook does however invite users to contact their accessibility team for assistance with setting up your account. The team can be contacted via the following online form.

Accessing a HTML only version of the site

Facebook's mobile version of the site is HTML only and is compatible with Internet Explorer 7 (and above) and other supported browsers, like Firefox 2 (and above) and Safari 3. Please use the following link to start using the HTML only version of Facebook:

http://m.facebook.com

Accessing the Gift Shop using a screen reader?

When visiting the Gift Shop, you should be able to detect a link to the 'No Javascript' version of the Gift Shop. The 'No Javascript' version includes both alternative labels for each image, and reduces problems encountered with dynamic page updates.

Check out the 'No Javascript' version of the Gift Shop here:

Increasing/ decreasing the font/text sizes on Facebook

You can increase font/text sizes for Facebook from within your browser.

Please follow the instructions below for your browser.

Internet Explorer 7

Firefox 3

Safari

Load Internet Explorer.

Select 'Page' from the Internet Explorer 7 browser toolbar.

Select 'Zoom' and your desired increase/ decrease.

Load Firefox 3.

Select 'View' from menu

Select 'Text Size'.

Select your desired increase/ decrease.

Load Safari

Select View.

Select either 'Make Text Bigger' or 'Make Text Smaller'.

Shortcut: press ctrl and minus key to reduce size, press ctrl and plus key to increase size.

Using Facebook chat with a screen reader?

In order to use Facebook Chat with a screen reader, you will first need to open up the pop out chat version of Facebook Chat.

For JAWS, follow the below steps:

Press Caps Lock, Control and F to open JAWS Find.
Type pop out chat and press enter.
Activate the selected link.

Facebook provides shortcuts for keyboard-only users. The shortcuts are browser-specific, so please refer to the help section of your browser.

Viewing photographs and audio description

Images are typically uploaded by users themselves so Facebook advises all users to include a caption with the image. The caption allows you to briefly describe the image and will ensure that users who are unable to see the image have an alternative text description of the image.

Facebook image with captions

A short description added to your image ensures the photograph can be enjoyed by all. In this case, it reads: ‘Fireworks over Sydney Harbor. The Harbor bridge is situated to the right. Photo taken in Black and White’.

Additional options

Media Access Australia maintains a number of articles that will help you find a number of accessibility options in your computer and operating system, assistive technology software, and web browsers.

Computers and Operating Systems, including buying accessible computers, turning on accessibility features in Microsoft Windows and Mac OS.
Assistive technology software
Web browsers and broadband

Note

The content for the section has been adapted from the Accessibility and Assistive Technology section of the Facebook website.

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Additional Information

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While settling in to the Media Access Australia’s new Perth office, Dr Scott Hollier continues to keep you up to date with the W3C.
HTML5 media player accessibility: the potential and the reality

In last month's W3C update I outlined some of the benefits of HTML5 that the W3C believes will have a significant impact on how people will use the web. As multitouch, tablet and portable multimedia devices become more popular the promise of drag-and-drop functionality and standardised video could have a great impact on our productivity and entertainment needs.

In terms of accessibility, there are two key areas that HTML5 has the potential to deliver: the ability for people with disabilities to use its new features, and effective communication between assistive technology and the web browser. This month we’ll look at the first one, and discuss the evolution of browser-AT interaction, WAI-ARIA, in forthcoming reports.

Accessible media players

One of the biggest issues for people with disabilities in implementations of current web browsing is video integration. For people who are hearing impaired, this means the availability of standardised caption techniques. For people with vision and mobility impairments, the biggest issue is keyboard navigation to actually play and control the video. With so many video formats and integrated players, simply playing a video can be an uphill battle.

While the new video standard offers great promise of improving and standardising captions, the W3C believes the huge step forward for web accessibility is the accessible embedded media player.

How does it work?

Currently websites like YouTube are difficult to use for people with vision and mobility impairments because the buttons in the video player, such as ‘play’ and ‘stop’, can’t be selected with the keyboard alone. Although solutions have been developed, they are non-standard, difficult to find, and it’s unlikely that the website a person with a disability wants to use will have an accessible player feature.

HTML5 basically provides new commands such as <video> and <audio> which can create and label the buttons in a way that allows keyboard shortcuts to access them, and screen readers to tell the user which buttons are available. This means a person who has a vision or mobility impairment can easily use the keyboard to start, stop and navigate around a video, and people who are vision impaired using a screen reader will also have words such as ‘stop’ and ‘play’ read out to them when the keyboard focus is on the buttons.

Can an HTML5 accessible media player be put on my website now?

Given that many web browsers support HTML5 to some degree, the answer is both yes and no. It can be done, but because HTML5 is still an evolving standard and both browsers and assistive technology products handle HTML5 commands in different ways, it’s hard to create an accessible media player that will work for everyone.

Having said that, there is an excellent guide published by Terril Thompson that provides many tweaks and hacks that can get a customised HTML5 accessible media player up and running.

How are the browsers and screen readers going with HTML5?

In terms of the web browser implementation of HTML5, Opera is leading the way and has enough functionality to support a standard accessible media player. Firefox 3.6 and Safari both work to some degree but still need some development, while Internet Explorer 8 and Google Chrome do not currently provide any support for HTML5 keyboard or AT accessibility. Microsoft has indicated, however, that more work will be done on this for the release of Internet Explorer 9.

As for screen readers, the best result for Windows users is to use NVDA with Firefox, and Mac users should consider the built-in tools of VoiceOver with Safari. JAWS for Windows currently doesn’t support many of the HTML5 commands.

Where to for HTML5?

The release of the HTML5 standard is currently one of the W3C’s highest priorities, and all the browser development organisations of Microsoft, Apple, Mozilla, Opera and Google are heavily involved in the W3C. Although it will still be many months, possibly years until the standard is officially completed, the browsers will continue to evolve and accessibility will continue to improve.

W3C with Dr Scott Hollier

Keep up to date with the latest in web accessibility