This section attempts to provide information for users who are accessing Oracle Application Express utilizing only a keyboard or Freedom Scientific's screen reader JAWS.
For additional information about the accessibility of Oracle products, see:
http://www.oracle.com/accessibility
Note:
JAWS release 11.0.1430 with all default settings was used in writing this section.In Oracle Application Express release 4.0 sessions can now be defined as optimized for use with screen readers. This includes both when using the Application Express development environment and also for use in your own applications. To learn more, see "Advanced Programming Techniques" in Oracle Application Express Application Builder User's Guide.
You can enable screen reader mode in the development environment by selecting the Set Screen Reader Mode On link, located on:
Workspace home page
Oracle Application Express Administration Services page
You can also enable screen reader mode in the Application Express Websheet runtime by clicking the Set Screen Reader Mode On link located on any websheet application home page, which you are taken to after logging in to a websheet application.
If you intend on using the Oracle Application Express development environment with a screen reader, please ensure that you have this option enabled.
Interactive report regions contain an Actions menu which is the main entry point to much of the functionality offered by these regions.
To access the Actions menu with JAWS:
Press INSERT + F5 to load the Select a Form Field dialog box.
Press A repeatedly to reach the Actions Button field.
Press ENTER to navigate to the Actions button.
Press ENTER to open the Actions menu.
You must now switch off the JAWS virtual PC cursor. The Actions menu is fully keyboard accessible.
Press INSERT + Z to switch off the JAWS virtual PC cursor.
JAWS announces, "Use Virtual PC Cursor Off."
Press UP and DOWN to move up and down the current level of menu and LEFT and RIGHT to navigate in and out of sub-menus. The menu consists of:
Select Columns
Filter
Rows Per Page (Contains sub-menu to select the number of rows the report displays)
Format (Contains sub-menu to specify Sort, Control Break, Highlight, Compute, Aggregate, Chart, Group By).
Save Report
Reset
Help
Download
Subscription
Once you have chosen the specific action you wish to perform, press ENTER to load the relevant dialog.
For example, assume you select Filter. The Filter dialog loads. When it is updated, JAWS announces the name of the current page followed by the first form field in the dialog which has focus.
Refresh the virtual cursor now, by pressing INSERT + ESC.
JAWS announces, "Screen Updated."
To switch the JAWS virtual PC cursor back on, press INSERT + Z.
JAWS announces, "Use Virtual PC Cursor On."
Next, define your filter attributes. This dialog contains slightly different form fields depending on your filter type and subsequent selections. The default fields for defining a Column filter are a Column select list, Operator select list, and Expression input.
To hear these fields, just press the JAWS shortcut key F and SHIFT + F a few times to move around these field items. Then, select or enter your filter details into these form fields.
Next, apply the filter. The dialog ends with a Cancel and Apply button, which can be navigated to using the JAWS shortcut key B.
Press B until you hear, "Apply" and then press ENTER.
The page refreshes and JAWS announces when the content has refreshed by starting to read the current report settings.
To go straight to the report information, press the JAWS shortcut key T to go to the data table containing the information with the applied filter.
Other dialogs for other functionality can be added in a similar fashion.
Many of the pages in Oracle Application Express are form pages designed for maintaining application metadata. This section describes how you can gain an understanding of the structure of these pages and interact with them using a screen reader such as JAWS.
Many form pages are logically broken up into different regions. For example, the Edit Page Item page has the following regions containing form fields for maintaining information about the page item:
Name
Displayed
Label
Settings
List of Values (depending on item type)
Element
Source
Default
Quick Picks (depending on item type)
Conditions
Read Only
Security
Configuration
Help Text
Comments
Oracle Application Express uses Heading (Hn) tags throughout its development interface to help define the structure of a page. For example, the Edit Page Item page has the following Headings defined:
Level 1 (H1)*
Application Express
Level 2 (H2)*
Name
Displayed
Label
Settings
Element
Source
Default
Conditions
Read Only
Security
Configuration
Help Text
Comments
Level 3 (H3)*
Page Items
Tasks
The previous list represents of how headings are used in the Oracle Application Express development environment. Note the following:
Level 1 headings (H1) provides a link to the relevant root page depending on the context of where you are in the development environment (for example when editing an application this takes you to the home page for the application in the Application Builder).
Level 2 headings (H2) contain sections integral to the primary function of the current page.
Level 3 headings (H3) that contain sections that are related to the function of the current page.
To gain an overview of all the headings on the current page, press INSERT+F6 to list the current page's headings.
You can also utilize other JAWS keystrokes to navigate through the page headings. For example, to navigate around level 2 headings:
Press INSERT+ALT+CTRL+2 to go to the first heading on the page at level 2.
On the Edit Page Item page, JAWS announces, "Name heading level 2."
Press 2 to go to the next heading at level 2.
On the Edit Page Item page, JAWS announces, "Displayed heading level 2."
Press SHIFT+2 to go to the previous heading at level 2.
On the Edit Page Item page, JAWS announces, "Name heading level 2."
Many pages in Oracle Application Express contain a Tasks region on the right-hand side of the page. For example, the Edit Page Item page has a Tasks region on the right side containing a list of links relevant to the current item type. This region has a level 3 Heading (H3) defined on the section title Tasks (as this is a section that is related to the primary function of the current page).
To navigate to the Tasks region using JAWS:
Press INSERT+ALT+CTRL+3 to go to the first heading on the page at level 3.
JAWS announces, "Page Items heading level 3" on the Edit Page Item page. This contains general help information about page items.
Press 3 to go to the next heading at level 3.
On the Edit Page Item page, JAWS announces, "Tasks heading level 3." This contains a list of links to related tasks.
Press L once to navigate to the list.
JAWS announces, "List of x items" (where x depends on the type of page item currently being edited).
Press I to navigate through the list items and press ENTER to activate a link.
This section describes how to use JAWS to access Item-level help in Oracle Application Express.
Most items within the user interface have field-level Help available by activating or clicking on the field label. If Help text is available, the adjacent label will be implemented as a link, where the link text will match that of the current form item's label text. Activating this link will load a separate window containing the help text.
To access this field-level Help for an item using JAWS:
Press CTRL+HOME to go to the top of the page.
JAWS announces the page name.
Press INSERT+ F7 to load the Links List dialog box.
Press the first letter of the link text you wish to locate, repeatedly.
If there is no link text matching the label of the form item you wish to get help for, then there is no help available for that item
If the appropriate link is found, press ENTER to activate the link.
A separate window containing the Help text appears
Press the JAWS navigation quick key N to go to the help text.
Once you are finished reading the help text, press ALT+F4 to close the Help window and return to page.
If a validation fails when submitting a form, you are redirected back to the same page and an error message displays in a list at the top of the page. Additionally, error text displays inline next to the page item associated with the validation.
The following procedure explains how to identify when a validation fails, review error messages, and rectify the necessary values in order to pass the validation, all within the context of the Edit Page Item form page.
When a validation fails, the same page loads with details of the failure. In this situation JAWS does not read the page as it would normally when loading a new page. You can quickly check if a validation error has occurred by searching for any images with an alt text of Error.
To check for images having an alt text of Error:
Press CTRL+HOME to go to the top of the page.
JAWS announces the page name.
Press CTRL+INSERT+G to launch the Select a Graphic dialog box.
Press E repeatedly to try and locate the error image. If there is an error image, then this means a validation has failed.
If a validation error occurs, a list appears at the top of the page and contains list items with the error text for the failed validations.
To navigate to the list containing error text:
Press CTRL+HOME to go to the top of the page.
JAWS announces the page name.
Press the JAWS navigation quick key L to go to the first list on the page.
JAWS announces, "list of x items" where x is the number of errors that has occurred.
Press the JAWS navigation quick key I to read through each error message.
There is no simple way to navigate from the summary list of error messages to the page item associated with the failed validation. One approach is to navigate to the error image that displays next to the associated page item and then use JAWS reading commands to understand which error you are dealing with.
To navigate to the error image:
Press CTRL+HOME to go to the top of the page.
JAWS announces the page name.
Press CTRL+INSERT+G to load the Select a Graphic dialog box.
Press E repeatedly to locate the error image.
Press ENTER to navigate to the error image.
Press DOWN ARROW once to go to the Help text link for the associated field.
This tells you which field has a validation error since the link text is the same as the form field label.
Press the DOWN ARROW again to go to the error message.
Press the JAWS navigation quick key F to go to the page item.
Press ENTER to enable Forms Mode and provide a new value.
Once you provide a new value and fix the error, you need to locate subsequent error images on the page.
To locate subsequent error messages on the page:
Press the PLUS sign (+) on the numeric keypad to go back into Virtual PC Cursor mode.
Press the JAWS navigation quick key G repeatedly until you locate the next error image.
JAWS announces, "graphic error."
Once you have located the next error image, repeat steps 5 to 8 until all errors have been addressed.
Once all errors have been addressed, you need to click the Apply Changes button:
Press the JAWS navigation quick key B until you hear JAWS announce, "Apply Changes Button."
Press ENTER to apply your changes.
If your changes fixed all the validation errors, you are back to the Page Definition page.
This section describes how to access components in Oracle Application Express using a keyboard.
Tip:
If using Oracle Application Express using only a keyboard, you should enable Screen Reader Mode since tree regions are not keyboard accessible. When running in screen reader mode, a hierarchichal unordered list displays instead and can be easily navigated with keyboard-only using TAB, SHIFT + TAB and ENTER keys to activate a specific list item.In Oracle Application Express release 4.0 there are many keyboard shortcuts for the new Date Picker.
To open a Date Picker:
Tab to the relevant input field.
Press CTRL+HOME to open the Date Picker.
Once the Date Picker is open, you have the following navigation options:
By month:
Press PAGE UP to go to the previous month.
Press PAGE DOWN to go to the next month.
Press CTRL +HOME to go to the current month.
By week:
Press CTRL+UP to go to the previous week.
Press CTRL+DOWN to go to the next week.
By day:
Press CTRL+LEFT to go to the previous day.
Press CTRL+RIGHT to go to the next day.
Once you are finished with the Date Picker:
Press ENTER to accept the selected date.
Press ESCAPE to close the date picker without selection.
Press CTRL+END to close the date picker and erase the date.
This section describes how to access common features within Interactive Report regions.
If a search bar displays above an interactive report then the Include Search Bar attribute has been enabled in Report Attributes. This attribute is enabled by default when a new interactive report is created.
See Also:
"Editing Interactive Reports as a Developer" in Oracle Application Express Application Builder User's GuideTo execute a search:
Press TAB until the search field has focus.
Type your search keywords into the search field.
Press ENTER to invoke the search.
To refine your search to a specific column:
Press TAB to access the magnifying glass icon to the left of the search field.
Press ENTER to activate the pull down menu and display a list of all available columns to search.
Press the DOWN or UP arrow keys on your keyboard to navigate through the list of columns.
Press ENTER to select the column you wish to search on. This sets the context of the subsequent search as specific to the column selected.
Repeat steps 1 and 2 to execute your column specific search.
By default, new interactive reports include both a search bar and Actions menu. Both of these features are controlled by the developer by enabling the Include Search Bar and Actions menu attributes on the Report Attributes page. To learn more, see "Editing Interactive Reports as a Developer" in Oracle Application Express Application Builder User's Guide.
Depending upon how the developer creates the report, the Action menu can contain different options. To learn more about using the Actions menu, see "Customizing an Interactive Reports as a Developer" in Oracle Application Express Application Builder User's Guide.
To access the Actions menu using a keyboard:
Press TAB until the Actions menu has focus.
Press ENTER to open the menu.
Once the menu is open, you have the following navigation options:
Press the DOWN arrow key to go down the menu.
Press the UP arrow key to go up the menu.
Press the RIGHT arrow key to open a sub-menu (indicated by a right arrow) and move focus to the first item in the sub-menu.
Press the LEFT arrow key to close a sub-menu and move focus back to the appropriate item in the parent menu.
To exit the Action menu:
Press ENTER to load the action specific dialog. Focus is set to the first focusable element within the dialog box.
Press ESC to close the menu without selection.
Some interactive reports in Oracle Application Express contain form items for applying bulk updates to components. All form items within the report and buttons to apply the changes are keyboard accessible. Also some pages feature a check box in the first row to perform bulk processing and corresponding Select All and Deselect All links below the report. All of these items are keyboard accessible.
Some interactive reports in Oracle Application Express contain at least one link to edit or view a specific sub-components. These are all standard links and are therefore keyboard accessible.
When an existing search filter is applied to an interactive report, a search filter displays below the Search bar.
You can access the search filter using the keyboard to:
Edit the search filter.
Press TAB to navigate to the search filter and then press ENTER to open the Filter dialog box. Focus will be automatically set to first focusable element in the dialog box.
Disable or enable the search filter.
Press TAB to navigate to the check box to the right of the filter and SPACEBAR to disable or enable the filter.
Delete the search filter.
Press TAB to navigate to the search filter and then ENTER to open the Filter dialog box. Press TAB or SHIFT+TAB to navigate to the Delete button and then press ENTER.
If an Interactive Report includes a Search bar, Actions menu, and support for saved reports, then these options have been enabled by the developer on the Report Attributes page. To learn more, see "Editing Interactive Reports as a Developer" in Oracle Application Express Application Builder User's Guide.
To load a saved report:
Press TAB until the Reports select list has focus. Note that the Reports select list only displays if there are saved reports.
Press the UP and DOWN keys to select the specific saved report you wish to view.
Press ENTER to view the saved report.