A Accessibility Features

This appendix provides information about how to use Oracle BI Publisher accessibility features for report consumers.

Topics:

What are Accessibility Features?

The accessibility features in BI Publisher aim to make the aspects of navigating and using the product easier for persons with disabilities and for the aging population.

The accessibility features support the use of standards-based assistive-technology hardware and software such as Freedom Scientific JAWS or Microsoft Narrator.

The accessibility features are grouped into these general categories:

  • Features used by third-party assistive-technology products. These features center on providing a user interface that consists of standard HTML elements that can be easily interpreted by third-party assistive technology products.

  • Accessibility mode, as described in Changing to Accessibility Mode.

  • Keyboard shortcuts that make it easier to navigate content for users with limited or no ability to use a mouse.

    See Keyboard Shortcuts.

  • Content design capabilities that make it possible for content creators to create content that supports users with accessibility needs.

    See Designing for Accessibility in Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher.

Changing to Accessibility Mode

Accessibility mode in BI Publisher makes the rendering of the user interface more compatible with screen readers while allowing only that functionality that is supported for users with disabilities to be visible.

To change to accessibility mode:
  1. Press Tab multiple times to navigate through the global header until the focus is on your user name in the Signed In As area.
  2. Press Enter, then Tab to highlight the My Account link.
  3. Press Enter to display the My Account dialog.
  4. Press Tab to navigate through the fields on the General tab until you reach the Accessibility Mode options.
  5. Use the arrow keys to select the On option.
  6. Press Enter to save your changes and close the dialog.
  7. Refresh the page to see it displayed in accessibility mode.

Accessibility Support in the BI Publisher User Interface

Alternative navigation tools, such as keystrokes, enable users to navigate BI Publisher and work with reports in accessibility mode.

The following list provides information on accessibility mode:

  • The Home page does not contain links for accessing the Administration page or for performing most editing functions.

  • Graphs and map views are not displayed but are instead converted to one or more annotated tables.

  • Tables and pivot tables are rendered with appropriate internal annotations to enable screen readers to describe the contents of cells.

    Note:

    Refer to your assistive-technology documentation for all applicable table navigation shortcuts.

  • You cannot use the mouse to modify the layout of a table or pivot table.

By default, Oracle BI Publisher does not use accessibility mode. Each user can decide whether to enable accessibility mode during sign in as described in Signing In Using Keystrokes or after sign in by using the following procedure.

Signing In Using Keystrokes

You can sign in to BI Publisher using keystrokes rather than the mouse.

To sign in using keystrokes:
  1. In a browser, display the Sign In page for BI Publisher.
  2. To change the language that BI Publisher uses for the Sign In page, press Tab to place the insertion point in the Language field and use the arrow keys to select the desired language. The insertion point is then placed in the User ID field.
  3. Enter the ID and press Tab to place the insertion point in the Password field.
  4. Enter the password.
  5. To render BI Publisher content in a browser in a way that facilitates the use of a screen reader, press the spacebar to select the Accessibility Mode box.
  6. Press Shift+Tab twice to place the insertion point on the Sign In button, then press Enter to activate the Sign In button.

Navigating the Home Page

If the Home page displays after signing in or by navigating from another location in BI Publisher, you must press CTRL+ALT+G to place the focus on the Skip to Content link in the upper-left corner of the Home page.

To navigate to the Home page:
  1. Sign in to BI Publisher, as described in Signing In Using Keystrokes.
  2. Press CTRL+ALT+G to display the Skip to Content link in the upper-left corner of the Home page.
  3. Press one of the following keys:

    • ENTER on this link to navigate to the default starting location on the Home page that is the first link in the upper-left corner under the global header.

    • TAB to navigate to the first element in focus on the global header.

  4. Continue to press TAB to navigate through the elements on the Home page.

Navigating Multiple Rows in Tables

When accessibility mode is turned on, each table row contains a Select option to assist you in working with multiple rows in a table.

For example, you can use the Select options on the Report Job Histories page to select multiple report jobs for deletion.

If you position the cursor in the Select option in a row, you can also use the Up/Down keys to navigate between table rows.

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Accessibility Support in BI Publisher Report Output

BI Publisher report output renders accessibility support to HTML generated from RTF or layout editor-based reports.

Reports with accessibility design features include the following HTML report properties:

  • Document title.

  • Alternative text property to describe images such as charts.

  • Table summary property to summarize table content.

  • Header level property to specify the order in which the table header rows are read in accessibility mode.

See Designing for Accessibility in Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Oracle BI EE and BI Publisher support standard keyboard shortcuts. The table lists the shortcuts and the actions.

Both Oracle BI EE and BI Publisher support standard keyboard shortcuts that are used in many software applications. In addition, both components offer shortcuts to perform tasks that are specific to those components. The general keystrokes table describes general keyboard shortcuts for use with Oracle BI EE and BI Publisher.

Keyboard Shortcut Result

CTRL+ALT+G

Navigates to the first focusable element in the global header, which is the Skip to Content link. This link enables you to bypass the options available in the global header and move to the features available in the main part of the Home page.

TAB

Navigates to the next focusable element.

SHIFT + TAB

Navigates to the previous focusable element.

Down Arrow

Navigates to the next menu option.

Up Arrow

Navigates to the previous menu option.

ENTER

Triggers the activity, when the focus is on a link, an image, or a button with an associated URL or activity.

Esc

Closes the menu that has the focus.

The following table describes keyboard shortcuts for navigating reports in BI Publisher.

Keyboard Shortcut Result

ALT + Up or Down Arrow

Opens drop-down and combo boxes.

CTRL + Up or Down Arrow

Shows the next or previous item in a combo box.

Note:

If you use Freedom Scientific JAWS or other screen reader programs, then you must first disable the virtual PC cursor before using the keystroke combinations to navigate the report. You must enable the virtual PC cursor at other times, including during navigation within table objects on a report.