Accessibility
This website is in development and is still a work in progress. We have tried to build a site that places accessibility and usability principles at the centre.
We have introduced a number of new accessibility features to help make your experience of using our website as positive as possible. We are continuing to work on enhancements and would be very grateful for your feedback on the accessibility of our website. If you would like to make comments or suggestions please email editor@scope.org.uk
Access keys
This site uses the access key attribute which provides a set of keyboard shortcuts for common navigational tasks.
As of writing there is no W3C recommended assignation of accesskeys. However, there is a consensus emerging of sites that assign accesskeys to numbers (as below).
Access keys for Scope UK - http://www.scope.org.uk/
- S - Skip to content
- 1 - Homepage
- 2 - News
- 3 - Sitemap
- 4 - Search
- 5 - Services
- 6 - Help
- 7 - Privacy policy
- 8 - Terms of use
- 9 - Contact us
- 0 - Accessibility (incl. access key details)
Access keys for Scope UK | Share your Icon and Story – http://share.scope.org.uk
- S - Skip to content
- 1 - Homepage
- 2 - Gallery
- i - staggered small view
- o - large grid view
- p - single view
- 3 - Create
- 4 - My Scope
- 5 - Contact us
- 6 - FAQs
- 7 - Terms
- 8 - Privacy
- 0 - Accessibility (incl. access key details)
Why access keys?
In the W3C note 'Techniques for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0', section Keyboard access, the need for access keys is motivated as follows:
"Not every user has a graphic environment with a mouse or other pointing device. Some users rely on keyboard, alternative keyboard or voice input to navigate links, activate form controls, etc. Content developers should always ensure that users may interact with a page with devices other than a pointing device. A page designed for keyboard access (in addition to mouse access) will generally be accessible to users with other input devices. What's more, designing a page for keyboard access will usually improve its overall design as well."
This can be crucial to people with motor disabilities. Of course there are other conditions where it could be necessary or useful. To take a trivial example, if your mouse is temporarily broken, you might still wish to do some web surfing. And in technologies which differ from 'normal' PCs or terminals, such as WebTV, laptops, and handheld devices, a pointing device or function - if available at all - can be significantly more difficult to use for exact pointing than a good mouse.
Text adapted from http://www.cs.tut.fi/~jkorpela/forms/accesskey.html with thanks.
How access keys work
Pressing an access key assigned to an element gives focus to the element. The action that occurs when an element receives focus depends on the element. For example, when a user activates a link defined by the A element, the user agent generally follows the link. When a user activates a radio button, the user agent changes the value of the radio button. When the user activates a text field, it allows input, etc.
Using access keys
This section details how accesskeys are implemented in various Web browsers and operating systems.
- Internet Explorer (PC) - Hold down the ALT key, press the number of the access key, release both keys then press ENTER
- Firefox (PC) - Shift + Alt + access key
- Safari (PC): Alt + access key
- Firefox (Mac): CTRL + access key
- Sarafi (Mac): CTRL + Alt + access key
Browsealoud - Let our website read aloud to you!
We are committed to making our website accessible to as many people as possible, so we use Browsealoud, a computer program that reads out all website content, including attachments like PDFs and Word documents.
Browsealoud is especially helpful if you find reading large amounts of text on screen difficult, for example it can benefit people with literacy and visual impairments, or people whose first language isn't English.
As you move your cursor over words, they are spoken aloud. Browsealoud is free for you to use; you just need to download the program onto your own computer. You can use Browsealoud on PCs and Macs.
Lots of other websites, such as Google and the BBC, also use Browsealoud so once you've installed it, you'll be able to listen to these websites, too.
You can download Browsealoud to your own computer by visiting:
If you are using a computer in a public space, such as a library, you can ask a member of staff if their computers are speech-enabled.
Support with using Browsealoud
Visit the Browsealoud website for support with using the software.
You can read a user guide, get answers to commonly asked questions, or find out how to contact Browsealoud direct.
Please note that Scope does not offer support with using Browsealoud.
Images
All images used in this site include ALT attributes
Links
Links are written to make sense out of context
Visual design
This site uses cascading style sheets for visual layout. If your browser or browsing device does not support stylesheets at all, the content of each page is designed to be still readable.
Alternative views for http://share.scope.org.uk
In order to provide a consistent and accessible experience for all http://share.scope.org.uk/ users, we have provided three different views for the gallery.
Users who experience difficulty with the default gallery view are advised to use one of the alternative views. You can switch between the different options in two ways. Either use the access keys:
- i. staggered small view
- o. large grid view
- p. single view
or use the 'view' controls underneath the main site navigation as illustrated below:
We're social, follow us!