In this lesson you
- Told a fix from a confirmation
- Checked where color is the only cue, and recorded it
- Opened the gate
Transcript
What waits at the end
The last checks before certifying. Say the pictures are described, the reading order is set and the contrast is checked. So why does a document still have questions left? Some questions are about the document as a whole, not one picture or one page. Only a person can answer them. Proof gathers them at the end, in the Certify step. The approval gate stays closed until each one is answered. On this notice, two things are still open. The box at the top, Finish the steps above first, lists work left in earlier steps. Here, it's one item to review, under Visibility. Below it is a check of Certify's own. It's about a fill-in box on the page.
A fix, or a confirmation
Every check clears in one of two ways. Some you fix. Proof changes the file, checks the document again, and the check passes on its own. Others you confirm. You look for yourself, and record that you did. That record is called an attestation. An attestation carries your name. On the certificate, it's the part your organization stands behind. So fix first, and confirm last. A fix writes a new version of the file, and that can reset a confirmation made before it.
A field's name
Let's start with the fix. When someone tabs into a form field, a screen reader announces one thing. The field's name. This box is called reminder underscore name. That's what the authoring tool left behind, and it means nothing to a listener. Proof found the label printed right beside the box. Your name. That label is the name a listener needs. To give the box that name, choose Use 1 printed label. The name is now staged. That means it's ready, but not yet in the file. Apply writes it into a new version, and Proof checks the document again. The field check clears. What's left is the item under Visibility.
Use of color
That item is a check called Use of color. Some readers can't tell red from green, and some print in black and white. Anything the document says only with color is lost on them. If red words mark the deadlines, those readers can't tell which words are deadlines. The same goes for a link that's only a different color, or a chart key that differs only in fill. To answer it, select Visibility in the box at the top of Certify. Use of color sits there, in the same step as the contrast checks. Start with the list of places to check. Each row says what was flagged, and on which page. Here, it found one run of text set apart by color alone, on page 1. Proof can find where color might be doing the work. It can't tell whether the color means anything. That's your call. If you're unsure how to decide, select the question mark beside the check's name. It opens the criterion, a checklist and worked examples. So look at the page. The flagged words are the clinic's name, in its brand color. The color tells the reader nothing, so nothing is lost without it. That means color is never the only cue here. Choose I checked every flagged place. The note reads Use of color checked by hand, and the Visibility step now reads Every reader can see this document. What if the color does carry meaning, and nothing else does? Then don't record it. Proof can't add the missing cue for you. Add an underline, a label or a symbol in the source file, and bring the new file in. The lesson When a document needs rebuilding shows how.
Checks for fillable forms
Back in Certify, there's one more group of checks to know. They apply only to fillable forms. Each asks how the form behaves for someone who can't see the page, or doesn't use a mouse. Label in name asks whether a field's name contains its printed label. Someone using speech input says the label they see. Change of context asks whether moving into a field, or typing in it, jumps somewhere else or submits the form on its own. Input errors asks whether a rejected entry is named in text, with what to enter instead. Error prevention asks whether a form that submits lets the person review, confirm or undo what they send. Input purpose asks whether a field for your own details, like your email, says what it collects. Proof checks every field for these. When it finds nothing, the check passes on its own, and you never see it here. When it flags a field, the check waits in Certify. You try the field yourself, then record what you found, the same way as Use of color. A form that runs scripts also gets the Scripts check. You confirm that everything works from the keyboard alone. On this notice, all five form checks passed on their own.
Ready to certify
Every check is answered now, so the gate reads Gate open. The Approve as accessible card says what approving will do. Approving and certifying has its own lesson. Now you can tell a fix from a confirmation, answer the checks only a person can make, and know when a document is ready for the gate.
Recap
That's the end of this lesson.
Maple Ridge Community Health, its documents and its people are fictional, made for these lessons.