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Thread: Testing with default or adjusted screen reader settings

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From: Barry
Date: Mon, Oct 11 2021 12:51AM
Subject: Testing with default or adjusted screen reader settings
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Hi all



Should the a11y of a website be checked using the default settings of screen
readers or is there some responsibility on the user to adjust their settings
to be able to use the website better? If it is up to the user, what settings
should be adjusted in NVDA and Jaws?



Thanks in anticipation.



Cheers



Barry

From: Steve Green
Date: Mon, Oct 11 2021 1:37AM
Subject: Re: Testing with default or adjusted screen reader settings
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It depends on your objective. If you are doing a WCAG audit, there is no requirement to test with screen readers at all. If you are doing an "accessibility audit" or "expert review", you can do any tests you want. In that case, it would make sense to test with the default settings because a lot of people don't adjust them until they become proficient, and maybe not even then.

If you're going to change the default settings, you ought to talk to screen reader users and find out what sort of changes they make and for what types of content. There are a lot of settings, some of which may make your website difficult or impossible to use. It might be interesting to know that that can happen, but you have no obligation to fix it.

My view is that it would be more productive to spend that time testing with a wider range of screen readers and other assistive technologies.

Steve Green
Managing Director
Test Partners Ltd


From: wolfgang.berndorfer
Date: Mon, Oct 11 2021 9:27AM
Subject: Re: Testing with default or adjusted screen reader settings
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Not for testing along WCAG, but for development: Setting options for SR should be kept in mind.

What if CSS or JS is disabled? These questions are already taken into account for best practice.

What e.g., if alternative text is generally ignored by SR settings? Yes, this strange option is available, probably because it was demanded by enervated SR users.

My suggestion for advanced A11Y development:
1. Open your Browser
2. Press Jaws-Key + 6 for Settings
3. Inset "Web" and explore the options.

Wolfgang