WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

E-mail List Archives

Thread: Dreamweaver Layers

for

Number of posts in this thread: 5 (In chronological order)

From: Candace Egan
Date: Fri, Apr 18 2003 3:00PM
Subject: Dreamweaver Layers
No previous message | Next message →

Is anyone familiar with Dreamweaver layers and whether using them causes
accessibility problems?

Candace

--
--------
Candace Lee Egan
Educational Technology Consultant
Academic Innovation Center
California State University, Fresno
(559) 278-5070



----
To subscribe, unsubscribe, or view list archives,
visit http://www.webaim.org/discussion/


From: 10Tests Project
Date: Sat, Apr 19 2003 9:20AM
Subject: RE: Dreamweaver Layers
← Previous message | Next message →

I have used layers extensively in the past but I don't believe they
satisfy the requirements for the W3C Content Accessibility Guidelines.
As to whether they cause actual problems, I would think your best bet
may to have a look at the specifications of individual browsers. Layers
are supported in all browser version 4 onwards (MSIE 4+, Netscape, etc).

You may just have to try and test. The link below provides a list to a
number of 'alternative' browsers.

http://www.w3.org/WAI/References/Browsing

Martin.

-----Original Message-----
From: Candace Egan [mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = ]
Sent: 18 April 2003 22:45
To: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
Subject: Dreamweaver Layers

Is anyone familiar with Dreamweaver layers and whether using them causes
accessibility problems?

Candace

--
--------
Candace Lee Egan
Educational Technology Consultant
Academic Innovation Center
California State University, Fresno
(559) 278-5070



----
To subscribe, unsubscribe, or view list archives,
visit http://www.webaim.org/discussion/






----
To subscribe, unsubscribe, or view list archives,
visit http://www.webaim.org/discussion/


From: Big John
Date: Sat, Apr 19 2003 11:45AM
Subject: Re: Dreamweaver Layers
← Previous message | Next message →

Candace Egan wrote:
> Is anyone familiar with Dreamweaver layers and whether using them causes
> accessibility problems?


I'm not up on the guidelines, but I believe DW layers are just
'absolute' positioning. If so, then it's very often possible to
place them anywhere in the source. A screen reader will treat
such elements just like any other, so being able to choose the
order they are read is very useful. To be sure, some layouts
constrict this flexibility, but no more than flowed elements.
Big John



====^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-
| Perennial student + Impractical joker + CSS junkie = Big John |
| XXXXXXXXXXX <http://www.positioniseverything.net>; XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX |
| XXXXXXXXXXXXX <http://users.rraz.net/mc_on_the_rocks/>; XXXXXXXXXXXX |
-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^

__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo
http://search.yahoo.com


----
To subscribe, unsubscribe, or view list archives,
visit http://www.webaim.org/discussion/


From: jeb
Date: Sat, Apr 19 2003 2:47PM
Subject: RE: Dreamweaver Layers
← Previous message | Next message →

DW as a free accessibility plug in which is supposed to check all these
things for you.
http://www.macromedia.com/macromedia/accessibility/mx/dw/validation.html

It works with MX...not sure about older versions.

John E. Brandt
Augusta, ME 04330

= EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = <mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
www.jebswebs.com <http://www.jebswebs.com>;




-----Original Message-----
From: Candace Egan [mailto: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = ]
Sent: Friday, April 18, 2003 5:45 PM
To: = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
Subject: Dreamweaver Layers


Is anyone familiar with Dreamweaver layers and whether using them causes
accessibility problems?

Candace

--
--------
Candace Lee Egan
Educational Technology Consultant
Academic Innovation Center
California State University, Fresno
(559) 278-5070



----
To subscribe, unsubscribe, or view list archives,
visit http://www.webaim.org/discussion/




----
To subscribe, unsubscribe, or view list archives,
visit http://www.webaim.org/discussion/


From: Dey Alexander
Date: Sat, Apr 19 2003 4:52PM
Subject: Re: Dreamweaver Layers
← Previous message | No next message

"Layers" is a Dreamweaver term for HTML <div> elements which are
usually, but not always, used together with stylesheets to handle
layout. This method of handling layout is preferred over the use of
HTML tables, at least according to the W3C's Web Content Accessibility
Guidelines (but is often not used because it can cause problems for
users of version 4.x browsers).

Layers are not inherently accessible or inaccessible - it depends
entirely on how they are implemented.

If you are using them on your project, you should check the page
rendering, and in particular the read order, with stylesheets turned
off. You don't need any special equipment to do this. One way is to
user your own browser to override stylesheets. For Internet Explorer, go
to Tools > Internet Options, and then select the Accessibility button at
bottom right. Check (to enable) each of the three format override
options. Then view your page. There's also an online tool you can use.
Go to http://www.delorie.com/web/wpbcv.html and check (to enable) all of
the options except stylesheets. Then type in the URL for the page you
want to check.

Cheers,
Dey



----
To subscribe, unsubscribe, or view list archives,
visit http://www.webaim.org/discussion/