Ensure the tool supports all the structural features of the supported
languages.
Allow the author to directly edit the source markup (so knowledgeable
authors can ensure accessible content).
When an extended (superset) or simplified (subset) markup language is
supported, ensure that the accessibility features in the base language
are still available.
Allow the addition of equivalent alternatives for all supported image
formats that allow text content, including PNG, SVG, WebCGM, JPEG, and
GIF.
Enable the author to produce metadata that can be used to construct an
accessible version of the output. For example, when producing image
formats that do not allow the inclusion of alternative information within
them, use Dublin Core metadata to incorporate description, title
information, or "foaf" metadata to identify people depicted in
images.
Notify the author, if a given output format is not accessible (so they
can decide to use a different format).
Reference:
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 WCAG10 and Techniques (Full, Core,
HTML,
CSS).
This checkpoint covers systems that digest documents and reconstitute
them in standardized formats.
Ensure that the tool preserves all the elements and attributes defined
in the relevant specification(s) even if it is unable to render them in a
publishing view or preview mode.
Allow the author to decide whether or not to preserve unrecognized
markup (since it might be related to accessibility). See ATAG
4.3.
Consider explaining automatic changes made by the tool to the author.
Allow authors to edit document conversion templates to specify the way
presentation conventions should be converted into structural markup.
Ensure that changes to a document's graphical layout do not reduce
readability when rendered serially. For example, confirm the linearized
reading order with the author.
Some examples of conversion best practice include:
Avoid transforming text into images. Use style sheets for
presentation control, or use an XML application such as Scalable
Vector Graphics [SVG] that keeps the text as
text. If this is not possible, ensure that the text is available as
equivalent text for the image.
When importing images with associated descriptions into a markup
document, make the descriptions available through appropriate markup.
When transforming a table to a list or list of lists, ensure that
table headings are transformed into headings and that summary or
caption information is retained as rendered content.
When converting linked elements (i.e. footnotes, endnotes,
call-outs, annotations, references, etc.) provide them as inline
content or maintain two-way linking.
When converting from an unstructured word-processor format to
markup, ensure that headings and list items are transformed into
appropriate structural markup (appropriate level of heading or type
of list, etc.).
When generating a natural language translation of text, produce the
simplest and clearest possible use of the new language.
ATAG Checkpoint 1.3>: Ensure that when the tool
automatically generates markup it conforms to the W3C's Web Content Accessibility
Guidelines 1.0 [WCAG10]. [Relative Priority]
Techniques:
Ensure that when the tool automatically generates content and markup
(e.g. the author has not specifically specified the markup to be used),
that markup conforms to the following WCAG10 checkpoints. (Note: An
asterix (*) denotes those WCAG checkpoints that involve the inclusion of
equivalent alternative information. For these WCAG checkpoints, see ATAG
3.4 for restrictions on automatically generating equivalent
alternatives and ATAG
3.1 for prompting guidance) :
ATAG
Checkpoint 1.4: Ensure that templates provided by the tool conform
to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 [WCAG10]. [Relative Priority]
Techniques:
For tools that allow authors to create their own templates, advise the
author that templates should be held to a high accessibility standard,
since they will be repeatedly reused. Help the author reach this goal by
making an accessibility check mandatory before saving as a template.
Ensure that all templates provided by the tool conform to the following
WCAG10 checkpoints :
The following WCAG10
checkpoints are not considered relevant to this checkpoint:
WCAG 11.4 (P1) Keep
alternative pages synchronized with original pages. (This
checkpoint not relevant because it refers to a worst case scenario
that templates should not encourage
Samples:
The following are examples of accessible templates (Note: not all the
features of these templates are supported by all browsers):