This plugin adds the A11yFirst Help menu button to the editor toolbar, which launches a dialog box that provides explanatory text on topics that help authors understand the accessibility issues of editing web documents.

It compliments and provides specific information on the use of the full suite of A11yFirst plugins: Heading / Paragraph, Character Style, A11yFirst Image and A11yFirst Link.

Overview

Each of the A11yFirst plugins embodies a new approach to authoring accessible web documents. Rather than relying upon a reactive model that detects problems after they exist, the A11yFirst approach is proactive. It enables authors to create content that is accessible during the authoring process, by providing feedback and validation on a feature-by-feature basis.

For example, once an author becomes familiar with the requirements for, say, adding images to documents, it becomes second nature to provide alternative text when the image is added, and to consider whether the image needs a longer description in the document.

Features

The A11yFirst Help dialog box contains the following information:

• How to get started using A11yFirst for CKEditor and why accessibility is important

• How to work with the A11yFirst features, as well as a few of the standard features included in CKEditor that are important for accessibility

• The purpose of, and contributors to, the A11yFirst Project

In particular, it includes the following topics and subtopics:

Heading / Paragraph

• Menu items
• About headings
• About paragraph formats
• Why headings and paragraph formats are important
• More information

List

• Working with lists
• List properties via context menu
• About lists
• Why lists are important

Image

• Accessible image descriptions
• Alternative text
• Long descriptions for complex images
• Adding a long description in the document
• Insert a caption text box below the image
• Writing effective alternative text
• Why image descriptions are important
• More information

Character Style

• Working with character styles
• About character styles
• Character styles vs. headings, lists and paragraph formats

Link

• Display Text
• About links
• Why links are important
• More information

Getting Started

• What is A11yFirst?
• Commitment to accessibility
• Document accessibility
• A different way of thinking

About A11yFirst

• Project Description & Goals
• Project Information
• Contributors
• Sponsors
• Acknowledgements