This plugin adds the Heading / Paragraph menu button to the editor toolbar, which supports authors in the proper use of headings and other block-level paragraph formats within web documents.

It is a replacement for the Format plugin, and is intended to be used in conjunction with the A11yFirst Character Style plugin.

Overview

What makes a web document accessible to people with disabilities? One important requirement involves the use of headings (h1, h2, h3, etc.), which add structure to your document by hierarchically labeling and grouping its content sections and subsections.

The presence of properly nested headings allows screen reader users to obtain a list of headings in the form of an outline, which in turn allows them to quickly and easily identify the types of content in the document, in the same way that sighted users can visually scan the headings in the document for the same purpose.

Features

The Heading / Paragraph plugin supports the proper use of headings via the following features:

• Headings are made prominent by appearing first in the Heading / Paragraph menu.
• Only heading levels that result in proper nesting are enabled in the menu (based on cursor position).
• The heading menu items indicate the typical usage for various heading levels, for example:
  • H1 - Document title
  • H2 - Section title
  • H3 - Subsection title
• The distraction of styling the heading menu items with different font sizes is avoided. All are styled the same, which reinforces their use as structural elements rather than for their visual effect.
• The menu includes a Help item, described below.

Help

Selecting the Help menu item opens the A11yFirst Help dialog, which provides information to help authors better understand the accessibility issues related to headings and other block level elements.

NOTE: The Help feature is dependent on the A11yFirst Help plugin being installed.