Bug 142978 - Add an Accessibility sidebar
Summary: Add an Accessibility sidebar
Status: VERIFIED FIXED
Alias: None
Product: LibreOffice
Classification: Unclassified
Component: LibreOffice (show other bugs)
Version:
(earliest affected)
7.0.0.3 release
Hardware: All All
: medium enhancement
Assignee: Samuel Mehrbrodt (allotropia)
URL:
Whiteboard: target:7.6.0 inReleaseNotes:7.6
Keywords: accessibility
Depends on: 154782 154784
Blocks: Sidebar-New-Decks Accessibility-Check 154694
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Reported: 2021-06-22 07:18 UTC by Stéphane Guillou (stragu)
Modified: 2024-01-29 00:02 UTC (History)
9 users (show)

See Also:
Crash report or crash signature:


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Description Stéphane Guillou (stragu) 2021-06-22 07:18:08 UTC
Description:
It would be ideal to add a new sidebar focused on accessibility.

This enhancement request is probably most relevant for Writer, but would also be useful for Impress and Calc (as they are commonly used to create reports and presentations shared in a variety of formats, like PDF and HTML).

The sidebar could include:

- The contents of the Accessibility Check, with buttons to jump to the location of the issue, and buttons to fix the issue (if there is a straight forward was to do so)
- The "Alternative (Text only)" field to fill in the the alt text of images (when an image is selected)
- A button to directly export as HTML or PDF/UA (and other recommended formats for optimal accessibility)
- more ideas?

This would allow users to more easily fix accessibility issues, and review a whole document without having to switch between dialogues.

Steps to Reproduce:
Try:
- giving alternative text to numerous images
- checking accessibility with Tools > Accessibility check
- Exporting / saving to a format without necessarily knowing which option is recommended

Actual Results:
You have to navigate to a few different menus and dialogues.

Expected Results:
One centralised location for accessibility-related features would allow the user to focus on getting the document ready, without missing features they wouldn't have found otherwise.


Reproducible: Always


User Profile Reset: No



Additional Info:
Not available in 7.0.6.2, 7.1.4, 7.2 beta1 and:

Version: 7.3.0.0.alpha0+ / LibreOffice Community
Build ID: e3086b58eb5427d520b86c185f9d911bb6f7a3a0
CPU threads: 8; OS: Linux 4.15; UI render: default; VCL: gtk3
Locale: en-AU (en_AU.UTF-8); UI: en-US
TinderBox: Linux-rpm_deb-x86_64@86-TDF, Branch:master, Time: 2021-06-21_15:37:11
Calc: threaded

But assumed that it was never available.
Comment 1 V Stuart Foote 2021-06-22 13:16:30 UTC
Not a bad idea for a SB deck--but probably better packaged as a bundled extension. Optional during installation like the 'Solver for Nonlinear Programming', 'MediaWiki Publisher' and BeanShell and JavaScript script providers.
Comment 2 Heiko Tietze 2021-06-23 11:10:09 UTC
Extension was my first idea too.
Comment 3 V Stuart Foote 2021-06-23 13:08:31 UTC
@Tomaž, some UI work to round out your PDF/UA and PDF accessibility checker gems?
Comment 4 Cor Nouws 2021-07-01 11:29:50 UTC
I think there is clearly room too, for people stepping in extending the current accessibility check.
Having said that: we do have the dialog, so why not present the same in the sidebar indeed, and put that in an extension?
Comment 5 Heiko Tietze 2021-07-01 13:55:54 UTC
We discussed this topic in the design meeting and agreed that it would be a welcome extension. Resolved/moved to extension.
Comment 6 Stéphane Guillou (stragu) 2021-07-02 06:36:48 UTC
Where are extension tracked? Could we have a link to the relevant place this was moved to?
Comment 7 Heiko Tietze 2021-07-02 07:48:17 UTC
(In reply to stragu from comment #6)
> Where are extension tracked? Could we have a link to the relevant place this
> was moved to?

As third-party content we do not track extensions yet. Would be nice- and maybe a question to QA whether or not we want a category in addition to the existing "Extensions" component that is meant for dealing with extensions via code.
Comment 8 Tomaz Vajngerl 2021-07-02 10:44:54 UTC
We can't just "make it an extension" .. there is zero functionality exposed as UNO and I don't think there would be much sense to make wrappers so that somebody, sometime, somewhere will implement a sidebar - that's not how this works. 

If we have a clear use case why users would need access to accessibility checker structures then we can add it to UNO and cement the API, but until then - just to make an sidebar is not worth the trouble and long-term implications.
Comment 9 Tomaz Vajngerl 2021-07-02 10:49:48 UTC
Also... making it into the sidebar changes the expectation from "check and show the result in dialog", to "check when the document changes", which is not how the accessibility check works as it always checks the whole document model only.
Comment 10 V Stuart Foote 2021-07-02 13:12:04 UTC
Given quikee's perspective, and current state of things, this becomes a clear => WF.

But, I still beleive an assistive technology tool feature like this would be helpful--and that it *needs* to be driven by TDF "Tender", not wait for 3rd party  dev interest.

And if implemented (by dialog(s), or the UNO and the SB GUI work) it must be maintained and distributed with LO core! 

Whether it gets packaged as an extension, or not, and just extends dialog(s) is secondary to LibreOffice producing accessible ODF documents, or fully supporting export to accessible formats (e.g. PDF/UA, or WCAG 2.1 compliant XHTML). 

Those aspects remains valid.
Comment 11 Cor Nouws 2021-07-03 21:37:23 UTC
(In reply to Tomaz Vajngerl from comment #9)
> Also... making it into the sidebar changes the expectation from "check and
> show the result in dialog", to "check when the document changes", which is
> not how the accessibility check works as it always checks the whole document
> model only.
Ah, good point that I didn't think of. Thx
Comment 12 Stéphane Guillou (stragu) 2021-07-04 12:39:46 UTC
Thanks everyone.
Agree with Stuart that an accessibility-focused tender would be wonderful - and potentially an overdue strategic move as more and more legislation enforces accessibility requirements in software choices made by businesses and public institutions.
Comment 13 Heiko Tietze 2023-02-05 12:29:22 UTC
Reopening since work on this topic has been started.
Comment 14 Heiko Tietze 2023-02-05 12:35:02 UTC
MSO example can be found at https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/improve-accessibility-with-the-accessibility-checker-a16f6de0-2f39-4a2b-8bd8-5ad801426c7f

The sidebar should list a11y issues and ideally provide possible solutions.
Comment 15 Commit Notification 2023-03-20 15:41:33 UTC
Samuel Mehrbrodt committed a patch related to this issue.
It has been pushed to "master":

https://git.libreoffice.org/core/commit/403ea882af35337431e0f67aa973c5f046deb630

tdf#142978 Add a11y check sidebar

It will be available in 7.6.0.

The patch should be included in the daily builds available at
https://dev-builds.libreoffice.org/daily/ in the next 24-48 hours. More
information about daily builds can be found at:
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Testing_Daily_Builds

Affected users are encouraged to test the fix and report feedback.
Comment 16 Commit Notification 2023-03-23 14:04:55 UTC
Samuel Mehrbrodt committed a patch related to this issue.
It has been pushed to "master":

https://git.libreoffice.org/core/commit/3d1fbd81988c11ac7de54bbe718073422f5db71f

tdf#142978 Improve a11y check sidebar panel

It will be available in 7.6.0.

The patch should be included in the daily builds available at
https://dev-builds.libreoffice.org/daily/ in the next 24-48 hours. More
information about daily builds can be found at:
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Testing_Daily_Builds

Affected users are encouraged to test the fix and report feedback.
Comment 17 Commit Notification 2023-03-23 21:51:40 UTC
Samuel Mehrbrodt committed a patch related to this issue.
It has been pushed to "master":

https://git.libreoffice.org/core/commit/53fc5fa0fed077b7d11e39b710280f0a84b631ff

tdf#142978 Show a11y sidebar when finding issues on PDF export

It will be available in 7.6.0.

The patch should be included in the daily builds available at
https://dev-builds.libreoffice.org/daily/ in the next 24-48 hours. More
information about daily builds can be found at:
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Testing_Daily_Builds

Affected users are encouraged to test the fix and report feedback.
Comment 18 Commit Notification 2023-03-23 21:52:43 UTC
Samuel Mehrbrodt committed a patch related to this issue.
It has been pushed to "master":

https://git.libreoffice.org/core/commit/61d961f3bc0d127f88d7d35eaf5eca4e34799731

tdf#142978 Remove a11y check dialog

It will be available in 7.6.0.

The patch should be included in the daily builds available at
https://dev-builds.libreoffice.org/daily/ in the next 24-48 hours. More
information about daily builds can be found at:
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Testing_Daily_Builds

Affected users are encouraged to test the fix and report feedback.
Comment 19 Commit Notification 2023-03-23 21:52:45 UTC
Samuel Mehrbrodt committed a patch related to this issue.
It has been pushed to "master":

https://git.libreoffice.org/core/commit/cae0daff1dd8bd60208892c792948c0cd2b0eeec

tdf#142978 Add shortcut to a11y check deck

It will be available in 7.6.0.

The patch should be included in the daily builds available at
https://dev-builds.libreoffice.org/daily/ in the next 24-48 hours. More
information about daily builds can be found at:
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Testing_Daily_Builds

Affected users are encouraged to test the fix and report feedback.
Comment 20 Xisco Faulí 2023-04-19 13:45:13 UTC
Hi Samuel, Heiko,
The information in the sidebar is not updated while working on the document unless Tools - Automatic Accessibility Checking is enabled. Should it be enabled by default ? Otherwise, should the sidebar also include a 'rescan' button ?
Comment 21 Samuel Mehrbrodt (allotropia) 2023-04-20 07:00:14 UTC
(In reply to Xisco Faulí from comment #20)
> Hi Samuel, Heiko,
> The information in the sidebar is not updated while working on the document
> unless Tools - Automatic Accessibility Checking is enabled. Should it be
> enabled by default ? Otherwise, should the sidebar also include a 'rescan'
> button ?

@Tomaz: Since you implemented the automatic a11y check - is there any reason it should not be enabled by default?
Comment 22 Commit Notification 2023-04-20 09:25:08 UTC
Samuel Mehrbrodt committed a patch related to this issue.
It has been pushed to "master":

https://git.libreoffice.org/core/commit/ccd6415902ab2fd35658cb28258e0a7ce935d376

tdf#142978 Add quick fix action for missing alt text

It will be available in 7.6.0.

The patch should be included in the daily builds available at
https://dev-builds.libreoffice.org/daily/ in the next 24-48 hours. More
information about daily builds can be found at:
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Testing_Daily_Builds

Affected users are encouraged to test the fix and report feedback.
Comment 23 Tomaz Vajngerl 2023-04-21 09:54:05 UTC
(In reply to Samuel Mehrbrodt (allotropia) from comment #21)
> @Tomaz: Since you implemented the automatic a11y check - is there any reason
> it should not be enabled by default?

It's not finished yet - It's just a preview of the feature and has known issues that need to be resolved before it is enabled by default. In the current state I don't think it can detect an accessibility issue in certain cases and also a change, for example to shapes directly, won't trigger the accessibility checker.

There are higher priority tasks I need to complete first, but I will eventually come back to this.
Comment 24 Gabor Kelemen (allotropia) 2023-05-05 07:05:43 UTC
So - maybe resurrecting the Recheck button from the old dialog can be a temporary solution in 7.6? 
Or adding a warning label at the top saying "To update checking results, enable Tools - Automatic Accessibility Checking" or something similar?
Comment 25 Stéphane Guillou (stragu) 2023-05-05 07:49:51 UTC
Could be a checkbox in the toolbar:

☑ Check while editing

On by default, because it is probably expected from a sidebar panel to always be up to date. If off, only runs the check at save and export. But maybe a new bug report is needed here to have the conversation there.
Comment 26 Commit Notification 2023-05-08 18:16:48 UTC
Samuel Mehrbrodt committed a patch related to this issue.
It has been pushed to "master":

https://git.libreoffice.org/core/commit/1a9d96d35afc7fd496434ead4311f872db5d6232

tdf#142978 Add menu entry for a11y check back

It will be available in 7.6.0.

The patch should be included in the daily builds available at
https://dev-builds.libreoffice.org/daily/ in the next 24-48 hours. More
information about daily builds can be found at:
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Testing_Daily_Builds

Affected users are encouraged to test the fix and report feedback.
Comment 27 Commit Notification 2023-05-15 19:20:53 UTC
Samuel Mehrbrodt committed a patch related to this issue.
It has been pushed to "master":

https://git.libreoffice.org/core/commit/168528094262f59aa5862dfb396ee4d95a989394

tdf#142978 Automatic a11y is required for this sidebar panel

It will be available in 7.6.0.

The patch should be included in the daily builds available at
https://dev-builds.libreoffice.org/daily/ in the next 24-48 hours. More
information about daily builds can be found at:
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Testing_Daily_Builds

Affected users are encouraged to test the fix and report feedback.
Comment 28 Commit Notification 2023-05-15 19:21:55 UTC
Samuel Mehrbrodt committed a patch related to this issue.
It has been pushed to "master":

https://git.libreoffice.org/core/commit/45cefedbc633fc315972a1fcfae43f79230703a0

tdf#142978 Grab focus to document when clicking "Go to" button

It will be available in 7.6.0.

The patch should be included in the daily builds available at
https://dev-builds.libreoffice.org/daily/ in the next 24-48 hours. More
information about daily builds can be found at:
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Testing_Daily_Builds

Affected users are encouraged to test the fix and report feedback.
Comment 29 Samuel Mehrbrodt (allotropia) 2023-05-15 19:26:47 UTC
(In reply to Commit Notification from comment #27)
> Samuel Mehrbrodt committed a patch related to this issue.
> It has been pushed to "master":
> 
> https://git.libreoffice.org/core/commit/
> 168528094262f59aa5862dfb396ee4d95a989394
> 
> tdf#142978 Automatic a11y is required for this sidebar panel
> 

With this commit, the automatic a11y check will be enabled as soon as the a11y sidebar deck is activated. The previous state is restored, when the sidebar is destroyed (usually when you close the document).
That should be good enough for now.

For further enhancement requests/bugs related to this sidebar please file separate tickets.
Comment 30 Stéphane Guillou (stragu) 2023-06-23 09:23:58 UTC
In release notes: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/ReleaseNotes/7.6#Writer
(will need an updated screenshot closer to release)
Comment 31 Stéphane Guillou (stragu) 2023-06-23 09:24:14 UTC
Verified in 7.6 beta1.