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ID4WiscState's avatar
ID4WiscState
Community Member
21 days ago

Focus Order & Feedback Layers

I do a lot of accessibility testing with NVDA on my courses, and there is one major inconsistency that I cannot figure out. What determines if a feedback layer will read before or after I press the s...
accessibility
storyline 360
  • LucianaPiazza's avatar
    LucianaPiazza
    2 days ago

    Hi ID4WiscState, 

    Thanks for your reply! I do want you to know that with the ability to customize Storyline content, predictions can be difficult. The ability to fully control the focus order independently with layers is actually a feature request that has been shared with our team that we are currently tracking. 

    I hope this is helpful! 

PhilMayor's avatar
PhilMayor
Super Hero
17 days ago

It depends on if you have the layer set to prevent users clicking on the base layer. If it is set it will jump to the layer and play in the order in the focus order.

If it is not set then with the items being at the top you will have to shift tab back, you can either set to prevent or move the layer content after the submit button.

  • ID4WiscState's avatar
    ID4WiscState
    Community Member
    13 days ago

    Thanks for that option! I was able to force the focus order to find the feedback layer that way.

    I am still curious about default behavior for better planning. I cut down my project to two example questions. I matched their layer settings. Using the NVDA screen reader, the first question jumps to an item in the feeback layer; but on the second question, you have to navigate back to the top of the list to reach the feedback content. Hypothetically, I could still want the user to find the base layer items, but there doesn't seem to be a consistent way to inform if the feedback content should be at the bottom or top of the focus order.

    360 Review - Focus Order Quirk

    • LeslieMcKerchie's avatar
      LeslieMcKerchie
      Staff
      13 days ago

      Hello ID4WiscState!

      I appreciate you sharing what you were experiencing on your second question slide and for the sample .story file.

      When learners still need access to the base layer, we recommend arranging the objects on the individual layers to appear after the object on the base layer that activates the layer.

      I'm attaching your updated file, so let me know how Slide 2.1 works for you now.

      Since we're talking about accessibility, I noticed, with a quick glance, that your narration overlaps my screen reader announcements and that the first question slide is auto-advanced. A couple of additional adjustments to consider if you're building an accessible course.

      • ID4WiscState's avatar
        ID4WiscState
        Community Member
        7 days ago

        Hey Leslie,

        Thanks for exploring that. Yes, that is the behavior I would expect; but-

        • the focus order had to be adjusted
        • there is inconsistency
        • I cannot predict the app's behavior

        I really appreciate the linked resource you shared. Regarding-

        ...dialog layers hide other slide layers by default. That keeps the focus on the dialog and its content. If learners need to access the base layer in an interaction, use standard layers. Follow these tips to make standard layers more accessible:

        • Open the Slide Layer Properties window and mark the Hide other slide layers box. This option hides all other layers (except the base layer) when the current layer is visible to the learner.
        • In the Focus Order window, arrange the objects from each individual layer to appear after the object on the base layer that activates the layer.

        -Wouldn't it make more sense for layer objects to appear at the bottom of the focus order by default, rather than have designers manually move items? The dialog layer already skips that content; hide other slide layers would skip that content; remove the extra work. Do we have a justification for the layer content ever appearing at the top of the focus order?

        Thanks,

        Pierre

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