Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about the User Agent Accessibility Guidelines (UAAG) 1.0

Who should read UAAG 1.0?

UAAG 1.0 is primarily written for:

• software developers,
• users with disabilities, and
• people who purchase software and who wish to know which software meets accessibility requirements.

Where can I find a quick introduction to UAAG 1.0?

A summary of UAAG 1.0 introduces the document, and a checklist summarizes the document's requirements.

What is a user agent?

A user agent is any piece of software (or combination of pieces of software) -- including browsers, multimedia players, graphics viewers, plug-ins, and assistive technologies -- that helps retrieve and render Web content for users.

What is an accessible user agent?

Informally, an "accessible user agent" is software that provides access to Web content for users with disabilities. UAAG 1.0 defines conformance for different types of software; software that conforms to UAAG 1.0 provides more accessibility for Web users with disabilities.

Which users with disabilities benefit from UAAG 1.0?

UAAG 1.0 is designed to improve accessibility for users with visual, hearing, physical, cognitive, and neurological disabilities. For more information on Web accessibility, please refer to the Web Accessibility Initiative's "How People with Disabilities Use the Web."

Do accessibility features benefit users without disabilities?

Many of the accessibility features required by UAAG 1.0 also improve usability for many other individuals. For instance, keyboard operation of the user agent benefits some users with visual and physical disabilities, but also benefits users who prefer keyboard access (e.g., expert users). UAAG 1.0 requirements are expected to benefit users with slow Internet connections, as well as users who use their computer in a situation where their hands, ears, or eyes may be busy with other activities.

Do accessible user agents mean that authors no longer need to produce accessible Web content?

No. Authors of Web content, and developers of Web software, have complementary roles. For instance, to meet the needs of some users with visual disabilities, authors must provide a text description of an image; browsers cannot invent a meaningful description of an image. Once an author has provided a description, browsers, together with assistive technologies, can present the description as either synthesized speech or braille.

See also the question on the relation of UAAG 1.0 to other WAI accessibility guidelines.

What user agents does UAAG 1.0 address?

UAAG 1.0 addresses the accessibility of user agents with multimedia capabilities, typically running on a desktop computer, including a keyboard or keyboard equivalent, and potentially used together with assistive technologies. User agents address in UAAG 1.0 are those designed for the general public to handle general-purpose content in ordinary operating conditions.

UAAG 1.0 is not designed so that user agents on other types of platforms (e.g., handheld devices or kiosks) will readily conform. This document does not forbid conformance by any type of user agent, but some requirements (e.g., implementation of certain application programming interfaces, or APIs) are not likely to be satisfied on environments other than the target environment. Future work by the UAWG may address the accessibility of user agents running on handheld devices, for example.

What role do assistive technologies play in UAAG 1.0?

UAAG 1.0 is designed for general purpose browsers and media players, and not for assistive technologies; so screen readers, screen magnifiers, and other assistive technologies are not expected to conform (though they may). The ability of conforming user agents to communicate well with assistive technologies will depend in part on the willingness of assistive technology developers to follow the same standards and conventions for interoperability. UAAG 1.0 is designed to ensure that a conforming browser or media player communicates -- through publicly documented interfaces -- with assistive technologies.

Can plug-ins be used to satisfy requirements of UAAG 1.0?

Yes. UAAG 1.0 requirements may be met by any combination of components, including plug-ins, operating system features, Web pages, and of course built-in features of a user agent.

Does W3C certify conformance to UAAG 1.0?

At this time, W3C does not certify user agents for conformance. The UAWG is developing a test suite that will help people determine whether a user agent satisfies UAAG 1.0 requirements.

How do I use the conformance icons?

UAAG 1.0 conformance icons (or, "logos") can be part of a conformance claim. The icons may be used anywhere, including on a Web site, on user agent packaging, and in documentation. It is meaningless to use a conformance icon alone, i.e., to use the icon without an associated well-formed conformance claim.

For detailed information on using the conformance icons, please refer to the UAAG 1.0 Conformance icons page.

Which user agents actually conform? Does W3C maintain a list?

At this time, W3C does not maintain a list of conforming user agents, or a list of conformance claims.

Do accessibility features conflict with other user agent features?

A user does not need every user agent feature at all times (whether a feature related to accessibility or not); every developer therefore offers configuration options. UAAG 1.0 emphasizes configurability to ensure that accessibility features do not conflict with other user agent features. Furthermore, it is expected that UAAG 1.0 requirements will improve the overall usability of user agents; see also the question about other benefits of UAAG 1.0.

How do I learn about the accessibility features of a given user agent?

UAAG 1.0 requires that accessibility features be listed in the user agent documentation. This means that any conforming user agent must have documentation of the accessibility features. The features may be listed in a single place (which is convenient for people learning to use a piece of software), and/or distributed throughout the documentation (which is useful for users seeking the accessible approach to a known task).

How do I evaluate a user agent for conformance to UAAG 1.0?

• Review the existing implementation reports linked from the UAWG home page. While these are not comprehensive conformance reports, they are useful samples of how evaluations are done.
• "How to evaluate a user agent for conformance to UAAG 1.0" explains how to get started.
• Use the evaluation tool to interactively construct your evaluation.
• Use the checklist of UAAG 1.0 requirements as a quick reference guide.
• Use the (draft) test suite to determine whether your user agent satisfies requirements for specific features of a format. Note: Currently, the test suite only includes tests for HTML 4.01 and some multimedia requirements. The UAWG will continue to add tests, and welcomes the contribution of tests to the UAWG.

What is the relation of UAAG 1.0 to other WAI accessibility guidelines?

UAAG 1.0 is part of a series of accessibility guidelines published by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). Each document in the series addresses a particular aspect of making the Web more accessible. In addition to UAAG 1.0:

• The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 1.0 Recommendation explains how to design accessible Web pages and Web sites.
• The Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) 1.0 Recommendation explains how to design accessible authoring tools. An accessible authoring tool facilitates the creation of accessible Web content and is also accessible to users with disabilities.
• The XML Accessibility Guidelines (XAG) Working Draft (still in development) explains how to design XML applications that support accessibility.

These documents complement one another in order to meet the needs of Web users with disabilities.

What is the relation of UAAG 1.0 to platform-specific guidelines?

UAAG 1.0 encourages software developers to follow the accessibility conventions of each operating environment (e.g., when designing the software user interface, keyboard shortcuts, and documentation). Following these conventions increases consistency for users and for developers of assistive technologies. Operating environment guidelines also include information about accessibility features (e.g., system-wide settings for color preferences) that user agent developers can re-use rather than re-implement.

In some cases, UAAG 1.0 may overlap in scope with operating environment accessibility guidelines. However, UAAG 1.0 is not specific to any particular platform.

What is the relation of UAAG 1.0 to national legislation such as US "Section 508?"

UAAG 1.0 has been developed by W3C, an international industry consortium, with participation from many stakeholders. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act is legislation specific to the United States, relating to accessibility of electronic and information technology, and includes requirements for accessibility of generic computer software. Other countries may or may not develop similar types of generic software accessibility guidelines. W3C's UAAG 1.0 addresses the accessibility of Web user agents in more depth, with more specificity to the Web environment, and across more disabilities. It is difficult to compare precisely UAAG 1.0 with any one set of national requirements.

Are there any governments that refer to UAAG 1.0 in accessibility policy?

Not at this time. Please refer to the WAI list of international policies relating to Accessibility for more policy information.

Is UAAG 1.0 a law?

UAAG 1.0 is not a law. W3C Recommendations have no legal standing in and of themselves. However, some governments sometimes adopt or refer to technical standards, including W3C Recommendations, in legislation, regulations, or policies. The Web Accessibility Initiative tracks some international policies relating to Web Accessibility.

Does a user agent have to satisfy all the checkpoints to conform?

No. Because UAAG 1.0 includes features to satisfy the needs of a variety of users and different types of software, a user agent is not expected to meet every requirement in order to conform -- although the UAWG encourages user agent developers to satisfy as many as possible. UAAG 1.0 defines "conformance profiles" for different types of software. As part of a conformance claim, a conformance profile explains which UAAG 1.0 requirements have been met. UAAG 1.0 allows conformance claims for fewer than all checkpoints. For instance, a claim may state that a user agent satisfies requirements related to images and text, but not related to video, audio, or synthesized speech. The UAAG 1.0 chapter on conformance explains how to build a profile to indicate conformance to fewer than all checkpoints.

What is the Techniques Document?

"Techniques for UAAG 1.0" presents ideas for satisfying the requirements of UAAG 1.0. Techniques for UAAG 1.0 is an implementor's companion to UAAG 1.0; the techniques included are informative, not normative, and there is no conformance to the Techniques Document.

It is expected that the Techniques Document will be updated more frequently than UAAG 1.0, as the UAWG becomes aware of new technologies and new techniques for meeting the requirements of UAAG 1.0.

How long will it be until user agents conform?

It is difficult to predict when we will see conformance claims about general purpose browsers and multimedia players. As of publication of this Recommendation, the UAWG documented that nearly all of the requirements of UAAG 1.0 had been implemented, but not all of them in one user agent.

Is the UAAG 1.0 document available in other formats besides XHTML (Postscript, PDF, text)?

The UAWG makes available a text-only version that is derived from the source XHTML.

The UAWG no longer makes available Postscript or PDF versions, since so many deployed browsers readily produce these formats (e.g., you can create a Postscript version in many browsers by printing to a file). For printing we suggest using the single-page HTML version of the Recommendation.

Please note that the published XHTML version is the definitive version of the Recommendation.

Is the gzip package broken?

UAAG 1.0 is available as a set of files in a gzipped tar archive or a zip archive. Your user agent may be decompressing the gzip package on the fly, but still saving it with a .gz suffix. Try removing the .gz suffix from your downloaded file and then try to open.

Has UAAG 1.0 been translated into languages other than English?

Please consult the list of translations of UAAG 1.0. That page also indicates how to translate UAAG 1.0 in coordination with W3C. W3C also maintains a general list of translations of other W3C work.

Note: The English version of the UAAG 1.0 Recommendation is the authoritative version.

I think there's an error or bug in UAAG 1.0. What should I do?

We encourage you to:

1. First, consult the page of errata for UAAG 1.0; your error may already be listed there, with a solution.
2. If not listed, please report the error to [email protected] (public archive).

What can I do to help make the Web more accessible?

There are a number of ways you can become involved with the Web Accessibility Initiative, and specifically with the User Agent Accessibility Guidelines Working Group:

• If your company is a W3C Member, you can request to participate in any W3C Working Group. To participate in the User Agent Accessibility Guidelines Working Group, see how to join the UAWG.
• If your company is not a W3C Member, you should encourage them to join W3C. In the meantime, you can request to participate as an "invited expert," which implies an ongoing commitment to participate in meetings, in mailing list discussions, and in the completion of Working Group deliverables. Please consult the UAWG home page for more information about participation as an invited expert.
• The UAWG's mailing list is public, so you can read and contribute to it at any time (for the purposes of helping the UAWG do its work). See information about UAWG mailing lists.
• If you are a developer, you can implement UAAG 1.0. Do not hesitate to contact the UAWG if you have questions regarding UAAG 1.0.
• You can become a WAI Sponsor.
• You can help translate UAAG 1.0 into a language other than English.

Where can I find more information about accessibility?

We encourage you to start at the home page of W3C's Web Accessibility Initiative. You can also start directly at the WAI Resources page.