Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
22 results found in screen readers.
- ARIA Live Region (Live Region, ARIA Live)
- An ARIA live region is a section of a web page marked with the aria-live attribute that announces dynamic content changes to assistive technologies without requiring user focus to move to the updated …
- Accessibility Focus (A11y Focus, Screen Reader Focus)
- The currently selected element in a user interface as perceived by a screen reader or other assistive technology. When an element has accessibility focus, the screen reader announces its description a…
- Accessibility Tree (A11y Tree, Accessible Tree)
- A hierarchical data structure maintained by operating systems and browsers that represents the accessible elements of a user interface in a form that assistive technologies can interpret. The accessib…
- Blindness and Low Vision (BLV, visual impairment, vision impairment)
- Blindness and low vision (BLV) collectively describes the spectrum of significant visual impairment ranging from complete absence of sight to partial sight loss that cannot be fully corrected with sta…
- Cursor Ambiguity (Cursor Position Ambiguity)
- The difficulty users experience in determining the exact position of the text cursor, particularly when using screen readers on touchscreen devices. Screen readers announce the character or word at th…
- Data Visualization Accessibility (Accessible Data Visualization, Chart Accessibility, Visualization Accessibility)
- The practice of designing charts, graphs, diagrams, and other visual data representations so they are perceivable, operable, and understandable by people with disabilities, particularly those who are …
- Fire Vox (FireVox)
- An open-source, cross-platform screen reader implemented as a Firefox browser extension, created by Charles Chen as part of the CLC-4-TTS Suite. Fire Vox was notable as one of the earliest assistive t…
- Fluid Traversal (Fluid Navigation)
- A navigation design principle for screen reader interfaces that aims to mirror the flexibility of sighted visual attention. Fluid traversal has two key properties: it should be concise (requiring mini…
- Navigation Granularity (Text Navigation Level, Granularity Level)
- The unit of text movement when navigating through content—typically character, word, sentence, line, or paragraph level. Screen reader users must select their desired navigation granularity before mov…
- Non-Visual Web Access (Non-Visual Browsing, Nonvisual Web Access)
- The use of the web without relying on visual display, typically through screen readers, voice browsers, or refreshable braille displays that convert web content into speech or tactile output. Non-visu…
- Perceptual Congruence (Perceptually Congruent Structure)
- A design principle for accessible representations that requires the structure of a non-visual interface (such as a screen reader navigation tree) to mirror the visual structure of the original graphic…
- Press-and-Listen Paradigm (Sequential Navigation, Linear Content Consumption)
- The fundamental interaction model of screen reader assistive technology, where users press keyboard shortcuts to move through web content elements one at a time and listen to each element being announ…
- Reading Order (Logical Reading Order, Narration Order)
- The sequence in which content is presented to assistive technology users, particularly screen reader users, when navigating a document or web page. For sighted users, the visual layout of a document (…
- Screen Reader (Screen Reading Software)
- An assistive technology application that converts digital text and interface elements into synthesized speech or braille output, enabling people who are blind or have low vision to interact with compu…
- Screen Reader Plugin (Add-on, Extension, Script, Add-in)
- A small piece of software that extends or modifies the functionality of a screen reader. Plugins allow users to customize their screen reader experience, make partially accessible applications more us…
- Screen Reader Plugin (Screen Reader Add-on, Screen Reader Script, Screen Reader Extension)
- A small piece of code that extends or modifies the functionality of a screen reader application. Screen reader plugins can make inaccessible applications accessible, customize the screen reader's beha…
- Screen Reader Rotor (VoiceOver Rotor, Rotor Control)
- A virtual control in screen readers like VoiceOver that allows users to change navigation settings and access different options by performing a rotation gesture on the touchscreen. The rotor lets user…
- Structural Navigation (Structure-Based Navigation)
- A mode of screen reader navigation that allows users to move through content based on its logical or semantic structure rather than reading linearly from beginning to end. In web content, structural n…
- System Access (SA, System Access to Go, SA To Go)
- A screen reader for Windows developed by Serotek Corporation that was notable for offering a free version and a portable "To Go" edition that could run from a USB drive without installation. System Ac…
- Verbosity Level (Verbosity Setting, Detail Level)
- A configurable setting that controls the amount of detail provided in text or audio descriptions of content, particularly for screen reader users and accessible data visualizations. Verbosity levels t…