Accessibility overview

You can create Flash content that is accessible to all users, including those with disabilities, using the accessibility features provided with Macromedia Flash MX 2004 and Macromedia Flash MX Professional 2004. As you design accessible Flash applications, consider how your users will interact with the content. Visually impaired users, for example, might rely on assistive technology, such as screen readers that provide an audio version of screen content, while hearing-impaired users might read text and captions in the document. Other considerations arise for users with mobility or cognitive impairments.

For a quick lesson in how to create accessible content, select Help > How Do I > Quick Tasks > Create Accessible Flash Content. To view a sample of an accessible application, see Using the accessibility features in Flash.

You can create accessible content with Flash by using accessibility features included in the authoring environment user interface, by taking advantage of ActionScript designed to implement accessibility, and by following recommended design and development practices. The list of recommended practices that follows is not exhaustive, but rather suggests common issues to consider. Depending on your audience needs, additional requirements might arise.

Visually impaired users For visually impaired users, including those with color blindness, keep in mind the following design recommendations:

• Use the Accessibility panel or ActionScript to provide a description of your document and nontext elements for use with a screen reader. See Using Flash to enter accessibility information for screen readers and Creating accessibility with ActionScript.
• Describe the layout of your movie and the individual controls used to navigate through the Flash application. See Using Flash to enter accessibility information for screen readers.
• Design and implement a logical tab order using either the Accessibility panel or ActionScript. See Creating a tab order index for keyboard navigation in the Accessibility panel (Flash Professional only) and Using ActionScript to create a tab order for accessible objects.
• Design the document so that constant changes in the Flash content do not unnecessarily cause screen readers to refresh. For example, you should group or hide looping elements. See Hiding an object from the screen reader.
• Provide captions for narrative audio. Be aware of audio in your document that might interfere with a user being able to listen to the screen reader. See Testing accessible content.
• Ensure that color is not the only means of conveying information. In addition, make sure that foreground and background contrast sufficiently to make text readable for people with low vision and color blindness.

Users with visual or mobility impairment For users with either visual or mobility impairment, ensure that controls are device independent (or accessible by keyboard).

Hearing-impaired users For hearing impaired users, you can caption audio content. See Accessibility for hearing-impaired users.

Users with cognitive impairment Users with cognitive impairments often respond best to uncluttered design that is easily navigable.