While demand for the mobile web is growing, mobile web content is yet to mature, with many problems of usability and accessibility that are reminiscent of desktop web content ten years ago. Added to this are the specific problems associated with mobile browsing such as size of screen display (viewport), handset capability context (being outside, in noisy places, differing light, time restricted), and technology support (lack of JavaScript, Flash, CSS cascading stylesheets and so on).

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Read this article in Belarussian translated by Patricia Clausnitzer

There has always been a bit of a longdesc lottery on the web  with the duel problem of developers incorrectly implementing it and browsers not supporting it.  While there’s guidance out there on how to correctly implement longdesc if you’re a developer we thought we’d address how it’s handled in Opera.

Check out our implementation (needs Opera 10.10)

Notes

• Clicking on “Image description” defaults to opening a new tab.
• Only images that have a longdesc will show the text “Image description” when the context menu is opened. Text is removed altogether when longdesc is not coded so as to avoid both clutter and confusion.
• If you right click to access the image context menu, select “Image properties” you can access and copy the URL from there.
• Opera is working on WAI-ARIA support which will include support for aria-describedby which is intended to eventually replace longdesc. You can keep abreast of implementation support of WAI-ARIA in Web specifications supported in Opera Presto 2.2.
• There is work needed on making this fully keyboard accessible which is part of wider work looking at menu keyboard access. Stay tuned…

You can read a full break down of how Opera’s MAMA (Metadata Analysis and Mining Application) report 2008 listed usage of longdesc in the wild.

1. Go to Wii-ware.
2. Click Start.
3. Click Shopping.
4. Choose Wii Channel (third choice after Virtual Console and Wii-ware).
5. Scroll to bottom of list and click Internet Channel.
6. Download and select whether to save to Wii itself or to SD card.
7. Info page – “This software supports the Wiimote and selected keyboards”. Click OK.
8. Do you want to update/install? Click OK.
9. Go back to the Wii menu click “Internet channel” and away you go.

Thank you to @ourmaninjapan for the pointers.

As an extra bonus Nintendo are now offering the Wii Internet Channel for free. If you want to check it out but don’t have a Wii there’s plenty of information about it in the My Opera Wii community.

The issue

Plugin support typically needs an API that acts as a doorway connecting the plugin, browser and user. IE gets round this by using ActiveX – itself a closed propitiatory format – so users can tab into and out of the Flash. Of course keyboard access within the Flash content itself is handled by Adobe and is now considered to be keyboard accessible. So it’s really support for entering and leaving the plug-in with keyboard that is the issue.

The browser fix

Ideally there needs to be a standardized API that can be used across industry to enable plugin support across browsers. The most common  API is Netscape Plugin Application Programming Interface (NPAPA). First developed for Netscape it has subsequently been implemented in other browsers including Opera, Safari, Firefox, Konqueror, Google Chrome, and some versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer.

The kind of access NPAPI supports includes scripting, printing, full screen plugins, windowless plugins and content streaming but is not as powerful as ActiveX, and is still evolving – in particular tabbing into and out of the Flash movie.

Help is at hand however.

There is currently a proposal to solve the issue of Flash support being lead by Mozilla, Adobe, Opera, Apple, IBM and Sun which has now been accepted. Implementation will depend on collaboration between all stakeholders including plugin vendors and of course Adobe.

Aside from the the plugin API solution is there an alternative quick fix for Flash support in Opera?

There have been some discussions internally but it seems there is no quick fix that will completely, and satisfactorily, address the issue. There are two ways that NPAPI plugins can work. The first (default) is called “windowed”. This is essentially an OS window rendered on top of the browser. Keyboard input is therefore direct and not via the browser.

There are a couple of drawbacks with “windowed” however. Firstly it can pose security issues. Secondly it’s not a complete keyboard access solution because while getting focus into the plugin is possible getting focus out is not. This is key and really negates the point of being able to tab into the Flash Player because as a keyboard only user you’ll only get stuck there.

The second mode is called “windowless”, where the browser controls more of the plugin rendering. Here keyboard input goes via the browser (possibly depending on OS) and in turn is intercepted. The drawback with this solution is that real world support is limited as most plugins do not support this mode, and for those who do it’s not that widely used due to performance issues.

By far the best and most secure solution is standardising the NPAPI API so that it works across browsers with all plugins. Better not just for Opera but the web in general.

In terms of a solution for Opera it seems the fixes available now fall far short of what we would want to give our users. The good news however is that to implement support once the plugin API is ready should be fairly straight forward.

The developer fix

So where does this leave you as a developer, and more importantly your users? There is a hack you can use to give Flash keyboard access using a method in your Flash movie to focus a chosen element. You can then create a text link that calls this method to “skip into Flash”. This isn’t something I’ve tried and tested and I’d be interested to hear comments from anyone who has.

Update –  As Andrew Kirkpatrick points out there is another way to give Flash focus using the SWFFocus class. While the technique showcased discusses this in the context of Firefox I did a quick test in Opera 10 Beta and Safari 4 but had no luck accessing the content.

But I suppose the real question is why hack what you can already do using existing technologies supported across all browsers? Don’t get me wrong, I like Flash and have two thumbs up at Adobe for the work they have done to make it accessible, but if I’m building a site using Flash and knowingly locking out all non-IE users then I can’t use it.

As Christian Heilmann points out much of what Flash does can be done with existing technologies supported in the browser:

Using the DOM and JavaScript I can create HTML elements that work with all kind of assistive technology. Instead of hoping that keyboard users can access my Flash content I use what browsers already have – links, buttons and form fields – to interact with the it.

WAI-ARIA is also a core way to build screen reader accessible and tabbable web apps and widgets. Added to this the HTML5 <video> element will soon give us native support for video across browsers; something that Flash is used for extensively today.

So there are ways and means now to avoid the keyboard trap that Flash content poses for keyboard only users plus there is work to provide a universal solution in the form of the proposed plugin API. But for now I’d personally always opt for the standards based cross browser solution so as to ensure happy users and avoid additional work and hacks.

Aside from a minor glitch in the middle when I seem to disappear altogether it was a fun interview (despite Nav swatting wasps when he was on mute and my having to throw stuffed toys at the dog to stop her snoring).

Big thanks to Dirk Ginader and Sascha Postner for having us on. Links mentioned in the interview are:

• Opera Unite – share files by running a server from the comfort of the browser.
• Opera Developer Network – articles, blog posts, tools, tips and resources for developers.
• ODIN blog – news, views and presentations from the Opera Developer Network.
• Opera Labs – a showcase of technologies for tomorrow.
• Opera Web Standards Curriculum – tutorials in standards-based Web design, including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript development.