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Module Introduction
Software Accessibility Guidelines
508 Conformance Evaluation Methodologies
Provision A
Provision B
Provision C
Provision D
Provision E
Provision F
Provision G
Provision H
Provision I
Provision J
Provision K
Provision L
Module Conclusion

Provision C

Development and Remediation Guidelines

Software must let accessibility aids locate and track the location of the keyboard focus in order to conform to Provision C. The Windows operating system provides built-in support for exposing the focus when using the standard controls of the operating system (such as standard buttons, lists, menus). The interface objects built into the Windows environment are already accessibility-enabled. Software should therefore be designed so it does not override this built-in behavior.

Use the System Caret (for example, vertical blinking bar in a text region, dashed rectangle on a button, highlighted cell within a grid) to expose the focus of the current control when attempting to provide specialized focusing support not provided by the Windows operating system. For example, some graphics software will display a rectangle around the image boundaries with anchor points that allow resizing. The System Caret can be programmatically controlled with API calls shown here:

  • CreateCaret: Sets the caret size and shape.
  • SetCaretPos: Changes the position of the caret.
  • ShowCaret: Makes the caret visible.
  • DestroyCaret: Allows a new caret to be specified.

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