Accessibility Features

VSS is completely accessible from the keyboard.  Use of a mouse is not required to navigate the system.

All column headers are identified within data tables.  This allows screen readers to effectively identify the column heading to which the data belongs.

All non-text elements (for example, images) contain descriptive text that provides a textual equivalent of the elements.

The pages within the system are organized in a hierarchical fashion allowing easier navigation within the page. They are designed so that the most important information is presented first at the top of the page.

Within each page, the error messages are always shown first. Thus, Screen readers can read the error messages first before reading the rest of the page.

A consistent navigation mechanism is provided within the system by means of the primary and secondary navigators. Using these navigators, you can easily and quickly access the pages meeting your requirement.

Required fields are indicated not only through an asterisk (*) before the caption, they are also indicated through the field’s title.  When the Screen reader reads a required field title, it will read the column caption followed by “(Required)".

Before your session is automatically timed-out, the system will prompt you to confirm that you wish to continue working and will indicate the number of minutes before your session will expire.  If you confirm that you wish to continue working within the given time, then your session will remain active; otherwise, it will automatically expire. This enables users using Screen readers to read and complete the forms within the application without encountering an automatic timeout.

VSS uses frames within the system browser window, and each frame is given a meaningful name that allows for quick and unique identification of each frame. Additionally, the system provides full descriptions for many frames. These names and descriptions can be accessed through Screen readers.

Note: Users accessing frames containing Power BI reports may experience difficulty interacting with the report frame, when using the JAWS screen reader. Although a tooltip appears instructing users to “Press Ctrl + Enter to interact with the report”, this method does not work reliably with JAWS. To successfully enter and interact with the report frame using JAWS, it is recommended to press the M key to jump directly to the frame. Alternatively, JAWS users can press Insert + F8 to open the list of frames and select the report frame manually. Please note that this issue does not affect NVDA users or those not using a screen reader.