Accessibility for cases

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IBM® Business Automation Workflow includes features that make working with cases more accessible for people with disabilities.

Important: The accessibility features are supported on Windows operating systems and Mozilla Firefox browsers only.

Keyboard input and navigation

Keyboard input
You can use the keyboard instead of a mouse to operate the product. To use any button on the user interface, move the focus to the button and press the spacebar or the Enter key.
Keyboard focus
The position of the keyboard focus is outlined to indicate which area of the window is active and where your keystrokes will take effect.
Response time adjustments
After 30 minutes of inactivity, the Case Client displays a time-out warning. You can adjust response times in the Session management pane of the administrative console.
Silent installation
For an accessible version of the installation, you must use the silent installation feature from the command line interface.
Configuration tool
For an accessible version of the Business Automation Workflow Case configuration tool, you must use the command-line interface.

Keyboard shortcuts

You can use the keyboard to access all of the functions of IBM Business Automation Workflow.

In general, keyboard access conforms to standard Microsoft Windows guidelines.

Keyboard access differs from standard Microsoft Windows guidelines in the following ways:
Access keys, Tab key, and tables
Access keys are provided only for buttons and menu items. Press the Tab key to reach all fields.

Press the Tab key to move the cursor into a table and then use the arrow keys to move between cells. To move the cursor out of the table to the next field, press Tab. When the cursor is in a table, pressing Enter is not equivalent to clicking OK to close the window. You must move the cursor out of the table first.

You can switch between tabs by using the Left and Right Arrow keys when the focus is on the tab label itself. Otherwise, you can use CTRL+Tab to move to the next tab in sequence.

Case Client context
Press Alt+R to display a dialog box that identifies the currently selected solution and role. If you are not a member of any solution role, the Role field indicates that no role is selected.
Case Client properties tables
A properties table in Case Client is configured so that each column contains a different multivalued property. The properties in a row form a collection. You can use the keyboard to navigate in a properties table as follows:
  • Press the Tab key to move the cursor into a table. Press the Tab key again to move the cursor to the next cell in a table. When the cursor is in a table, pressing Enter is not equivalent to clicking OK to close the window. You must first move the cursor out of the table.
  • To navigate within the table column: After the table has the focus, press F2 to move the focus to the column in the row.
  • You can use the Tab key to navigate between the columns.
  • To navigate out of the column, press the ESC key to move the focus back to the table.
Combination boxes
A combination box contains a list of items that you can select. Use the Up and Down Arrow keys to move the focus to an item. Then, press Enter to select the item.
Grids
Some widgets and dialog boxes use grids that cannot be navigated by using the Tab key. For example, to navigate through the list of documents and folders in the Documents tab of the Case Information widget, use the following keys:
  • Press the Tab key to move the focus into the table. The cursor moves to the column header on the first column of the table.
  • Press the Tab key again to move to the table contents.
  • Use the Up and Down Arrow keys to move from one row to another.
  • Use the Left and Right Arrow keys to move focus from cell to cell within the same row.
  • Press F2 to check a check box inside a grid cell.
  • Press Ctrl+Right Arrow key to expand a twistie within the cell of a Tree Grid.
  • Use Ctrl+Left Arrow key to collapse a twistie within the cell of a Tree Grid.
  • Press Ctrl+F1 to display the hover help for a field on a panel after the field has focus.
  • Use the Spacebar key to select a row. To select multiple rows, hold down the Shift key and press the Spacebar key. After you select a row, you can press Shift+Tab to return to the menu buttons and select the action to perform on the selected items.
  • To open a selected folder or document, hold down the Shift key and press Enter.
These methods also apply to grids in the Edit Settings windows for the widgets and to the Add Members window. The Edit Settings window is used to add buttons, customize menus, or disable event broadcasting. The Add Members dialog window is used to manage roles or to add workgroup members.
Menus
Press the Alt key and then press the Spacebar key to open the Program menu from the icon on the title bar of the web client. When this menu is open, pressing the Alt key closes the menu.
Solution icons
To select an icon when you create a solution, press the Tab key to move the focus from one solution icon to another. Then, press Enter to select the icon.
Navigation trees
You cannot select an item by typing characters or pressing Backspace in the navigation tree.

If you have Java™ 2 Software Development Kit 1.4 on your system, you can press a letter key to select the next item in the tree that begins with that letter.

List boxes, check boxes, and radio buttons
In a list box, press the Down Arrow and Up Arrow keys to browse for an item and press the Enter key to select an item. A list box is sometimes called a drop-down menu.
Within a list box, the following actions have no effect:
  • Pressing the Ctrl key with Page Up, Page Down, Home, or End
  • Pressing Shift+F8

You can select individual radio buttons by pressing the Tab key and then the Spacebar key or by using the access keys. Arrow keys do not select radio buttons within a group. Within a group of radio buttons, use the arrow keys to move the selection from one radio button to another radio button in the group. Press the Down Arrow key at the end of the group to return the focus to the first item in the group.

Additional keystrokes
Pressing Shift+Delete has no effect on text fields.

Press Ctrl+Z in a text field to undo a copy or paste action in that field.

Step Designer
The following keys are used in Step Designer:
  • Ctrl+Delete to delete a highlighted object on the canvas
  • Alt+Insert opens a dialog box for object insertion
  • Ctrl+Space to select connectors
  • Alt+Up Arrow key to select a lane
  • Ctrl+Home or End key to select a step
Rule Designer
The following keys are used in Rule Designer:
  • Shift+Tab to move the focus between the buttons, editor area, and error pane, and to move between completion menu options
  • Left and Right Arrow keys to move the focus between the toolbar buttons and select options when you add custom rule parameters
  • Spacebar to select and clear the completion menu options
  • For table-based rules, use the Up, Down, Left, and Right Arrow keys to move between cells, and use Page Up and Page Down to scroll up and down the decision table
Properties View Designer
The following keys are used to move between palettes:
  • Ctrl+Shift+C to move to the containers palette
  • Ctrl+Shift+F to move to the properties palette
  • Ctr+Shift+G to move to the settings palette for a selected element
  • Ctrl+Shift+V to move to the design canvas
The following keys are used to move between the design and source tabs:
  • Ctrl+Shift+D to move to the design tab
  • Ctrl+Shift+M to move to the source tab
The following keys are used to move between elements on the palettes:
  • Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys to move from element to element
  • Alt+Down Arrow to move into nested elements
  • Alt+Up Arrow to move out of the nested elements
  • Home to select the first element
  • End to select the last element
  • Shift+Up Arrow or Down Arrow key to select a range of elements
  • Shift+Home to select from the current element to the first element
  • Shift+End to select from the current element to the last element
  • Space to select highlighted elements
  • Ctrl+Space to toggle the selection of highlighted elements
  • Ctrl+Up Arrow or Down Arrow key to move focus without affecting selected elements
  • Shift+Space for continuous selection of elements
  • Ctrl+Shift+Up Arrow or Down Arrow key to select a secondary range of elements
  • Ctrl+Shift+Home to select a secondary range of elements from the current element to the first element
  • Ctrl+Shift+End to select a secondary range of elements from the current element to the last element
The following keys are used to move between the elements on the design canvas:
  • Down Arrow key to move from outer layouts to inner layouts
  • Alt+Up Arrow to move into the nested layout elements within the design canvas
  • Alt+Down Arrow to move out of the nested layout elements
  • Shift+F10 to open the context menu for the selected element
  • Ctrl+U to move the selected element up or to the left
  • Ctrl+Shift+U to move the selected element down or to the right
  • Ctrl+Shift+B to paste before a selected element
  • Ctrl+B to paste after a selected element
  • Ctrl+Shift+N to insert before a selected element
  • Ctrl+N to insert after a selected element
  • Ctrl+K to show or hide extra padding (toggle action)
In addition to the preceding keys, the following keys are used within each container on the design canvas:
  • Alt+Up Arrow to select the parent container
  • Alt+Down Arrow to select the first child container
  • Ctrl+Up Arrow to switch focus to the parent container without changing the current selection
  • Ctrl+Down Arrow to switch focus to the first child container without changing the current selection

Features for accessible display

The web client has the following features that enhance the user interface and improve accessibility for users with low vision.
High-contrast mode
In Windows systems, the product supports the high-contrast mode option that is provided by the operating system. This feature supports a higher contrast between background and foreground colors.
Non-dependence on color
You do not need to distinguish between colors to use any function of this product.
No video only or audio only cues
Business Automation Workflow does not use alerts or messages given that rely only on visual cues. In addition, Business Automation Workflow does not contain any audio features.

Compatibility with assistive technologies

The web client is compatible with the JAWS screen reader application. The web client has the properties that are required for JAWS to make on-screen information available to visually impaired users.

To access pop-up dialog windows, including error messages, use the JAWS keystrokes that are designated for working in dialog boxes. For example, to access the entire content of the dialog window, press Insert+B. You can use JAWS with the Virtual PC Cursor on to read the screen and its contents, but you must turn off the Virtual PC Cursor to use the functions of the page.

On the small calendar, JAWS cannot read the events when the focus is on particular date. Press the R key to read the events on that date.

Requirement: Always start the JAWS screen reader by using the java command instead of the javaw command. If you start the screen reader by using the javaw command, the screen reader does not work properly.
Tip: To ensure that JAWS reads the screen completely, turn off the Virtual PC Cursor.

IBM Forms application

Business Automation Workflow supports more than one application for creating and using forms in your solution. For accessibility, use IBM Forms.

Product documentation

Documentation for this product is available in accessible formats.

Documentation is available in HTML format. With the HTML format, you can view documentation according to the display preferences set in your browser. It also allows the use of screen readers and other assistive technologies.

Documentation is also available in PDF format.