Accessibility features for IBM Spectrum Control

Accessibility features help users who have a disability, such as restricted mobility or limited vision, to use information technology products successfully.

Accessibility features

The following list includes the major accessibility features in IBM Spectrum Control:

Keyboard-only operation in the GUI.
The IBM® Documentation that includes the following accessibility features:
- The IBM Documentation is provided in XHTML 1.0 format, which is viewable in most web browsers. With XHTML, you can view documentation according to the display preferences that are set in your browser. XHTML supports screen readers and other assistive technologies.
- All documentation for IBM Spectrum Control is available in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) by using the Adobe Acrobat Reader. To access PDFs, go to Printable documentation.
- All images in the IBM Documentation are provided with alternative text, so that visually impaired users can understand the contents of the images.
Interfaces that are commonly used by screen readers.
The setting for the automatic-refresh button in the screen reader is toggled to the ON position by default. If you want the screen reader to read the previous text, complete the following steps:
1. Navigate to the Accessibility Settings Navigation region by using the arrow keys. The region is located after the IBM Spectrum Control application title.
2. Click Enter to toggle the automatic-refresh button to the OFF position. (An alert sounds to make you aware that the turn-off automatic-refresh toggle button was pressed.)
3. To move backward to the previously read text so that the screen reader can read it again, use the arrow keys. You can move backwards and forwards through the page.
4. When you are ready to move on, click Enter to toggle the automatic-refresh button to the ON position and to refresh the page. (An alert sounds to make you aware that the turn-on, automatic-refresh toggle button was pressed.)
  Tip: Alternatively, let the toggle setting persist, and refresh as needed by pressing the F5 key.

Keyboard navigation

Most of the features of the IBM Spectrum Control GUI are accessible by using the keyboard. For those features that are not accessible, equivalent function is available by using the command-line interface (CLI), except as noted in the product release notes.

You can use keys or key combinations to perform operations and initiate many menu actions that can also be done through mouse actions. The following sections describe the keys or key combinations for different parts of the GUI:

For navigating in the GUI and the context-sensitive help system:

To navigate to the next link, button, or topic within a panel, press Tab.
To move to the previous link, button, or topic within a panel, press Shift+Tab.
To select an object, when the object is in focus, press Enter.

For actions menus:

To navigate to the grid header, press Tab.
To reach the drop-down field, press the Left Arrow or Right Arrow key.
To open the drop-down menu, press Enter.
To select the menu items, press the Up Arrow or Down Arrow key.
To start the action, press Enter.

For filters:

To specify a filter option and text:

Press Tab to navigate to the magnifying glass icon.
Press the Up Arrow or Down Arrow key to navigate the filtering list.
Press Enter to select a filtering option.
When a filtering option is selected, the cursor moves to the filter text box. Type the filter text and press Enter. To reset a filter, press Enter.

For text fields:

To navigate to text fields, press Tab.
To navigate to the fields that are available for editing, press Tab.
To navigate to the next field or to the Submit button, press Tab.

For tables or lists:

To navigate between column headers, focus on a column header and use the Left Arrow and Right Arrow keys to move to other column headers.
To navigate between data cells, focus on a data cell and use the Left, Right, Up, Down, Pageup, and Pagedown Arrow keys.
To sort a column, focus on a column header and press Enter. The focus remains on the column header after the sort occurs.
To change the size of a column, focus on the column header, hold Shift+Control, and press the Left or Right Arrow keys.
To follow a link in a data cell, focus on a data cell and press Shift+F9.
To open a menu for a table row, focus on the row and press Shift+F10.
To select consecutive rows, select the first row and hold Shift, press the Up or Down Arrow keys to go to the last row in the range, and press the Space bar to add the new rows to the selection.
To select non-consecutive rows, select a row and hold Control, press the Up or Down Arrow keys, and press the Space bar to add the new row to the selection.

Restriction: For Chinese languages, the keyboard combination Control+Space bar is not enabled for selecting multiple rows at the same time.

Keyboard navigation with Firefox for Mac users: If you're using Firefox on a Mac with IBM Spectrum Control and want to use keyboard navigation, complete the following steps:

In Firefox, go to Preferences > Advanced > General and clear the check mark for Always use the cursor keys to navigate within pages. This step enables the use of Tab key to navigate between GUI elements.
In the URL address bar of Firefox, type about:config and press Enter.
Tip: If a warning prompt is displayed, click the button to accept the risk of changing browser settings. Existing settings won't be changed; instead, you'll be adding a preference setting for accessibility.
To add an accessibility preference for tab focus, right-click on the configuration page and select New > Integer.
In the New integer value window, type accessibility.tabfocus and click OK.
Type 7 to set the integer value and click OK.
Open your Mac's System Preferences app, go to Keyboard > Shortcuts, and select All Controls.

IBM and accessibility

For more information about IBM's commitment to accessibility, see the IBM Human Ability and Accessibility Center website at External link icon http://www.ibm.com/able.