IBM z/OS Connect accessibility features

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

The following accessibility features are supported in IBM® z/OS® Connect and enable users to perform the following actions:
  • Use assistive technology products such as screen readers, voice synthesizers and screen magnifier software. For example, Job Access With Speech (JAWS), NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA).
  • Operate specific or equivalent features by using only the keyboard, keyboard-only navigation.

See the A launch icon to indicate a link opens a new tab or window.IBM® Human Ability and Accessibility Center for more information about the commitment that IBM has to accessibility.

IBM z/OS Connect Documentation

The platform's online product documentation in IBM Documentation is viewable from a standard web browser.

All external links, which are links to content that is hosted outside of the IBM Documentation collection, open in a new window. These external links have a visual indicator and an audible message are read out by screen readers. The external links are also flagged with a A launch icon to indicate a link opens a new tab or window..

For links outside of IBM Documentation, when you hover, a tooltip appears indicating that the link Opens in a new tab or window.

The IBM z/OS Connect Documentation contains file paths, environment variables, commands, and other content that might be mispronounced by standard screen readers. For the most accurate descriptions, configure your screen reader settings to read all punctuation.

All images in the IBM z/OS Connect product documentation convey additional information and have alternative text.

The accessibility features in IBM Documentation are described at A launch icon to indicate a link opens a new tab or window. IBM Accessibility content design.

Operating system accessibility

Most operating systems have a set of accessibility options that enable individuals with disabilities to customize system-wide settings.

IBM z/OS Connect applications:

  • Inherit their settings from the operating system
  • Do not interfere with keyboard accessibility features built into the operating system

IBM z/OS Connect Gradle plug-ins

The API provider Gradle plug-in and the API requester Gradle plug-in Command-Line Interface (CLI) displays text based on the commands that are run and enables you to make choices during the installation process.

The CLI does not provide a cursor for navigating over the displayed text.

When you use the JAWS screen reader, you can repeat the displayed text with the command that is used for reading the current window (key combination Insert+B).

IBM z/OS Connect Server

Server configuration files use the number sign (#) character to denote a comment; consider configuring your screen reader.

IBM z/OS Connect Designer

The following list highlights accessibility information for the z/OS Connect Designer user interface:
  • IBM z/OS Connect Designer does not include content that flashes more than three times per second.
  • z/OS Connect Designer user interface includes Web Accessibility Initiative – Accessible Rich Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA) navigational landmarks that you can use to quickly navigate to functional areas in the application.
  • You can control zoom and text size by using the device or web browser settings.

Standard keyboard controls

The keyboard is the most frequently used alternative for performing mouse functions.

z/OS Connect Designer supports the standard browser navigation keys, such as the Tab key and Shift+Tab to move between controls, as well as the arrow keys to move up, down, and sideways between items.

Custom keyboard controls

The following table lists keyboard controls for the mapper component that appears in both the z/OS Asset Request panel and the Response panel on each API operation page in the IBM z/OS Connect Designer.

Table 1. Keyboard navigation aids in z/OS Connect Designer
To... Do the following...
Navigate up and down rows
  1. Press the Tab key to navigate to the first row of the mapper.
  2. Press the Up and Down arrow keys to move between rows.
Navigate sideways within a row
  1. Navigate to the desired row by using the controls described previously.
  2. Press the Left or Right arrow keys to move between items in the row.
Note: When focus is on a text field within the mapper, press Tab or Shift + Tab to move to the next or previous item in the row.
Insert a mapping or a function
  1. Navigate within a row to the Insert a mapping or Insert a function button using the controls described previously.
  2. Press the Space key to open the corresponding dialog.
  3. Navigate and select items within the Insert a mapping or Insert a function dialog using standard keyboard controls.

Context Help

Context-sensitive help is a mechanism that enables linking a user interface part with a specific help topic. When the user activates the associated user interface part, the help page is displayed in the dynamic help area. Users of Eclipse products can view installed products' contributions to help by clicking Help > Help Contents.

z/OS Connect API toolkit

The API toolkit is a plug-in for the IBM Explorer for z/OS and is built on Eclipse. Eclipse includes the following accessibility features:
  • Eclipse uses Microsoft Active Accessibility (MSAA) APIs to render user interface elements accessible to assistive technology.
  • Set the fonts and colors that are defined by Eclipse in the Preferences window.
    1. Click Window , Preferences to start the Preferences window.
    2. Click General, Appearance, Colors and Fonts to set colors and fonts.

For more information on accessibility features in Eclipse, see A launch icon to indicate a link opens a new tab or window. Accessibility Features in Eclipse.

For more information about accessibility features in IBM Explorer for z/OS, see A launch icon to indicate a link opens a new tab or window. IBM Explorer for z/OS Accessibility.

Supported languages

The following languages are supported:

  • English (UK & US). Both options use US English spelling. Differences include, for example, the locale settings for the date format.
  • Brazilian-Portuguese
  • French
  • German
  • Italian
  • Japanese
  • Polish
  • Spanish

The IBM z/OS Connect product documentation is provided in the English (US) language.

IBM z/OS Connect Error messages

IBM z/OS Connect messages are categorized with a prefix. Each prefix is associated with a specific component. The error messages convey clear and concise information relating to the specific component. It includes explanation for the error message and required user action where applicable.