Accessibility support remains a high priority here at DevExpress. In our v.23.2 release lifecycle, we focused on accessibility at the control level and to producing more accessible content (PDF documents generated by DevExpress Reports). We enhanced accessible tags in exported PDF documents (compatible with the PDF/UA and PDF/A-1a, 2a or 3a specification), so screen readers can recognize the semantic tree of the document.
With XRAccessibleRole you can now define UI element roles in the exported PDF document. These roles are used by assistive technologies. Supported elements include:
Semantic roles help you better organize the semantic tree of a document (for the screen reader) and help improve PDF document navigation, especially for reports full of data and tables (with lots of rows and columns). This capability gives a user a better understanding of the document and its data structure. With a tagged table, a screen reader will be able to read cell data and table headers related to it, giving users the context necessary to understand/interpret data.
Let's compare a PDF document that does not define semantic roles with the same document using specified elements.
Consider an invoice report full of tables. When you export a report to PDF (ua/a-1a), all elements are marked as <div>that does not provide a clear understanding of the structure of document elements and what data relates to them:
AccessibleRole allows you to mark headings, tables, and elements within tables to build a user-friendly logical tree. All tables are treated as a single unit and can be easily defined as separate elements within the document.
For other elements such as images, barcodes, etc, you can use AccessibleDescription to specify a text description of the item for screen readers.
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Let us know what you think about this new functionality. Do you see a room for further enhancement?