Titles for forms and pages

Lotus Notes checkpoint 5.3

Provide a descriptive title for each form and page.

Rationale

The window title is the text that appears in the title bar when a user composes, reads or edits a document. The window title is also displayed in the window list when a document is opened. The window title helps users understand the context of the document they are reading. If no window title is defined, the word "Untitled" appears in the title bar and the window list. A sighted person can scan the entire window list and find the window they want to open. Someone who is blind has to sequentially go through the list and wait to hear the name of the document they want. If they are looking for a document which has no window title defined in the form, they hear "untitled". The user has no way to know if that is the information they want unless they open the window and start reading the information with a screen reader.

On the Notes client, most applications are composed of framesets. A frameset may be composed from a form or page. Each of those forms and pages must also have a meaningful window title. When someone using a screen reader moves to each frame in the Client application, the screen reader will speak the window title of the form or page in the frame. If the page title is missing or not useful, you cannot determine the purpose of that frame in the application. This is different than how frames are spoken by assistive technology on the Web. For more information about accessible frames on the Web, see Checkpoint 1.3 of the Notes checklist.

In a Domino application, the title of the form or page is displayed in the title bar in the browser window. For example, if the window title is "Inspection form", the browser title is displayed as "Inspection form - Microsoft Internet Explorer" in Internet Explorer. If the window title is missing, the browser will display the URL for the form or page as the title.

Development techniques

The following techniques are the minimum required to meet Checkpoint 5.3 from the Lotus Notes Application Accessibility Checklist:

Open the form or page you are designing and select "Event: Window Title" in the design pane. Enter a window title (enclosed in quotes) in the formula window.
If the form or page is only used to for visual effects in a frameset, disable focus for keyboard users. For example, if the page only contains a blue background, the frame is not important for understanding the application. You can disable focus by setting the "No focus on F6" option in the Page Properties box. This allows keyboard users to skip over the frame and quickly go to the next frame with application content. If the form contains important information, do not set this option. The form or page must still have a title even if it does not receive focus.

Recommended techniques

The technique above is required; the following technique is recommended to enhance accessibility:

Define a window title that changes based upon the status or use of the document. For example, a different window title should be defined for new documents. Once the document has been created, the window title can include helpful information such as the date it was created or the status of the document.

Testing techniques

Test the application to ensure that it complies with accessibility requirements.

Tools

Install the following tools to test this checkpoint:

A screen reader for testing with the Notes Client user interface.

Techniques

The following techniques are required to verify this checkpoint:
	Action	Result
1.	Verify the form and page titles are meaningful on the Notes Client. In the Notes Client, open or create a document for each type of form in the application. Manually read the window title that is displayed and verify it is meaningful. Now verify that forms and pages used to create frames on the Notes client have meaningful titles. Use a screen reader to listen to each frame in the frameset to verify the pages and forms have titles. Press F6 to move to each frame. Verify the title that is spoken is meaningful.	Pass: All forms and pages have meaningful titles. For example, when creating a new calendar entry, "New Calendar Entry" is displayed in the title bar. Fail: One or more forms or pages do not have meaningful titles. For example, the form title "Document" does not describe the purpose of the form. The window title is "Untitled" which means a title has not been defined. This error should have been flagged when the application was tested with the GNA filters.
2.	Verify the form and page titles are meaningful are meaningful for Domino applications on the Web. Open or create a document for each type of form in the application. Manually read the window title that is displayed in the browser title bar and verify it is meaningful.	Pass: All forms and pages have meaningful titles. For example, when creating a new calendar entry, "New Calendar Entry" is displayed in the browser title bar. Fail: One or more forms or pages do not have meaningful titles. For example, the form title "Document" does not describe the purpose of the form. The browser title bar displays "Untitled" which means a title has not been defined. This error should have been flagged when the application was tested with the GNA filters.

Last updated February 08, 2008.

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