Microsoft details accessibility improvements in EdgeHTML 15 with Windows 10 Creators Update

Microsoft began rolling out the Windows 10 Creators Update more than a month ago. The update packs numerous features and improvements for PCs, including refinements to Windows Ink, Night Light, and app folders on the Start Menu, among other things.

While many of these features are visible to users, the company has also made some under-the-hood improvements. One of these is accessibility enhancements in EdgeHTML 15, which the firm has detailed in a blog post.

Microsoft says that it has worked with assistive technology communities, standards organizations, and developers to improve accessibility in EdgeHTML 15, providing an enhanced user experience.

Major changes have been made to the UI Automation TextPattern API, which allows screen readers and other assistive technologies to recognize and access textual content of applications. As a result, accessibility has been improved across various text units including characters, words, format, lines, and paragraphs.

Additionally, Microsoft has also worked on enhancing support for various web patterns, which include the following:

  • Corrected name and description computation for referenced hidden elements
  • Introduced support for HTML lang attribute
  • Images with empty alternative text are now mapped to the presentation role

The company has fixed numerous issues reported by the community too, such as improving Scroll Pattern support and the reliability of UIA TextPattern operations, disabling Text Size support for the web platform on mobile, and enabling pinch to zoom support on all web pages.

Microsoft said that it will continue working to enhance the usability experience with EdgeHTML 15 on the Windows 10 Creators Update, and has encouraged users to provide feedback on its bug portal here.

Source: Microsoft

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