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There is news from SAP Analytics Cloud in the area of accessibility. For all users who use the keyboard functionality when viewing stories or are interested in the topic, here is an insight into the new functionalities for keyboard navigation of the story view mode.
Keyboard navigation is essential for making an application accessible to users with motor impairments or people relying on assistive technology like screen readers or modified keyboards. For seamless, accessible use, it is therefore important that SAP Analytics Cloud can also be navigated exclusively using the keyboard.
For this reason, we are pleased to announce that SAP Analytics Cloud stories are now keyboard accessible for story viewers. It is possible to navigate the story view mode in optimized story solely via the keyboard. In this blog we want to provide you with an overview of how keyboard navigation in the story view mode works.
What does this mean in detail?
SAP Analytics Cloud now provides keyboard support to story viewers which allows them to
- navigate toolbars and viewer-oriented dialogs
- navigate and create filters in view mode (story and page filters)
- navigate to the canvas via tab and navigation between widgets via arrows
- navigate the table widget
- navigate the more actions menu
How does the navigation work?
In SAP Analytics Cloud the targeted object is visibly in focus during keyboard navigation. For some users it can help to additionally enable an enhanced highlight on the focused object in the browser’s accessibility settings to facilitate navigation further.
To ensure smooth use, here is a summary of the most important information to help you operate SAC stories with the keyboard. When you enter a story in view mode, you have four main groups on the screen you can navigate through. These are
- the shell bar,
- the toolbar with viewer-oriented dialogs,
- the filter bar and
- the canvas that consists of different widgets and forms the story itself
General Page Navigation
To skip groups, the F6 key can be used. This would lead you from the shell bar to the first element of the toolbar for instance.
The individual elements of each group can be navigated with tab. An example for this might be the toolbar. If you want to go from the File dialog to the Edit dialog and so forth, use tab.
If you want to go back, add the shift key. Shift + F6 brings you to the group before and Shift + Tab navigates back to the element before.
Canvas Navigation
To guarantee coherent use of the story itself with all its widgets (the canvas), the keyboard navigation there works slightly different to the above outlined. Picture the story canvas like it is a list. Every widget on that canvas, whether it is a chart, a table or a map is one item on this list.
Page Filter
- Chart
- Table
- Geo Map
The first step to enter onto this list happens with tab or F6 from the toolbar or the filter bar for example. This will focus the first widget (or first item on the list) of the story canvas. From here, you can move around the different widgets with the arrow keys, up, down, left and right.
If you want to navigate into a widget, use tab. This will bring you to the “More Actions” (…) menu of a widget. Using tab once more will direct you into the widget’s content. This is possible for widgets with navigable content. Find here a list of widgets for which this is possible:
- Dropdown
- Button
- Checkbox group
- Switch
- Radio button group
- Input field
- Text area
- Slider
- Data Action Trigger
- List box
- Table
- Input Control
If you want to find a more detailed overview on different shortcuts and navigation functionalities of the different widgets, please visit the help documentation of SAP Analytics Cloud.
Tip: If you are looking for quick information on navigating within SAP Analytics Cloud, you can activate the help icon (?) in the shell bar, which provides an overview of the most important aspects of keyboard navigation.
The next steps we have planned to make SAP Analytics Cloud accessible is working to improve the screen reader functionalities of the optimized story view mode. So, stay tuned for further accessibility updates!
Contact Us
Accessibility is important as it allows everyone, including people who are differently abled, to access and use technology. Around 15 % of the population are touched by this topic (according to the World Health Organization). It is a diverse topic with a wide range of specific components.
For any additional clarity or questions please do not hesitate to reach out in the comment section below!
Additional Resources:
- Help documentation
- Keyboard Accessibility – How the SAP Analytics Cloud Data Analyzer Can Be Navigated Via the Keyboard
- Best Practices for Designing Accessible Stories
- Transform Your Story – Best Practices for Designing Accessible Stories
