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Tim P.3's avatar
Tim P.3
New member | Level 2
9 years ago
Status:
Accepted

Please make Dropbox Paper screen-reader accessible

We’ve been keen users of Hackpad here in the UK Government for a few years now. We would like to migrate to Dropbox Paper, but it’s not currently accessible using a screen-reader.

We have vision impaired users who rely on screen-readers and we have a responsibility to support them.

We’ve looked at the code and the main issue appears to be that the application role is applied to the entire UI. This causes screen readers to stop intercepting keyboard commands and pass them back through to the browser instead. 

The upshot is that a screen reader is stripped of its usual shortcuts and navigational commands, making the app unusable unless scripting is used to provide the expected keyboard support.

Collaboration tools like Paper can have a huge impact on the lives of people with access needs, but only if they're built to support the full range of technologies that people use.

Dropbox Paper
  • Chris M.145's avatar
    Chris M.145
    New member | Level 1
    9 years ago

    Thanks for dealing with the application role, it has enabled me to get a little further into the service. Sadly there are still numerous issues, as when viewing a paper document on the web, there are a number of unlabelled buttons and the example documents include images that don't contain alternative text. 

     

    I was unable to create a new document, as there are numerous unlabelled elements and I was not able to give the document a name. This was all attempted with VoiceoVer and Safari on Mac os 10.

     

    Next, I downloaded the Paper app for iOS and was greeted with a welcome screen that I was unable to close or skip without sighted assistance, as the function is not exposed to VoiceOver. Once I got passed this blocker, the interface is much clearer than the web version, but sadly I am still unable to create my own content or edit existing content. There is also a button labelled 'Bar menu...' which enables me to share the document etc. 

     

    Happy to discuss offlist if you would like me to take part in further usability testing of your betas.

  • Henry C.'s avatar
    Henry C.
    New member | Level 1
    9 years ago

    Dropbox has a duty to make sure their services are accessible by everybody.

  • Tim P.3's avatar
    Tim P.3
    New member | Level 2
    9 years ago

    Thanks for the response Ed - and let us know if we can be of any help. There are a lot of developers, designers and researchers here who'd be only too happy to pitch in.

  • Tim P.3's avatar
    Tim P.3
    New member | Level 2
    9 years ago

    Hey Ed,

    So it's been over a month and we've not had an update. Can you confirm whether this issue is going to be addressed or not, and if so, when?

    Thanks

     

  • Scott Z.1's avatar
    Scott Z.1
    New member | Level 1
    9 years ago
    Hi everyone,
     
    I’m Scott, and I work as a Product Manager on Dropbox Paper. We have removed the application role from the UI, so you can better edit docs and navigate the site with a screen reader! Additionally, we performed a general accessibility audit of the product, and have slated work to improve other areas in the collaboration and editing experience.
     
    Accessibility is very important to us, and we greatly appreciate your feedback. Please let us know if there are any other specific interactions on Paper that are difficult to work with!
  • Tim P.3's avatar
    Tim P.3
    New member | Level 2
    9 years ago

    Hi Scott, thanks for your response. This is fantastic news - we'll take a look.

    It's very encouraging to know that Dropbox is taking the needs of all its users seriously.

  • Scott Z.1's avatar
    Scott Z.1
    New member | Level 1
    9 years ago

    Hi Chris, thanks for the feedback - I'd like to get a better sense of which specific items we need to look at so we can improve the document creation process as soon as possible.

    On the Dropbox Paper website, in lower right-hand corner there is a "?" Help button that let's you submit feedback.  Can you write in a ticket, so we can follow up offline?

    Thanks!

    Scott

    • hturner's avatar
      hturner
      New member | Level 2
      8 years ago
      Now that Paper is out of beta does this mean the accessibility issues have been addressed? I have a blind person on my globally distributed team and am looking for tools that can help us collaborate. If anyone has experience they can share (e.g. works with a certain OS/browser) that would be really helpful.