Building Accessible Applications

Accessible user interfaces with Appian

The Appian platform allows designers to build applications that are accessible to all users, including those with disabilities who employ assistive technologies such as screen readers. In order to meet this goal, Appian validates its product features against the requirements of leading accessibility standards:

• US Federal Government's Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (January 2017 Refresh)
• World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)'s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 Level AA

Since each screen reader is optimized to work best with a particular browser, Appian recommends the following common combinations of browser and screen reader:

Browser	Screen Reader
Chrome	JAWS
Edge	JAWS
Mozilla Firefox	NVDA
Safari	VoiceOver

Accessibility features in Appian's SAIL technology allow users with low vision, limited dexterity, and other concerns to consume the same information and perform the same activities as any other user of an application. Many of these capabilities are automatically enabled when using interfaces, while others are activated by making use of specific interface component configuration parameters. Accessibility-related configuration recommendations are described in detail on each interface component documentation page.

To learn about accessibility testing for applications, see Testing Applications.

Interface components with accessibility limitations

A small number of interface components, due to their specialized functionality, may not be accessible to all users.

Document extraction reconciliation task

The Reconcile Doc Extraction Smart Service generates a task for a user to validate the extracted data. This task requires users to visually inspect an image of a document to validate correct extraction of its contents. Therefore, this feature may not be usable for users who are blind or have low vision. To learn more about this task, see Appian Document Extraction.

Browser components

Browser components like the document browser, hierarchy tree, and org chart show a visual representation of object relationships, so they are not usable for users who are blind and may be difficult to use for users who have low vision.

For an accessible alternative, provide the data using grids or another screen reader friendly layout.

Document extraction reconciliation task

The Reconcile Doc Extraction Smart Service generates a task for a user to validate the extracted data. This task requires users to visually inspect an image of a document to validate correct extraction of its contents. Therefore, this feature may not be usable for blind users or those with low vision. To learn more about this task, see Appian Document Extraction.

Drill down in Appian charts

When configuring Appian charts using drill down, the micro height option can make it difficult for users who use pointer input devices (such as a mouse, stylus, or touch) to interact with the chart elements.

For an accessible alternative, use a height option other than micro for chart elements that allow drill down.

Heading field

Truncated headings are not accessible for sighted keyboard users (non-mouse users) because the truncated text can't be made visible. For an accessible alternative, set prevent wrapping to false.

Reordering rows in editable grids

Editable grids with grid row reordering require users to press and hold while moving a mouse, finger, or stylus. This may be difficult for users with mobility impairments.

For an accessible alternative, manually configure the grid with something like clickable arrows for reordering rows.

Records chatbot

The records chatbot component is a interface component that enables users to ask questions of their data fabric. This component is powered by generative AI and can answer questions about a record and related record data.

Rich text

Regardless of formatting, rich text items are never interpreted as HTML headings by screen readers. Instead, use the heading component to represent content sections in an accessible way.

Truncated rich text fields are not accessible for sighted keyboard users (non-mouse users) because the truncated text can't be made visible. For an accessible alternative, set prevent wrapping to false.

Row highlight selection style

The row highlight selection style in the read-only grid and editable grid components uses color to indicate which row is selected. This information is not conveyed by screen readers, so it may not be usable by non-sighted users or those with low vision.

For an accessible alternative, use the checkbox selection style instead.

Signature drawing pad

The drawing pad on the Signature component is not keyboard accessible. A mouse or touchpad must be used to draw the signature.

Site accent colors

A faded version of the site object accent color is used as a hover style on certain components, such as dropdown menus and grids with row highlight. For better accessibility, test your accent color while hovering on dropdown menus and grids with row highlight to ensure they have adequate color contrast. The contrast ratio between the cell color and the text should be 4.5:1.

Control Panel elements with accessibility limitations

A small amount of functionality in the Control Panel workspace may not be accessible to all users in all scenarios.

Elements with limited views in magnified windows

Some parts of the Control Panel may not work or look as expected when highly magnified.

Keyboard mode, which is a Control Panel-specific alternative to drag-and-drop that allows users to design forms and interfaces using keyboard commands, does not work when the user's window is zoomed in at 200% or more.

The layout of the Edit Data Field dialog in the Data tab may also experience issues when a user's window is zoomed it at 400% or more. For example, data type dropdowns and radio buttons may overlap or have labels cut off. This can make it difficult to access all content or controls in a single column view.

The tabs names in the Control Panel workspace for Overview, Data, and Interfaces may also be cut off at 400% zoom or more.

Data field pickers and icon pickers

In data field pickers used in configuring validations, error messages are not programmatically linked to their inputs, meaning that screen reader users may not be notified of validation errors.

Due to known navigation and labeling limitations, the data filed picker used when configuring validations and the icon picker used to select the decorative icons for categories and types may be hard to use for keyboard and screen reader users.

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