Section 508 - Standard (i)
Frames shall be titled with text that facilitates
frame identification and navigation
Explanation - Standard
(i) - Making Accessible Frames
A frame web site loads several web pages into one composite page. The
following diagram illustrates a frameset web page that uses two frames.
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In this frameset, the
web page named, nav.htm loads into the frame on the left hand side.
The file named content.htm loads into the right hand frame.
As a user views this web page, it is not apparent that there are
two separate files in view. A user is able to scroll down through
the content side of the page, while the navigation links in nav.htm
remain stationary. The advantage of this layout is that the links
in nav.htm are always visible, even if the content is several screens
in length. An example of this type
of frameset has been created using the content in this course.
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When assistive technology devices load this web site, the user needs to
be able to access either frame. The user's ability to access the frames
easily is dependent upon the actions of the designer. A designer should
identify each frame with a name. In this example, the navigation frame
may appropriately be named, Navigation. Likewise, the content frame may
be named, Content. If this has been done, navigating the site poses no
obstacle to a user of assistive technology. A screen reader would announce
to the listener:
Frame 1: Navigation
Frame 2: Content
The listener is able to tab to the chosen frame and navigate into the
site.
If the frames haven't been named appropriately, then an assistive technology
device will not have a name to announce to the listener. In this case,
a screen reader might read:
Frame 1: Untitled
Frame 2: Untitled
The technique for naming the frames in a frameset are easy to implement.
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Technique for Making an Accessible
Frameset
Proper technique for a frameset involves three steps:
- assigning a frame name using the HTML frame name attribute
- assigning a frame title using the HTML frame title attribute
- title all web pages that will become part of a frameset using the
HTML <title> tag
The three steps are required as different assistive technology devices
look in different places for the identification of a frame. By completing
all three components, your frames will be properly labeled.
Using the HTML Frame Name Attribute
The HTML code that constructs a frameset includes the <frame> tag.
An attribute of the <frame> tag is name.
A designer needs to set name equal to a one
word descriptor. Find the name attribute in the following code example.
<frame src="frame_nav.htm" name="navigation"
scrolling="NO" noresize title="navigation">
There are several ways to code this attribute. Macromedia Dreamweaver
provides a field on the formatting property inspector to assign this name.
If you are manually coding HTML, use the example above as a guide.
Assigning the HTML Frame Title Attribute
This technique is almost identical to the use of the HTML frame name
attribute. The only difference is in the use of the title
attribute rather than name. Again, view the code that follows. Observe
the use of title.
<frame src="frame_nav.htm" name="navigation" scrolling="NO"
noresize title="navigation">
The title attribute is not provided as an option from the Macromedia
Dreamweaver property inspector. It needs to be manually entered into the
HTML code. Use the example as your guide.
Title Web Pages that will be Part of the Frameset
All HTML files carry a <title> tag that
is part of the identification for the page. Be sure to properly identify
all web pages using the <title> tag.
<title>Site Navigation</title>
The <title> tag can be assigned from within editors such as Macromedia
Dreamweaver or from within the HTML code. If you assign this within HTML
code, brush up on your HTML basics prior to placing this code. It does
matter where it is placed in the HTML.
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Other Considerations
Use of the <Noframes> Tag
Not all graphical web browser versions support frames. If this is a concern,
the <noframes> tag can help. The <noframes> tag is placed
at the end of the frameset code. Any content that is placed within the
<noframes> tag is read by browsers that are unable to use frames.
Appropriate content would point users to a site navigation page where
they can navigate the site as well as a reminder that if they are able,
they may wish to upgrade their web browser to a current version. An example
of proper <noframes> content is available.
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Validation Technique(s)
The testing measures that follow can be used to evaluate compliancy of
your web page(s) with the concepts presented for Standard (i).
- listen to the web page using a screen reader, Braille display, or
speech synthesizer
- view the web page using a text browser such as Lynx
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 complete
a self-assessment on screen flickering
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