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Create accessible eLearning content in Adobe Captivate

Last updated on Jun 25, 2024

Captivate User Guide
Introduction to Captivate
Add a slide
Add text blocks
1. Add text to a project
Add media blocks
Interactive components
Widgets
Create quizzes
Add audio to a project
1. Add audio
Interactions
Animations
1. Add animations to a project
Accessibility
1. Make a project accessible
Customize the timeline
1. Timeline panel in Adobe Captivate
Customize TOC and Playbar
1. Table of Contents in Adobe Captivate
Edit project properties
Preview a project
1. Preview
Share a project for review
1. Share for review
Publish a project
1. Publish your project
Create a simulation project
1. Simulation

Learn how to create a project in Adobe Captivate that is accessible and compliant.

Creating accessible and user-friendly content ensures that learners of diverse abilities can consume it and fulfill their learning requirements. The all-new Adobe Captivate helps you to create accessible eLearning courses. Learn more about inclusive e-learning development using the all-new Adobe Captivate.

You can make the slide accessible and add accessibility to images, SVG, interactive components, widgets, and quizzes on the slides.

Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR)

Adobe Captivate

Topics in this article:

Guidelines for improving semantic structure for accessibility
Slide accessibility
Make slide objects accessible
Make a non-interactive object accessible
Make an interactive object accessible
Make the custom states of an object accessible

Make a checkbox accessible
Make a widget accessible
Make a quiz accessible
TOC and Playbar accessibility

Guidelines for improving semantic structure for accessibility

To improve the semantic structure and accessibility of slide content, the following guidelines have been put into practice:

Titles: All slide titles are designated with the <h1> heading tag to denote their significance and hierarchy within the document.
Subtitles: Secondary headings, serving as subtitles, are identified with the <h2> heading tag. This fosters a clear structure and enhances ease of navigation for users and assistive technologies.
Body Content: The slide's primary body content does not incorporate heading tags. This ensures that emphasis remains on the main headings and subtitles, thereby preserving clarity and coherence in the document's structure.
Image Content Blocks: Subtitles within image content blocks are treated as standard body text to maintain consistent formatting and readability. Additionally, captions associated with images are labeled with heading level 1.

Furthermore, in cases where a page includes multiple titles and subtitles and when numerous content blocks are utilized to construct a slide, each content block will possess its corresponding <h1> and <h2> tags. This methodology guarantees that each distinct content section maintains its semantic hierarchy, enhancing overall slide organization and clarity. By appropriately assigning heading tags to each title and subtitle, users can navigate through the content more efficiently, particularly when utilizing assistive technologies or accessing the content in non-traditional formats.

These practices align with web accessibility standards and improve the usability of the presentation for all audiences.

Slide accessibility

When creating accessible eLearning content, providing descriptive and informative text for each slide is important. Adobe Captivate allows you to specify accessibility text for the key information presented on the slide. Then, a screen reader reads out the text to the learner.

Select Accessibility in the right toolbar.

Select accessibility in the right toolbar
Enter the accessibility text in the Accessibility Text field.

Enter accessibility text
Select the speech agent based on the language used for the accessibility text. For example, if you enter text in German, select German in the Speech Agent dropdown so a screen reader uses the locale-specific agent to read the text.

Select the speech agent

Make slide objects accessible

Using Adobe Captivate, you can define accessibility for images, text, SVGs, or videos on a slide

Select an image on the slide.
Select Accessibility in the right toolbar. The reading order displays all objects on the slide.

Reading order displays the sequence of objects in a slide

All objects on the slide are read in the order displayed in the Reading Order section. The sequence of the objects in the Reading Order is top to bottom and left to right.

For example, if you select a text object in the Reading Order, the speech agent reads the text on the slide.

Hide from screenreader toggle

Hide from screen reader

When you enable the option Hide from screenreader, the screen reader ignores the object.

Show tab order

If you enable the toggle Show tab order, it shows the navigation order of the interactive objects on the slide. You can reorder the interactive objects by dragging them to the required position.

Reorder objects by dragging them to a required position
Select an object, for example, an image on the slide.

Select an image inside a slide
If you've added any state to the object, you can add accessibility text and select a speech agent for each state.

View the next section for more information on adding accessibility to states.

Select the state of an object to add accessibility text

Make a non-interactive object accessible

You can make an image or any non-interactive object accessible.

Select Add media blocks > Image grid in the left toolbar to insert an image grid content block in the slide.
Insert an image from Assets or your computer. For more information on inserting images, view Add images to a project in Adobe Captivate.
Click Accessibility in the right toolbar.

In the Reading order section, you can add accessibility text for the image. If you want the screen reader to read out the text, keep the toggle Hide from screenreader disabled.

Note:

You can hide certain objects from the screen reader by enabling the Hide from screenreader toggle for each object.
If you want to add accessibility to any text, select the text in the reading order, and then select a speech agent or hide the text from the screen reader.

Make an interactive object accessible

In Adobe Captivate, you can make a button or an interactive object accessible to your learners.

Click Add Interactive Components > Button in the left toolbar to add a button.
Select Accessibility in the right toolbar.
In the Reading Order section, you can add the accessibility text as the button label, and select a speech agent.

If there are multiple buttons, you can reorder the tab order. Enable the toggle Show tab order, and rearrange the buttons.

The change in the reading order for an interactive object doesn’t change its actual position in the Reading Order section. However, a screen reader will read them in the order you've specified with the Show Tab Order toggle enabled.

Make the custom states of an object accessible

In this example, you'll make the poses of a character accessible using the custom states of the character.

Select Add media blocks > Characters and text in the left toolbar. Replace a character with multiple poses. View the document Add characters to your Captivate project to learn more about replacing a character with poses from Assets.
Click View in the Visual Properties panel to launch the States flyout and display the poses as states.

View the poses of a character as states
Select Accessibility in the right toolbar. In the Reading Order section, the object states display in the State dropdown.

Add accessibility texts for object states from the reading order
Select a pose from the dropdown and add its accessibility text.

Add accessibility texts for object states for various poses from the reading order
Repeat the steps to add accessibility text for the other states.

Make a checkbox accessible

In Adobe Captivate, you can make a checkbox accessible to your learners.

Add a slide to the project.
Click Add Interactive Components > Checkbox in the left toolbar.
Select Accessibility in the right toolbar.
In the Reading Order section, select a speech agent for the checkbox label.

Make a widget accessible

For this example, you'll make a Card widget accessible.

Add a card widget by clicking Add new widget > Cards in the left toolbar.
Launch the Accessibility menu in the right toolbar.
The Reading order displays all interactive and non-interactive objects. Enable the Show tab order toggle to display the interactive objects in the widget.
Select a card container in the Reading Order section, add the accessibility text, and select a speech agen

Reading order of objects in a Card widget

Note:

Similarly, you can add accessibility to a text object and select a speech agent for the text on the back of a card inside a card content block.
If you want to add accessibility text to all objects in a card group, select the arrow next to the container.

Add accessibility text to all objects in a card group
Add the accessibility text and select a speech agent for a specific object in the card.

Select a speech agent for a specific object in the card

Make a quiz accessible

For this example, you'll make a multiple-choice question slide accessible.

Click the + icon in the left toolbar and select Multiple choice.
Select Accessibility in the right toolbar.
In the Reading Order section,

Quiz Mode

Select a speech agent for the title and the text in the answer options. The screen reader reads the text in the language selected in the Speech Agent dropdown. Enabling the Show tab order toggle lets you rearrange the interactive objects so the screen reader reads them in the specified order.

You can also hide certain objects from the screen reader by enabling their Hide from screenreader toggle.

Hide from screenreader for an object in Quiz mode

Review mode

The Review mode features two additional buttons, Back and Next. In this mode, for the text objects, you can select the speech agent; for the button objects, you can add accessibility text.

Enabling the Show tab order toggle lets you rearrange the interactive objects so the screen reader reads them in the specified order.

The screen reader reads the caption and the correct answer in the review mode.

TOC and Playbar accessibility

When learners take a course with the playbar and the TOC enabled, they can use the Tab key to navigate the items on the playbar.

Use the Tab key to navigate items on the playbar

Press the Tab key again to highlight the Skip to main content on the Playbar. Hit the Space key and the Tab key to focus on an interactive object on the slide.