Errata in Web Content Accessibility Guidelines

How this document is organized

Each entry has the following information:

• A unique entry number.
• The date it was added to the errata page.
• Whether the entry is considered an important error, a minor typographical error, a clarification, or a known problem with the document itself.
• The document version and section referred to.
• A description of the problem and correction if applicable.

References to the errata sheet should refer to it as of a specific date and include the number of the most recent error recorded.

Entries

1. Spelling fix.

Added: 10 May 1999

Class: Minor typographical

Refers to: Status section of 5 May 1999 version

Correction: Change "another documents" to "other documents."

2. Acrobat 3 printing problems with PDF version.

Added: 3 June 1999

Class: Tool bug.

Apparently Acrobat 3 and/or Acrobat 4 have problems printing the PDF version of the document. This is not an error with the PDF format., but a tool problem.

Correction: One user has said that she was able to print starting on page 2, then printing page 1 separately. Another user was able to print with Acrobat 4 by doing the following: "I took a shot at deselecting the "Annotations" check box in the "Pring Range" block. NOW, it has printed."

3. Broken link to PDF version of the 5 May 1999 Techniques Document.

Added: 7 Aug 1999 (Although reported much earlier)

Class: Broken link.

The link refers to the Postscript version of the document rather than the PDF version.

Correction: The PDF version of 5 May WCAG Techniques is available online. The file is available by substituting the suffix "pdf" for "ps" in the link.

4. Clarification of the rationale for Guideline 1.

Added: 17 September 1999.

Class: Error.

Refers to: Guideline 1 of 5 May 1999 version

Description (and correction). The rationale for Guideline 1 says "...Synthesized speech is critical for individuals who are blind and for many people with the reading difficulties that often accompany cognitive disabilities, learning disabilities, and deafness...." It should say, "Synthesized speech is critical for individuals who are blind and for many people with reading difficulties."

5. Relative units and sizing of images.

Added: 23 November 1999.

Type: Minor

Refers to: Checkpoint 3.4 of 5 May 1999 version

Description (and correction). The note for Checkpoint 3.3 should say something about the effect of proportional sizing on raster images as follows: "Use relative rather than absolute units in markup language attribute values and style sheet property values. [Priority 2] For example, in CSS, use 'em' or percentage lengths rather than 'pt' or 'cm', which are absolute units. If absolute units are used, validate that the rendered content is usable (refer to the section on validation). For example, do not proportionally size raster images."

6. Placement of labels for form controls.

Added: 23 November 1999.

Modified: 20 January 2000.

Type: Error

Refers to: Checkpoint 10.2 in 5 May 1999 version.

Description (and correction). The note for checkpoint 10.2 should be reworded to say, "A label for a text area, a text input control or group of controls (e.g., a group of checkboxes) must immediately precede its control (or group of controls) on the same line (if there is only one control or group) or be in the line preceding the control (or group of controls). Refer also to checkpoint 12.4."

7. Meta data conformance schemes.

Added: 27 January 2000.

Type: Clarification.

Refers to: Conformance claims, section 5 in the 5 May 1999 version.

Description (and correction). Authors may wish to claim conformance using meta data rather than or in addition to the conformance icons. Refer to Daniel Dardailler's PICS schema. The following example claims Double A conformance:

      <META http-equiv="PICS-Label"
      content='(PICS-1.1 
      "http://www.w3.org/wai/wcag-conformance" 
      labels exp "1999.12.31"  for 
      "http://www.foo.com/foo.html"  
      by "[email protected]"
      ratings (c 1))'>

8. Text in images - clarification of checkpoint 3.1.

Added: 3 January 2001

Type: Clarification

Refers to: Checkpoint 3.1 in 5 May 1999 version.

Description (and correction). Checkpoint 3.1 should be reworded to read, "When an appropriate markup language exists and is supported, use markup rather than raster-based images to convey information. [Priority 2]

For example, when supported, use SVG to create graphics, MathML to mark up mathematical equations, and CSS for text-oriented special effects. Avoid where possible using raster-based images to represent text -- use text and style sheets. Raster-based formats such as .gif and .jpeg paint the text as a series of pixels. When magnified the text becomes distorted. The ability to magnify text is critical for user with low vision.

You may use text in images when:

1. the text does not convey its literal meaning but has a more graphical function, such as a logo and
2. the effect can not be achieved with CSS and
3. you have provided a text equivalent for the image.

Refer also to Guideline 1, Guideline 6 and Guideline 11."

9. Acrobat Reader version 5 viewing problem.

Added: 18 January 2002

Class: Tool or format bug.

Some users have reported the following error message when using Acrobat Reader version 5 on Windows to view the PDF version of the specification: "There was an error processing a page. There was a problem reading this document (110)."

Correction: For now, please print or save as PDF from the HTML source. We are likely to republish the specification with a corrected PDF version.