Chrome and Chrome OS Accessibility Milestone 78 Release Notes

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Laura (Palmaro) Allen

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Nov 8, 2019, 6:56:43 PM11/8/19
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Hi everyone,


Chrome version 78 comes with a number of accessibility fixes and improvements across platforms. Here are some of the notable updates in this milestone, with links to relevant bugs when available for reference. 


Chrome on Desktop Platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux)


Miscellaneous bug fixes:

  • Fixed a bug with heading elements styled as tables so they are correctly reported as tables by screen readers. (Bug)

  • Fixed table styled headings to be announced by screen readers more accurately. Previously screen readers were not announcing them as tables at all, or when they were announcing, they had zero columns and rows, making it difficult to navigate. (Bug)

  • Fixed a bug where screen readers were not able to interact with content in iframes consistently. (Bug)

  • Improved keyboard accessibility when navigating through a local directory in the browser. (Bug)

  • improved keyboard accessibility for the chrome://flags page. (Bug)


Chrome on Mac OS

  • Fixed an issue where the states of checkboxes were being incorrectly reported by VoiceOver. (Bug)

  • Fixed issue with the Mac OS magnifier, which was failing to follow keyboard focus on the Chrome tab strip, extensions, and bookmarks bar. (Bug)

  • Improved focus behavior in the Chrome password manager. (Bug)

  • Fixed an issue with keyboard and VoiceOver focusing becoming out of sync when navigating through the browser frame. (Bug)

  • Improved VoiceOver navigation for text edit fields. (Bug)

  • Replaced gesture control in site information with a button to make it more accessible with VoiceOver. (Bug)


Chrome on Windows

  • Fixed an issue where NVDA was not announcing tables correctly. (Bug)

  • Fixed a bug where aura tooltips were not being announced by screen readers. (Bug)

  • Implemented a solution to prevent invisible infobar links from being read by NVDA. (Bug)


Chrome OS

  • Added headings to the confirmation page you reach after signing in. (Bug)

  • Made improvements to the accessibility menu in the system tray. Now, only certain accessibility features are displayed in that menu depending on policy settings set by your administrator. (Bug)

  • Implemented a solution so now the Accessibility panel shows over the virtual keyboard. (Bug)

  • Made the close button for lock screen media controls more accessible. (Bug)

  • Improved button labelling on App Management page. (Bug)

  • Made the close button on the app launcher search box keyboard more accessible. (Bug)

  • Hide virtual keyboard when parent access widget is shown in tablet mode. (Bug)

  • Improved colors used in dark mode for better visibility.

  • Landed a change so that when using the Automatic Clicks feature, the default is that the feature automatically goes back to left click functionality after having completed another click type, since left clicking is the most common. This can be adjusted in settings if you want to be able to perform multiple right clicks, double clicks, or other actions in a row instead of returning to left click by default. (Bug)

  • ChromeVox

  • Fixed a crash that was occurring in the Chrome OS window manager. (Bug)

  • Improved accessibility within the UI to remove user accounts. (Bug)


Chrome DevTools

  • Continued accessibility improvements made to Chrome DevTools. (Bug)

    • Fixes made to the Network Tool Timing tab, including better labelling for headers, color contrast improvements, and structural table changes for better compatibility with screen readers.

  • Preview Palette improvements, including better labelling for elements and roles, and better keyboard access.

  • Numerous fixes made in the Style Pane, including within the remote devices view, memory heap profiler, CodeMirror file line context, flame chart, rendering tool, and console log levels.


Chrome on iOS


  • Improved labelling for the Save Passwords, Update Passwords and Incognito Badges interfaces. (Bug, Bug)

  • Made the tab group color picker more accessible. (Bug)


Chrome on Android

  • Landed a fix to pause TTS when Chrome is in the background. (Bug)

  • Disabled dividers from being announced by TalkBack. (Bug)

  • TalkBack now announces cursor position correctly when navigating by character or word in the address bar. (Bug)

  • Fixed a bug where the omnibox was being closed when accessibility features were enabled. (Bug, Bug)

  • Fixed a  focus issue when using the omnibox edit button with TalkBack. (Bug)


Thank you so much! 

Laura, on behalf of the team 


 Laura (Palmaro) Allen | Google | Sr. Chrome & Chrome OS Accessibility Program Manager | Pronouns: she/her | Anonymous Feedback

Matthew Nixon

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Nov 9, 2019, 10:06:51 AM11/9/19
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Greetings,

I wonder if anyone here can recommend a PDF reader that works with chrome OS that also works well with the inbuilt text to speech engine?

It’s the only thing keeping me from going full-on Chromebook as a VI user.

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