Timed-response wo relying on scripting...is it possible?
I'm sitting here racking my brain on the WCAG 2.0 Guidelines & Section 508 Standards which we're required to comply with. I've been searching all over the place for resolutions.
There is a form which has a timed session. I believe it's set for one (1) hour. This form is long and in many cases the user asks if it's possible to extend the session time because of the process involved in completing the form. FISMA requires a timed session due to security reasons. I'm reading the WCAG's suggested techniques, but if scripting is used to notify the user of the upcoming expiration of the timed session, and the user disables scripting, then how will they be made aware this is about to happen and to allow them to extend the time?
For instance, a pop-up has been suggested, but if scripting (e.g. JavaScript) is disabled then the pop-up will no longer work and so how will the user be able to extend the time of the session?
WCAG 2.0
Guideline 2.2.1 Timing Adjustable
For each time limit that is set by the content, and at least one is true:
- Turn off: The user is allowed to turn off the time limit before encountering it; or
- Adjust: The user is allowed to adjust the time limit before encountering it over a wide range that is at least ten times the length of the default setting; or
- Extend: The user is warned before time expires and given at least 20 seconds to extend the time limit with a simple action (for example, "press the space bar"), and the user is allowed to extend the time limit at least ten times; or
Section 508
(l) When pages utilize scripting languages to display content, or to create interface elements, the information provided by the script shall be identified with functional text that can be read by assistive technology.
(p) When a timed response is required, the user shall be alerted and given sufficient time to indicate more time is required.
Any suggestions will be great appreciated. Thanks!
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Can you split the form into different sub-pages? Each sub-page of the form would have a save button. If the session time runs out and then the user selects one of the save buttons, this then generates the message that the user has run out of time, and ask whether they want to extend it. However I guess they would lose some of the information they had already on their current sub-page.
Perhaps a better solution would be that the time limit is reset each time the user saves a sub-page. Not sure if this is compatible with your requirements though.
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Agree with Karl that splitting up the form would be good, if possible. This should improve usability in general.
When scripting is disabled, you could show a message that warns people e.g. "This form will time out after 60 minutes. Because of your settings, we won't be able to warn you when this time is about to run out."
James Coltham - Local gov web manager by day, web and accessibility blogger at lunchtime, freelancer by night. Tweets at @prettysimple.
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Hi!
I'm sorry for the delayed response. I completely forgot I posted this question.
Unfortunately, creating multiple pages of a form is not an option. I'm actually dealing with developers and managers who refuse to think of this as the "right thing to do" than for contractual obligations. They want to do the easy thing by putting a statement saying that "this doesn't work with...", "this site requires that". It annoys me bc I'm more for quality and actually working towards making the site accessible.
I've run into so many issues with our current site like hyperlinks created in JavaScript (a big chunk of the site doesn't work when scripting is disabled), collapsing/expanding of sections using checkboxes and the form scrolling to the top of the page in Chrome, using tables, and lots of nested tables, to lay out the forms, structural and presentation markup blended together, using deprecated tags, ...I could go on. It's horrible.
As far as the timing, I actually like the statement idea of letting them know how long they will have when they have JavaScript turned off.
I appreciate the input!
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Sounds like your developers are still living in 1999!
When the user disables scripting they can only do so on the browser side (javascript), however it might be possible to display a warning to the user using client side scripting such as PHP or ASP (or one of the other languages). My web dev skills are a bit rusty, so it may be possible to time the session and give the user a warning when there'd 30/15/5 minutes to go?
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I would agree with the others that including a message to indicate to the user that the form is timed and they will lose their input after 1hour, however I would say that you should have it on there as an N.B. whether someone has JavaScript turned off or on, this way everyone is informed and they don't walk away to make lunch and miss the pop up giving them a chance to extend their session.
Plus, some advice I received when I recently went to visit an accessibility testing centre where they have disabled users performing the testing, was that If you included information on the accessibility page that advised the user that the site works better when JavaScript is turned on, then they would more than likely turn it on if they were keen on using the site.
Hope this is helpful.
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