Integrating Google Chrome Screen Reader in Workflows

Integrating the Google Chrome screen reader, ChromeVox, into your workflows can significantly enhance website accessibility for visually impaired users. This guide covers key features, setup instructions, and tips for effectively using ChromeVox, including:

Key Features: Learn about keyboard navigation, spoken feedback, text-to-speech capabilities, and customization options.
Setting Up ChromeVox: Discover how to activate ChromeVox, customize settings, and navigate web content using various shortcuts and touchscreen gestures.
Integrating into Workflows: Explore how to conduct accessibility audits with Lighthouse, test your website with a screen reader, and adjust feedback customization to improve productivity.

By following this guide, you'll be able to make your websites more accessible, ensuring a better experience for all users.

Key Features

ChromeVox is Google Chrome's built-in tool that reads out loud what's on a webpage. Here's what it does:

Keyboard navigation - Lets users move around websites and pick things to look at without a mouse, using just the keyboard. This is great for people who prefer not to use a mouse.
Spoken feedback - As you go through a page, ChromeVox tells you what you're hovering over or selecting by speaking it out. It's like having someone read the page to you.
Text-to-speech - It can read the words on websites out loud in a computer voice. You can change how fast it talks, how high or low the voice is, and how loud it is.
Customization - You can adjust ChromeVox to work better for you. This includes changing the voice it uses, how much it talks, and the keyboard shortcuts you use to tell it what to do.

Accessibility Impact

When developers use ChromeVox, they learn what it's like for people who need screen readers to use websites. They see firsthand what makes a site hard or easy to use with a screen reader.

This helps them make sure their websites work well for everyone. They can check things like whether all parts of the site can be reached using a keyboard, if the site's layout makes sense, and if images have text descriptions for people who can't see them.

Making websites that everyone can use is important. Using ChromeVox to test sites helps make sure no one is left out because they use a screen reader. It's about making the web a place where everyone can find what they need and enjoy what it offers.

Setting Up ChromeVox

Getting ChromeVox ready for use is straightforward. Here's how you can start using this screen reader to make your websites more accessible.

It's simple to turn ChromeVox on and off with these shortcuts:

To turn ChromeVox on: Press Search+Alt+Z
To turn ChromeVox off: Press Search+Alt+Z again

When activated, ChromeVox will immediately begin to read the webpage out loud.

Customizing Settings

You can tweak ChromeVox settings to fit what you like. Here are some adjustments you can make:

Changing voice and language

Press Search+O twice to open the settings
Choose your language under "Voices"
Pick a voice you like

Adjusting speech rate

To talk faster: Search+[
To talk slower: Search+Shift+[

Changing volume and pitch

To turn up the volume: Search+Shift+Up arrow
To turn down the volume: Search+Shift+Down arrow
To make the voice higher: Search+]
To make the voice lower: Search+Shift+]

Keyboard shortcuts

You can change shortcuts in the settings under "Keyboard shortcuts"

Take a bit of time to play with these settings so that ChromeVox fits into your workflow nicely. The standard settings might not be the best for everyone.

Navigating Web Content

Page Reading

ChromeVox can read web pages to you, either all at once or bit by bit. Here's how to control it:

Press Search+A to have ChromeVox read the entire page from the start.
Hit Ctrl to pause or continue the reading.
Press Search+S to move and read sentence by sentence.
Use Search+W to hear and spell out the next word.
To hear the next or previous heading, press Search+H or Shift+Search+H.

You can also use ChromeVox's menus to go straight to different parts of the page:

Hit Search+Period to open the menus.
Go down to the Headings menu and press Enter to see all the headings.
Select a heading to jump to that part of the page.

Keyboard Shortcuts

ChromeVox has lots of keyboard shortcuts to help you move around pages easily without a mouse.

Headings and Landmarks

Action	Shortcut
Next heading	Search+H
Previous heading	Shift+Search+H
Jump to main landmark	Search+Shift+L
List all landmarks	Search+Ctrl+Semicolon

Links and Controls

Action	Shortcut
Next link	Search+L
Previous link	Shift+Search+L
Next form control	Search+U
Previous form control	Shift+Search+U

Tables

Action	Shortcut
Next table	Ctrl+Alt+Right Arrow
Previous table	Ctrl+Alt+Left Arrow
Next row	Ctrl+Alt+Down Arrow
Previous row	Ctrl+Alt+Up Arrow

General Navigation

Action	Shortcut
Next item	Search+Right Arrow
Previous item	Search+Left Arrow
Next character	Search+Period
Previous character	Search+Comma

Touchscreen Gestures

If you're using ChromeVox on a device with a touchscreen, here's how to move around:

Swipe left or right with one finger to go through sections.
Swipe up or down with two fingers to read lines or sentences.
Double tap to click buttons and links.
Triple tap to see details and a list of landmarks.

These gestures let you navigate without needing to type.

Integrating into Workflows

Accessibility Audits

To check if your website is easy for everyone to use, you can use a tool called Lighthouse in Chrome DevTools. Here's how:

Open DevTools in Chrome (Ctrl+Shift+I or go to View > Developer > Developer Tools)
Click on the "Lighthouse" tab
Make sure the "Accessibility" option is checked
Click "Generate report"

Lighthouse looks at your website to see if it meets certain standards. It checks for things like:

If you're missing ARIA labels that help screen readers
If your website's colors are hard to see
If link text doesn't tell you where the link goes
If there's content that can't be accessed with a screen reader

The report will tell you what's wrong and how to fix it. Using Lighthouse regularly helps you spot and fix problems early.

Screen Reader

Another good way to make sure your website works well for everyone is to try using it with a screen reader like ChromeVox. Here's what to look out for:

Parts that are confusing when you only hear them
Places you can't get to using just the keyboard
Images or media that don't have descriptions

Also, make sure that:

The headings make sense and help you understand the website's structure
You can use forms properly
The order of things read out loud makes sense

Testing your website with ChromeVox and other screen readers as you build it helps make sure it's accessible from the start. Don't just rely on automatic checks. Actually using a screen reader can show you small problems that might not get caught otherwise.

Make it part of your routine to check your website with ChromeVox regularly. Keeping accessibility in mind all the time means everyone will have a better experience on your site.

Advanced Features

The ChromeVox menu helps you quickly find and change settings or move around a webpage. To open it, press Search + Period or Launcher + Period. If you're using a device with a touchscreen, you can also tap the screen with 4 fingers.

Here's what you can do in the menu:

Search: Look for specific options.
Jump: See a list of shortcuts.
Speech: Adjust how fast or loud ChromeVox speaks.
Tabs: Move between your open tabs.
ChromeVox: Find tutorials or turn learn mode on or off.
Actions: Learn touchscreen gestures for moving around.
Headings: Skip to different headings on a page.
Landmarks: Move to main parts of a page quickly.
Links: Go from one link to another.
Form Controls: Find forms and buttons easily.
Tables: Move between tables on a page.

To navigate the menu, use the left/right arrow keys. Press enter to pick an option. This menu makes it easier to get around without having to tab through everything.

Feedback Customization

ChromeVox lets you change how it reads pages to make it work better for you. Here are some things you can adjust:

Speech Rate

To speed up: Search + [ ]
To slow down: Search + Shift + [ ]

Volume

To make it louder: Search + Shift + Up Arrow
To make it quieter: Search + Shift + Down Arrow

Pitch

To make it higher: Search + ]
To make it lower: Search + Shift + ]

Keyboard Sounds

To turn on or off: Go to ChromeVox settings and look for keyboard sound effects.

Verbosity

For more details: Go to ChromeVox Settings, pick Verbosity, then Verbose.
For fewer details: Go to ChromeVox Settings, pick Verbosity, then Brief.

Take some time to play with these settings to make ChromeVox work just right for you. You have many options to make listening to pages more comfortable.

Productivity Tips

Making ChromeVox part of your daily work can make things faster and more accessible. Here are some easy ways to do that:

Set Up Keyboard Shortcuts

Spend some time setting up ChromeVox keyboard shortcuts that suit you. Good shortcuts help you move around pages and use features quickly. Think about shortcuts for:

Navigation (like moving to the next link or heading)
Reading (like reading the page or a sentence)
Speech Control (like changing the voice speed or volume)
Menus (like opening menus or choosing options)

Print a cheat sheet to help remember these shortcuts.

Write down how your site is organized and make a guide for using ChromeVox to move around it. Include things like:

Main landmarks and headings
Common sections of the site
Forms and things you can interact with
Quick ways to move between pages

Use this guide when testing sites to move around quickly. Update it if the site changes.

Optimize Feedback Settings

Find the ChromeVox speech settings (like speed, volume, and how much detail it gives) that help you work best. The right settings help you stay focused and not get distracted.

You might want to set up different ChromeVox profiles for different tasks, such as:

Testing: more detail, slower speech
Writing: less detail, faster speech
Research: louder volume, fastest speech

Schedule Regular Accessibility Testing

Include short ChromeVox testing times in your schedule. Doing quick checks for 5-10 minutes can help catch problems early, when they're easier to fix.

During these checks, look at things like:

Moving around using the keyboard
How well headings and the structure of the site work
If images have descriptions
If forms and interactive parts are labeled right

Doing these short tests often works better than doing long tests once in a while. Make it a regular part of your work.

Record Feedback Notes

Keep notes on what you find when testing sites with ChromeVox. Write down things like:

Parts of the site that are hard to navigate
Missing labels or instructions
Places where ARIA markup is needed
Ideas for better descriptions of images

Look back at these notes when updating your site. They can give you good ideas on how to make your site easier for everyone to use.

Making ChromeVox testing a regular part of your work doesn't take much time, but it can really help make your site better and more accessible. It's worth turning it into a habit.

Conclusion

Using ChromeVox, Google Chrome's screen reader, when checking your websites is a big step towards making them friendly for everyone. When you use ChromeVox to go through your site, you really get to understand how people who rely on screen readers use the web.

Testing often helps you spot problems that might not be obvious right away. As you listen to your site, think about if it makes sense just from the sound. Check if you can get to everything using just the keyboard, if things are named clearly, and if you get useful feedback when you interact with them. Write down any spots where adding extra details or ARIA tags could help.

Make it a habit to check your site with ChromeVox regularly. This helps you catch issues early. Adjust the voice settings to what works best for you, make guides on how to get around your site, and keep notes on what needs fixing.

Making the web easy for everyone to use is good for all, not just for some. Using screen readers like ChromeVox not only meets legal rules but often points out small problems that can annoy any user. Think of accessibility as something you always work on, not just a one-time thing.

There's still a lot to do to make the web fully welcoming for everyone. But each time a developer takes the extra step to test their site, it helps. By adding screen readers like ChromeVox into your regular checks, you're helping make the web a better place for everyone.

To make ChromeVox read the text where your mouse pointer is:

Press Search + o + o to open ChromeVox options. On some devices, you might need to press Launcher + o + o.
Choose Speak text under the mouse to turn it on.
Now, as you move your mouse around, ChromeVox will read the text it's over out loud.

Installation Steps

Open your Google Chrome browser.
Visit the ChromeVox download page.
Click 'Add to Chrome'.
ChromeVox will now install as an extension in Chrome.
To turn ChromeVox off, go to 'Settings' > 'Extensions' and uncheck 'Enabled'.

Use the right HTML tags. Screen readers understand your website by reading the HTML tags. These tags tell the screen reader about the different parts of your page and what users can click on. So, using the correct HTML tags is key to making your site easy for screen readers to read.

Chromebooks come with a built-in screen reader called ChromeVox. This tool helps people who have trouble seeing to use Chrome OS.