Esri's continued commitment to accessibility leads to consistent product development enhancements and robust accessibility features. Accessibility is considered throughout planning, design, and development of ArcGIS.
This article outlines recent accessibility enhancements and functionality introduced in Esri's latest product releases and provides references for further information on these features. To assist customers in locating and referencing specific product accessibility documentation, updates related to accessibility will be published biannually in conjunction with Esri’s major product releases.
- Benchmark comparisons: Quantiles and Highlight Extremes comparison methods were added to the benchmark comparison workflow to extend grouping and color-coding analysis options to ensure better usability for assistive technologies. Accessibility improvements were made in benchmark comparisons, suitability analysis, and the data source window.
- Pop-ups: Alternative text support for image, chart, and carousel elements in pop-ups, improving screen reader compatibility. Review product documentation on pop-ups for details.
- Enhanced keyboard navigation and focus indicators in various panes and dialogs including Error Inspector and Modify Features pane.
- Dynamic Text & Labeling: Formatting tags for time zones and coordinate systems in dynamic text elements, aiding clarity for users with cognitive accessibility needs.
- Updates to field formatting for date/time labels in multiple languages, ensuring better localization and accessibility for global users.
- ModelBuilder redesign: Modernized ModelBuilder interface with clearer visual cues and icons, improving usability for users with cognitive challenges.
- Improved Internationalization & Localization: Updates to support multiple languages and correct pluralization for UI elements, improving accessibility for global users.
- Portal UI Improvements: Streamlined item pages with collapsible sections and consistent layouts for assistive technology users.
- AI Assistants (Beta): Introduced Item Details Assistant and other AI-driven tools that help users improve metadata quality and discoverability, supporting cognitive accessibility by simplifying workflows.
- Notebook Templates: Low-code experience for creating notebooks, reducing complexity for users with varying technical skills.
- Cloud & Kubernetes Deployment Enhancements: While primarily infrastructure-related, these updates improve performance and responsiveness, indirectly benefiting assistive technology users.
Changes to Apps in ArcGIS Enterprise
- ArcGIS Web AppBuilder retired: Encouraged migration to ArcGIS Experience Builder, which offers improved accessibility (keyboard navigation, screen reader support, color contrast compliance).
- ArcGIS Configurable Apps retired: Move to ArcGIS Instant Apps, which are designed with accessibility best practices.
- Map Viewer Classic retired: Use Map Viewer, which has better accessibility compliance than Classic.
What's new in ArcGIS Online (October 2025)
- Field Value formatting enhancements to better support internationalization standards in date and number fields with new formatting options.
- New keyboard shortcuts for Map Viewer to support Measurement toolbar and Location window.
- Label enhancement options including deconfliction control and class priority management allow users to control visibility of labels to ensure labels are visible when needed supporting understanding of maps with readable labels.
What's new in ArcGIS StoryMaps (August - November 2025)
- New and redesigned StoryMaps content page supports an improved mobile experience and boosts usability and accessibility of content.
- Use the ArcGIS Apps block from the Media section of the block palette to add apps to a story and add alternative text to support better accessibility.
- Introducing Frames: A new mobile-first, short-form storytelling format optimized for small screens. Frames use portrait layouts and support text, maps, videos, and ArcGIS apps, making content easier to consume on mobile devices. This improves accessibility for users who rely on mobile devices for engagement.
- Text Size Options: Two larger text sizes for briefings and one smaller size for stories, providing better readability for users with visual impairments.
- Video Accessibility: New video player with themed controls and support for transcripts for video/audio content, aiding users with hearing impairments.
- Arrow key support for navigating slides in briefings and immersive sections, benefiting users who cannot use a mouse.
What's new in ArcGIS Instant Apps (October 2025)
What's new in ArcGIS Dashboards (October 2025)
- Keyboard-friendly widget insertion: You can use the Enter key or the Space key to add a widget to full-screen pages from the Insert widget panel in the builder environment, no mouse required.
- The new ‘Enable accessibility settings for each widget’ setting is available when you click the A11Y button at the bottom right of the builder. This adds an Accessibility settings section to the Content tab of every widget’s setting.
- Improved color contrast controls: In Theme settings, background color and text color options for pages, containers, overlays, and interactive elements are now linked. This helps ensure sufficient color contrast for better readability and accessibility.
- Four more default templates are now optimized for accessibility - Chronology, Frame, Preface, and Ribbon.
- The Search widget and the List widget now announce changes to suggestions and search results, improving usability for screen reader users.
What's new in ArcGIS Hub (October 2025)
- Preview Layers with Style: Hub now supports previewing layers with their configured styles, making it easier to visualize data. This allows users to visualize data with configured styles, aiding cognitive accessibility and clarity for complex datasets.
- Flexible Downloads: Site managers can control available formats and their order, supporting accessibility for users who need specific file types.
- Improved Map Performance: Faster content exploration benefits assistive technology users by reducing delays.
- Hub Assistant (beta): AI powered assistant to help visitors find content and get answers quickly, improving usability for diverse audiences.
- Color Contrast Compliance: Updated the filter labels and values on the Explore page to meet accessibility color contrast standards. This change ensures that text such as date ranges and value counts is easier to read for users with low vision. Improving readability for users with low vision.
What's new in AI Assistants (October 2025)
- The ArcGIS Arcade Assistant can help write Arcade expressions for popups which can support better labeling for accessibility and a clearer understanding of the data.
- The ArcGIS StoryMaps assistants help creators craft more accessible content providing insights on readability and suggesting alternative text.
- The ArcGIS Instant Apps Language Switcher provides multi-lingual experiences to support translation and accessibility for multiple languages.
Esri is a pioneer in mapping and spatial analytics software. We recognize the importance of inclusivity, diversity, and equality within our ArcGIS products, and see this as an opportunity to set an example by creating accessible GIS technology. Our commitment is to make our products accessible and ensure our services work well with current assistive technologies, following the latest accessibility standards and guidelines.
