Accessible Map Tools in ExB
I came to ArcGIS Experience Builder assuming there were pre-built controls for the most common types of map navigation, including zoom (➕/➖), pan (⬅️➡️⬆️⬇️), and rotate (↩️↪️). However, I'm somewhat surprised this is not the case (other than zoom).
Am I missing something? Here's a snapshot of the available Tools:
The context here is accessibility (WCAG compliance), in particular on mobile devices that are used with a touchscreen.
For map panning, the relevant guideline is WCAG 2.2: Dragging Movements (Level AA):
All functionality that uses a dragging movement for operation can be achieved by a single pointer without dragging.
Example of compliance:
A map allows users to drag the view of the map around, and the map has up/down/left/right buttons to move the view as well.
Let's put the rotate control aside, as we would be fine with disabling map rotation for all users. That would get rid of any accessibility gap, as there would no longer be functionality that requires multi-point gestures.
For map zoom and map rotate, the relevant guideline is WCAG 2.1: Pointer Gestures (Level A):
All functionality that uses multipoint or path-based gestures for operation can be operated with a single pointer without a path-based gesture
Example of compliance:
A web site includes a map view that supports the pinch gesture to zoom into the map content. User interface controls offer the operation using plus and minus buttons to zoom in and out.
Summary:
- ExB does have an explicit map zoom control/widget. ✅
- This provides an accessible alternative to touchscreen pinching gestures.
- ExB does not have an explicit map rotate control/widget. ❌
- However, an alternative would be an option to disable map rotation. That would ensure WCAG compliance, by removing functionality that requires a touchscreen pinching gesture. In fact, this would be acceptable for us, as we don't have a compelling need to allow map rotation.
- ExB does not have an explicit map pan control/widget. ❌
- This is my primary interest, and a hard requirement for our mapping applications.
