Earlier this month, Slack, published a blog post in which the Salesforce-owned company talked about a new software update promising to make the app more accessible.
“Every day, thousands of people with disabilities use their keyboards, screen readers and other assistive technologies to move work forward in their digital [headquarters]. That’s why we’re continuously working to improve accessibility in Slack, empowering our users to do the best work of their lives regardless of their abilities or circumstances,” the company wrote in the post.
What has improved with keyboard navigation?
From customers using assistive technologies to those who prefer not to use a mouse or trackpad, some users rely primarily on keyboards to get work done in Slack. To help, they’re making the experience of navigating Slack with a keyboard faster, more consistent and more reliable.
Navigate with confidence using F6 and Tab
Slack has dozens of keyboard shortcuts to help people quickly navigate their workspaces. Many of their users who are blind or have low vision often operate their screen readers via a keyboard, and they have asked for better ways to orient themselves within Slack. So Slack is introducing a new navigation model designed for speed and consistency that includes new functionality for the F6 and Tab keys.
Pressing the F6 key moves focus between different sections in Slack, and now Tab will move focus within each section. This new system will make it easier to explore previously hard-to-reach parts of Slack’s interface, like the channel header area and the bookmarks bar. Mac users with a Touch Bar can use the Command + Control + Left/Right keys for the same functionality.
Scroll up through channels, DMs and threads
Channels and DMs are at the heart of Slack, where users can read messages and interact with their teams. They have made that central experience more robust and consistent for keyboard users. Now users can press the Up key to move from the message field to the message list even if they’ve already started composing a message. They’ve also made the experience of pressing the Up key consistent across channels, DMs and threads.
Explore your toolbars with familiar shortcuts
Toolbars within Slack are now more consistent and intuitive. Users can quickly navigate them by using arrow keys, or keyboard shortcuts they’re already familiar with, like Home and End.
Maintain focus as you work
They’ve also improved focus handling to make Slack more reliable and robust for keyboard users. Focus no longer gets lost, even when switching to a new workspace or opening a view that needs a second to load.
What improvements have been made for screen reader users?
Slack’s redesigned interface is much simpler and tidier, meaning screen readers will no longer read out extra information as users navigate their workspaces. This cuts down on confusion, helping users more quickly understand what’s happening on screen and find the information they need.
Users who are blind or have low vision rely on precise, descriptive labels to make sense of Slack. They’ve comprehensively redesigned the way they organize and label Slack’s interface for screen readers to make it more intuitive, with:
More descriptive names and improved information hierarchy. They’ve changed the labels for each section of the Slack layout from visual metaphors like “top nav” to more straightforward names that better reflect their content and function. The new names also include cues as to each section’s priority, relationship and order relative to other sections. For example, “top nav” became “workspace primary actions.”
To make their overall layout clearer for their users who are blind, they’ve created the concept of the “primary view”—the main pane containing your messages and activity—and the “secondary view,” where you can get expanded details about a thread or user profile.
How can users customize Slack to meet their needs?
As different users have different needs, they’re adding new preferences to give customers who use screen readers greater control over their experience. For example, users who are blind can now choose to always leave the sidebar expanded for more consistent navigation. And users of screen readers can choose the order in which a message’s metadata will be announced when reading through a conversation.
When will the update be available?
Slack said the update will start coming out to customers on August 15.
