Accessibility

Accessibility

Status: planned, as a goal for every feature. Each feature must pass accessibility checks before it ships. A full audit comes in Phase 13. No release exists yet, so none of this can be tried in a download today. See Roadmap and status.

OpenNote aims to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 at the conformance level that most accessibility laws require (AA). Body text goes further and meets the highest level (AAA) of contrast, 7:1.

What the design promises

Area	The promise
Keyboard	Everything works without a mouse. Focus is always visible, and Tab order follows reading order. Shortcuts are listed with Ctrl+/ and can be changed. Every drag has a click or keyboard alternative.
Screen readers	Every control has a name, role, and state for Narrator and NVDA, a free screen reader. Ink regions are announced with their recognized text. Recording and sync changes are announced politely.
Vision	Text scales to 200% without losing content. Windows contrast themes switch the app to system colors. Color is never the only signal.
Motion	The app follows the Windows reduced-motion setting.
Hearing	Recordings can be transcribed on your device, and transcripts stay with the notes.
Motor	Touch targets are large enough, left-handed mode is available, and no action needs a timed or multi-finger gesture.
Reading	Settings for letter spacing and line spacing, and a dyslexia-friendly font. Plain language throughout.

Planned accessibility features

Feature	What it does	Phase
Interface size	Scales sidebars, toolbars, and menus from 90% to 150%, and a "Large targets" option uses touch-size controls with a mouse	2
Contrast themes	Support for Windows contrast themes	2
Read aloud	Reads a page and highlights each word, using voices installed on Windows	4
Reading order	Lists a freeform page's items in the order that screen readers visit them	4
Alt text	A description for every image, drawing, and object	4
Reading aids	A line focus band, page tints, extra spacing, and a maximum line width	6
Accessible PDF export	PDFs carry tags for headings, lists, tables, reading order, and alt text	6
Accessible charts	A text summary, arrow-key stepping through data points, and "Show as table"	7
Math that screen readers speak	MathML behind every equation, for speech and braille	10
Live captions and dictation	Captions while recording, and typing by voice	12
Accessibility checker	Lists problems on a page or section, each with a fix, such as missing alt text or low contrast	13
Full audit	A test with Narrator, NVDA, and keyboard only	13

How it is tested

• Automated accessibility checks run on every pull request that changes the interface.
• Screenshot tests cover each size class in both themes.
• A manual checklist uses Narrator and NVDA (a free screen reader) with no mouse. It covers creating a notebook, writing and formatting a page, inserting a table and chart, searching, recording audio, and exporting a PDF.
• The checklist runs before each beta and release.

Tell us what is missing

If something doesn't work for you once builds exist, open an issue. The brand and interface guide holds the full accessibility rules.

Related pages

• Keyboard shortcuts
• Typed notes