docuseal/.plans/accessibility-implementation-progress.md

Accessibility Implementation Progress

Session Summary - 2026-02-09

Completed Tasks (Phase 1)

✅ Task 1: Setup accessibility testing infrastructure

• Added axe-core-rspec gem to Gemfile (test group)
• Created spec/accessibility/ directory structure
• Created spec/support/accessibility_helpers.rb with custom WCAG test helpers
• Created comprehensive documentation:
  • spec/accessibility/README.md - Testing guide with WCAG criteria, manual testing procedures
  • spec/accessibility/SETUP_NOTES.md - Setup instructions and gem installation notes
• Commit: aa9cb026 - "Add Phase 1 accessibility infrastructure and semantic landmarks"

✅ Task 2: Add semantic landmarks to layouts

• Added <main id="main-content"> landmark to app/views/layouts/application.html.erb
• Added <nav aria-label="Main navigation"> to app/views/shared/_navbar.html.erb
• Added skip navigation link with keyboard-focus visibility
• Skip link uses translate-y-0 on focus for proper keyboard access
• Satisfies WCAG 2.4.1 (Bypass Blocks, Level A)
• Commit: aa9cb026 - Same commit as Task 1

✅ Task 3: Fix image alt text in Vue components

• Fixed 6 images across 4 Vue files:
  • submission_form/signature_step.vue - Signature preview
  • submission_form/initials_step.vue - Initials preview
  • submission_form/image_step.vue - Uploaded image preview
  • submission_form/area.vue - 3 field types (image, stamp, KBA, signature, initials)
• All alt text uses dynamic field.name with descriptive fallbacks
• Satisfies WCAG 1.1.1 (Non-text Content, Level A)
• Commit: 743e7e5c - "Add alt text to all images in Vue submission form components"

✅ Task 4: Fix image alt text in Rails views

• Fixed 8 images across 4 ERB files:
  • submissions/show.html.erb - 4 images (thumbnails, pages, signatures, attachments)
  • profile/index.html.erb - 2 images (user signature and initials)
  • submissions/_value.html.erb - 2 images (signature with metadata, field images)
  • submit_form/show.html.erb - 1 image (document pages)
• All alt text uses i18n support with t() helper
• Satisfies WCAG 1.1.1 (Non-text Content, Level A)
• Commit: 24fa7450 - "Add alt text to all images in Rails ERB views"

✅ Task 5: Add ARIA labels to icon-only buttons - COMPLETED

• Fixed: 12 icon-only buttons across the application
• Files modified:
  • app/javascript/template_builder/controls.vue - 3 buttons (up/down/remove)
  • app/javascript/template_builder/area.vue - 1 button (remove field)
  • app/javascript/template_builder/custom_field.vue - 3 buttons (settings/save/remove)
  • app/javascript/submission_form/attachment_step.vue - 1 button (remove attachment)
  • app/views/shared/_navbar.html.erb - 1 button (user menu dropdown)
  • app/views/shared/_turbo_modal.html.erb - 1 button (close)
  • app/views/shared/_turbo_modal_large.html.erb - 1 button (close)
  • app/views/shared/_html_modal.html.erb - 1 button (close)
• WCAG: Satisfies 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value, Level A)
• Commit: a3109c63

✅ Task 6: Add keyboard support to custom elements - COMPLETED

• Fixed: 3 custom web components now support keyboard interaction
• Files modified:
  • app/javascript/elements/clipboard_copy.js - Enter/Space key support
  • app/javascript/elements/download_button.js - Enter/Space key support
  • app/javascript/elements/password_input.js - Enter/Space key support
• Implementation: Added tabindex="0", role="button", and keydown listeners
• WCAG: Satisfies 2.1.1 (Keyboard, Level A)
• Commit: 7b462d54

⏳ Task 7: Write accessibility tests for Phase 1 fixes

• Priority: Medium
• Tests needed:
  • spec/accessibility/layouts_spec.rb - Test landmarks and skip link
  • spec/accessibility/images_spec.rb - Test all images have alt text
  • spec/accessibility/buttons_spec.rb - Test icon buttons have labels
  • spec/accessibility/keyboard_spec.rb - Test custom element keyboard support
• Note: Requires Ruby 4.0.1 and bundle install for axe-core-rspec gem

Blockers

🚫 Ruby Version Issue

• Project requires Ruby 4.0.1 (specified in Gemfile)
• System Ruby is 2.6.10
• No Ruby version manager installed (rbenv, asdf)
• Impact: Cannot run bundle install to install axe-core-rspec gem
• Workaround: Testing infrastructure is in place; tests can be written but not executed yet
• Resolution: Install rbenv/asdf and Ruby 4.0.1, then run bundle install

Phase 1 Progress

Completed: 6 of 7 tasks (86%) Status: Nearly complete - only testing remains (blocked by Ruby version) Next Steps:

1. ✅ Complete Task 5 (ARIA labels for icon buttons)
2. ✅ Complete Task 6 (Keyboard support for custom elements)
3. Resolve Ruby version blocker
4. Complete Task 7 (Write and run accessibility tests)

---

Session Summary - 2026-02-25

Completed: PDF Text Extraction Feature (branch: extract-content-from-pdf)

✅ Extract and store PDF page text in upload pipeline

• lib/templates/process_document.rb: Added extract_page_texts() method using Pdfium's page.text API. Called from generate_pdf_preview_images(), stores result in attachment.metadata['pdf']['pages_text'] as { "0" => "text...", "1" => "text..." }. Gracefully handles scanned PDFs (omits pages with no extractable text). Rubocop clean.
• config/locales/i18n.yml: Added text_content: "text content" i18n key.

✅ Surface text accessibly in signing view

• app/views/submit_form/show.html.erb: Added sr-only div with role="region" and aria-label="Page N text content" after each page image, when text is available.

✅ Surface text accessibly in submission preview view

• app/views/submissions/show.html.erb: Same sr-only pattern.

✅ Add alt text and page text to template builder

• app/javascript/template_builder/page.vue: Added :alt="Page N of M" to page img. Added pageText prop and sr-only div.
• app/javascript/template_builder/document.vue: Added pagesText computed prop from document.metadata?.pdf?.pages_text. Passes :page-text to each <Page>.

✅ Add ARIA role to page-container custom element

• app/javascript/elements/page_container.js: Added role="img" and aria-label (from inner img alt) in connectedCallback.

Commit: 6c1fc317 — "Add accessible PDF text extraction for screen reader users"

WCAG Criteria Further Addressed

✅ 1.1.1 Non-text Content — Page images in template builder now have alt text ✅ 1.3.1 Info and Relationships — PDF text content is structurally associated with each page ✅ 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value — page-container custom element now has proper role and label

Verification Steps (for next session)

1. Upload a text-based PDF → check via Rails console: Template.last.documents.first.blob.metadata
2. Navigate to signing view → inspect DOM for .sr-only regions with page text
3. Test with VoiceOver: navigate through pages and confirm text is announced
4. Upload a scanned PDF → verify no errors, pages_text absent from metadata

Next Recommendations

1. Run verification steps above with a real PDF upload
2. Resolve Ruby blocker (install rbenv/asdf + Ruby 4.0.1) to run RSpec tests
3. Complete Task 7 (Phase 1 accessibility tests)
4. Begin Phase 2: Form error associations and ARIA live regions

---

Session Summary - 2026-02-25 (follow-up)

Expert design review: PDF View / Text View tab switcher

Produced detailed design report at .reports/pdf-text-view-tab-switcher-design.md covering:

• ARIA tab pattern requirements (roles, keyboard behavior, roving tabindex)
• Text View content strategy: heuristic parsing (Approach B) recommended for MVP
• Signing form UX: read-only Text View + always-visible Vue form panel + sticky "return to sign" CTA
• Scoped implementation sequence (preview page first, then signing form)
• Key pitfalls: DaisyUI radio-tab incompatibility with ARIA APG, 15-page cap handling, hidden attribute requirement, RTL dir="auto", text quality disclosure, localStorage state persistence

Recommended next implementation steps

1. Create lib/pdf_text_to_html.rb service — heuristic parser converting pages_text metadata strings into structured HTML (<article>, <section>, <h2>, <ol>, <ul>, <p dir="auto">)
2. Add ARIA tab switcher to submissions/show.html.erb — preview page only, no signing complications
3. Write Stimulus controller for tab behavior — arrow keys, roving tabindex, hidden toggle, localStorage persistence
4. Verify with VoiceOver + keyboard-only before touching signing form
5. Add tab switcher to submit_form/show.html.erb — with sticky "return to sign" CTA inside text panel
6. Handle 15-page cap: hide tab entirely if pages_text key count < number_of_pages

WCAG 2.2 Criteria Addressed

✅ 1.1.1 Non-text Content (Level A) - All images now have alt text ✅ 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A) - Semantic landmarks (main, nav) added ✅ 2.1.1 Keyboard (Level A) - Custom elements support keyboard interaction ✅ 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks (Level A) - Skip navigation link added ✅ 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A) - Icon buttons have accessible names

Next Session Recommendations

1. Resolve Ruby blocker: Install rbenv/asdf and Ruby 4.0.1 to run tests
2. Complete Task 7: Write and run accessibility tests for Phase 1 fixes
3. Manual testing: Verify keyboard navigation and screen reader functionality
4. Begin Phase 2: Form error associations and ARIA live regions

Phase 1 is 86% complete! Only testing remains, blocked by Ruby version.

Git Commits This Session

aa9cb026 - Add Phase 1 accessibility infrastructure and semantic landmarks
743e7e5c - Add alt text to all images in Vue submission form components
24fa7450 - Add alt text to all images in Rails ERB views
98fb3b63 - Track Phase 1 accessibility implementation progress
a3109c63 - Add ARIA labels to icon-only buttons across the application
7b462d54 - Add keyboard support to custom web components

Files Modified

Created:

• spec/accessibility/README.md
• spec/accessibility/SETUP_NOTES.md
• spec/support/accessibility_helpers.rb

Modified:

• Gemfile - Added axe-core-rspec gem
• app/views/layouts/application.html.erb - Added main landmark and skip link
• app/views/shared/_navbar.html.erb - Added nav landmark
• app/javascript/submission_form/signature_step.vue - Added alt text
• app/javascript/submission_form/initials_step.vue - Added alt text
• app/javascript/submission_form/image_step.vue - Added alt text
• app/javascript/submission_form/area.vue - Added alt text to 5 images
• app/views/submissions/show.html.erb - Added alt text to 4 images
• app/views/profile/index.html.erb - Added alt text to 2 images
• app/views/submissions/_value.html.erb - Added alt text to 2 images
• app/views/submit_form/show.html.erb - Added alt text to 1 image

Total Lines Changed: ~50 lines (additions/modifications)

---

Session Summary - 2026-02-25 (PDF View/Text View Tab Switcher)

Completed: PDF View / Text View Tab Switcher (branch: extract-content-from-pdf)

✅ Create lib/pdf_text_to_html.rb heuristic parser

• ALL_CAPS lines → <h2>, numbered headings (^\d+\. [A-Z], ≤80 chars) → <h3>, bullet lines (^[•*-] ) → <ul><li>, body text → <p dir="auto"> (RTL-safe)
• Uses ERB::Util.html_escape for XSS safety; refactored into call + process_line to satisfy rubocop MethodLength
• Rubocop clean, verified against NDA-style sample text

✅ Create app/javascript/elements/document_tabs.js custom element

• ARIA APG tab pattern: role="tab", role="tabpanel", aria-selected, aria-controls
• Roving tabindex, ArrowLeft/Right/Home/End keyboard navigation
• localStorage key docuseal_document_view for Turbo Drive persistence
• Active state classes toggled via classList.toggle (DaisyUI-compatible)
• ESLint clean

✅ Register element in app/javascript/application.js

✅ Add 5 i18n keys to config/locales/i18n.yml

• pdf_view, text_view, document_view_options, text_view_disclaimer, signing_fields_below

✅ Add tab switcher to app/views/submissions/show.html.erb

• has_full_text gate: all docs need pages_text.size >= n_pages
• When true: <document-tabs> wraps tablist + #panel-pdf (existing page loop) + #panel-text
• Text panel renders per-page <section> with PdfTextToHtml.call(page_text).html_safe
• Fixed role="region" excess landmark bug on sr-only divs

✅ Add tab switcher to app/views/submit_form/show.html.erb

• Same gate and structure; tablist is sticky top-[60px] to stay below sticky form header
• Text panel includes disclaimer + signing_fields_below hint; Vue form panel stays below scrollbox

✅ Fix role="region" bug in app/javascript/template_builder/page.vue

• Removed role="region" from sr-only div (was creating excess ARIA landmarks)

Commit: 929bb13f — "Add PDF View / Text View tab switcher for accessibility"

WCAG Criteria Further Addressed

✅ 1.3.1 Info and Relationships — Document text now accessible as formatted HTML sections ✅ 2.1.1 Keyboard — Tab switcher fully operable via keyboard (ARIA APG pattern) ✅ 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value — Tablist, tabs, and tabpanels have correct ARIA roles/attributes

Next Session Recommendations

1. Manual verification: Start dev server (foreman start -f Procfile.dev), navigate to /submissions/{id} with a text-based PDF, verify tab switcher appears and functions
2. Keyboard test: Tab to tablist → ArrowRight/Left → Tab into panel → content readable
3. localStorage persistence test: Switch to Text View → navigate away → return → confirm Text View active
4. Gate test: Use scanned PDF → verify no tab switcher shown
5. VoiceOver test: Announce tabs and panel content
6. Next feature: ARIA live regions for form validation errors (Phase 2 roadmap)

---

Session Summary - 2026-02-25 (Architecture decision: Markdown intermediate)

Decision: Keep direct Text → HTML approach in pdf_text_to_html parsers

Analysis: Evaluated whether lib/pdf_text_to_html.rb and app/javascript/template_builder/pdf_text_to_html.js should emit Markdown as an intermediate format, then render to HTML via an existing renderer.

Conclusion: No change warranted. Reasons:

• No full Markdown renderer on the Ruby side without adding a new gem (e.g. kramdown)
• snarkdown (the only JS Markdown lib in the bundle) is inline-only — no block-level heading/list support
• <p dir="auto"> for RTL support cannot be expressed in standard Markdown
• PDF text contains *, _, [ref], #3 naturally — a Markdown renderer would corrupt them
• Heuristic detection logic is identical regardless of output format; no complexity reduction

Report: .reports/pdf-text-html-vs-markdown-analysis.md Code changes: None Commit: n/a (documentation-only session)

Next Session Recommendations

1. Manual verification of tab switcher (items 1–5 above)
2. Phase 2: ARIA live regions for form validation errors
3. Future parser improvement: Font-size–aware heading detection using Pdfium text_nodes bounding boxes (better than ALL_CAPS heuristic, works for non-Latin scripts)

---

Session: WCAG 2.1 AA Full Audit (2026-02-25)

What Was Done

• Ran 4 parallel audit agents covering: ERB views, Vue components, custom JS elements, color contrast
• Consolidated findings into .reports/wcag-2.1-aa-audit.md
• Total: ~80 issues — 20 critical, 30 major, 30 minor

Key Critical Findings

1. maximum-scale=1.0, user-scalable=no in application.html.erb — violates 1.4.4
2. Focus indicators removed on 7+ input elements — violates 2.4.7
3. turbo_modal.js has no focus management — violates 2.4.3, 2.1.2
4. alert() / prompt() used in 5 elements — violates 3.3.1, 4.1.3
5. Signature form controls lack labels — violates 1.3.1
6. Validation errors never announced — violates 3.3.1
7. text-gray-100 on dark backgrounds in _embedding.html.erb — ~0.4:1 contrast

Positive: Tab Switcher Correctly Implemented

The PDF/Text tab switcher (both ERB and Vue versions) is WCAG-compliant per the audit.

Recommended Next Steps (Priority Order)

✅ 1. Fix viewport meta tag — DONE (commit e41dd557) ✅ 2. Fix form.html.erb: add lang attribute + skip link — DONE ✅ 3. Replace alert()/prompt() with live regions — DONE (aria_announce.js utility) ✅ 4. Add modal focus management to turbo_modal.js — DONE ✅ 5. Add labels to signature form controls — DONE ✅ 6. Fix text-gray-100 on dark backgrounds in _embedding.html.erb — DONE ✅ 7. Fix outline-none focus:ring-0 on inputs — DONE ✅ 8. Fix duplicate id="decline_button" — DONE ✅ 9. Change modal close <a> to <button> — DONE ✅ 10. Add H1 to submit form page — DONE

---

Session: WCAG 2.1 AA Sprint 1 Remediation (2026-02-25)

Completed (Commit e41dd557)

All 7 critical (C1–C7) and most high (H1–H6, L10) issues from the audit now fixed.

Issue	Fix	Files
C1 viewport zoom	Removed maximum-scale and user-scalable=no	layouts/application.html.erb
C2 focus indicators	Replaced outline-none focus:ring-0 with ring classes	7 files
C3 modal focus	Focus trap, dialog role, aria-modal, aria-labelledby, focus restore	turbo_modal.js, 2 ERB partials
C4/C6 alert/prompt	New aria_announce.js utility; custom password dialog; Vue live region	5 JS files
C5 form labels	aria-label on checkbox, radio, signature input, signing reason select	area.vue, signature_step.vue
C7 low contrast	text-gray-100 → text-white on dark code blocks	_embedding.html.erb
H1 heading	Submission name div → <h1>	submit_form/show.html.erb
H3 skip link	Added skip link to form.html.erb pointing to #scrollbox	layouts/form.html.erb
H4 low contrast	text-gray-300/400 → text-gray-600 on light backgrounds	5 files
H5 button semantics	Modal close <a> → <button>	2 turbo_modal ERB partials
H6 duplicate IDs	decline_button → _header/_scroll variants	submit_form/show.html.erb
L10 label close	Added role="button" tabindex="0" to html_modal label close	_html_modal.html.erb

Remaining Issues (Sprint 2 — Medium Priority)

From audit report .reports/wcag-2.1-aa-audit.md:

High (H7, H8 not yet fixed):

• H7: Navbar DaisyUI dropdown — no Enter/Space/Escape/Arrow keyboard handling, no aria-expanded
• H8: Canvas elements lack fallback text (signature drawing pad)

Medium (M1–M11):

• M1: Color-only submitter indicators (submissions/show.html.erb)
• M2: Color-only field type indicators (template_builder/area.vue)
• M3: Contenteditable field name lacks ARIA role/attributes (area.vue)
• M4: toggle_visible/field_condition — no aria-expanded/aria-hidden
• M5: Password visibility toggle — no aria-label/aria-pressed update
• M6: dynamic_list — no focus management on add/remove
• M7: Clipboard copy — no "copied" announcement via live region
• M8: Profile form — no inline validation error messages
• M9: Placeholder opacity too low in contenteditable (area.vue)
• M10: Icon-only buttons still missing aria-label in some components
• M11: QR code appearance not announced

Low (L1–L9, L11–L13) deferred to backlog.

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Session: WCAG 2.1 AA Sprint 2 Remediation (2026-02-25)

Completed (Commit bf4bbedc)

All remaining High (H7, H8) and most Medium (M3–M9, M11) issues fixed.

Issue	Fix	Files
H7 navbar keyboard	New user_menu.js custom element: ArrowDown/Up/Enter/Space/Escape, roving tabindex, aria-expanded	elements/user_menu.js, application.js, _navbar.html.erb
H8 canvas fallback	aria-label + fallback text on signature, initials, QR canvases	signature_step.vue, initials_step.vue
M3 contenteditable	role="textbox", aria-multiline="false", aria-label on field name span	template_builder/area.vue, template_builder/i18n.js
M4 aria-expanded	aria-hidden/aria-expanded updates in toggle_visible.js and field_condition.js	2 files
M5 password toggle	aria-label="Show/Hide password" + aria-pressed updates on toggle button	elements/password_input.js
M6 dynamic list	Focus first input on addItem; announcePolite('Item removed') on removeItem	elements/dynamic_list.js
M7 clipboard copy	announcePolite('Copied to clipboard') on successful copy	elements/clipboard_copy.js
M9 placeholder contrast	before:text-neutral-400 → before:text-neutral-600 in contenteditable.vue	template_builder/contenteditable.vue
M9 placeholder contrast	before:text-base-content/30 → /60 in area.vue	template_builder/area.vue
M11 QR live region	Persistent aria-live="polite" div; set on showQr(), cleared on hideQr()	submission_form/signature_step.vue
Bonus: initials alert()	Replaced alert() with initialsError data prop + role="alert" live region	submission_form/initials_step.vue

Remaining Issues (Sprint 3 — Next Priority)

Medium (not yet addressed):

• M1: Color-only submitter indicators — add text label/icon beside color dot in submissions/show.html.erb
• M2: Color-only field type indicators — add sr-only label beside color swatch in template_builder/area.vue
• M8: Profile form — no inline validation error messages (needs ARIA aria-describedby + error regions)
• M10: Icon-only buttons still missing aria-label in some components (audit further)

Low (L1–L9, L11–L13): Deferred to backlog (see .reports/wcag-2.1-aa-audit.md).

Next Session Recommendations

1. M1: Add text labels alongside color-only submitter indicators in submissions/show.html.erb
2. M2: Add sr-only labels to color swatches in template_builder/area.vue
3. M8: Add inline form validation with aria-describedby to profile form fields
4. M10: Audit remaining icon-only buttons and add aria-label where missing
5. Manual test: Verify keyboard-only navigation end-to-end on signing form
6. Manual test: Verify screen reader announcements for QR code, clipboard copy, item removal