We want ECCE to be usable by everyone who does computational chemistry, including people who use the keyboard rather than a mouse, use a screen reader, have reduced colour vision or low vision, or need larger text. This page says what ECCE does today, what we aim for, and how to tell us about a barrier.
- Text size: Edit → Preferences sets the font size (Small to Extra Large), or follows the system's text size ("Use the system font size").
- Themes: on Linux, ECCE's windows follow the desktop theme, including dark and high-contrast themes.
- Not colour alone: each run state in the Organizer has its own shape as well as its own colour. Errors and warnings are shown in the message line by colour and text, and optionally by a beep.
- Native controls: buttons, menus, lists and text fields are the system's own (through wxWidgets), so they work with the system's keyboard navigation and screen reader support. ECCE's own drawings, the 3-D view and the plots, are not covered by that.
- Keyboard shortcuts for common actions, shown next to their menu items.
- Results as text: energies, charges, dipoles, orbitals and frequencies are listed in tables beside the 3-D view.
- Windows that fit: automated tests open every window at small screen sizes and check that no label is cut off.
- Help pages in plain language, with real headings and lists, and a text description for every picture. They also open in a web browser.
These are directions for the work, not promises with dates:
- WCAG 2.2 Level AA where it applies to a desktop program, as a guide. ECCE has not been evaluated against it, and we make no claim that it meets it.
- Every control has a name a screen reader can announce, and every action can be reached from the keyboard.
- Colour is never the only way information is shown, and the default colours are safe for colour vision deficiencies.
- Windows stay usable at large text sizes and display scales.
- Problems of these kinds are found by automated checks as the code changes, so they are caught before a release.
Known gaps are listed in issue #267.
When you change something people see or use:
- give every control a name: a label, or a tooltip for an icon-only button;
- give new actions a keyboard shortcut in their menu label where it makes sense;
- don't use colour alone to show a difference: add a shape, a pattern, a label or a value;
- in the help pages, use real headings and lists, descriptive link text, and a text description for every picture.
If something in ECCE keeps you from doing what you need, please tell us. We treat these reports as expertise, not complaints.
Open an issue, or email andy.ohlin@ik.me if you prefer not to post publicly. It helps to include:
- what you were trying to do, and what went wrong;
- which window or part of ECCE;
- your ECCE version (
ecce --version), operating system, and any assistive technology you use; - a screenshot or recording, if you are comfortable sharing one.
You never need to tell us about a disability or diagnosis. ECCE is maintained by a small team; we read every report, and barriers that stop someone from completing a task come before other work.