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Accessible Procurement Toolkit (APT)

Locating and Identifying Controls

Will people with vision impairments know where the buttons are?

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A person with a vision impairment at a transit touch screen kiosk wonders how to make the right choice between a $3 day pass or a $300 year pass.

A person with a vision impairment at a transit touch screen kiosk wonders how to make the right choice between a $3 day pass or a $300 year pass.


Touch screens and low-profile keys present challenges for people with vision impairments. It is important that keys are raised or designed so that users can easily feel the difference between keys. Users must be able to identify keys without activating the controls. In this example a user of a transit kiosk is unable to make the correct selection as the touch screen has no buttons and makes it impossible to know where to press. This standard applies to all devices with keys or touch screens, including information transaction machines, keypad entry devices, office equipment (printers, scanners, photocopiers, multifunction devices, fax machines), computers (desktop, laptop, handheld, notebooks) and peripherals (monitors, keyboards, CD writers), projectors, video cameras, TVs, VCRs, radio receivers, tape drives, phones (mobile, wired, and cordless) and pagers.

(Content and illustration: Neil Squire Society)

The standards this example illustrates:

Section 508 Technical Standard 1194.23 (k)

Products which have mechanically operated controls or keys, shall comply with the following: 1. Controls and keys shall be tactilely discernible without activating the controls or keys.

Section 508 Technical Standard 1194.25 (c)

Where a product utilizes touchscreens or contact-sensitive controls, an input method shall be provided that complies with 1194.23 (k) (1) through (4).

Section 508 Technical Standard 1194.26 (b)

If a product utilizes touchscreens or touch-operated controls, an input method shall be provided that complies with 1194.23 (k) (1) through (4).

Products to which these standards may apply:

  • Most standalone electronic and information technologies, computers and computer peripherals.