Capturing Modules with Access Assistant

NOTE to Assistive Technology Users: Access Assistant can be opened with the hotkey combination Ctr+Shift+Space.

Overview

Access Assistant allows users to capture modules for testing in two ways:

1. Capture a page
2. Capture a component on a page

A module is a testable unit of a website or application. Typically when performing an audit on a website, one does not need to test every page on the site. A best practice would be to identify pages that are templates used throughout the site, and components that are reused on many pages throughout the site. For example, if a search bar is present on every or most pages of an application, the search bar would be a component that is captured as a module. Likewise, if there are 3 different page templates used throughout an entire website, 3 different pages using each of the templates should be captured as modules.

Capture a Page as a Module

NOTE: In order to view the "Ignore Elements" Section, the user must create Element Filters. Information on how this can be done can be found at: Element Filtering

To capture a page as a module:

1. Navigate to the page in the website being tested in the main testing window.
2. In the toolbar window, navigate to the report in which the testing results should be saved.
3. Select the Current Page button.
   
4. On the subsequent form:
   1. Verify the details of the module.
   2. If any elements on the page should be ignored when testing, select the elements in the "Ignore Elements" section.
   3. Select "Save" to capture and test the module.

Capturing a Page Component as a Module

To capture a component on a page as a module:

1. Navigate to a page that contains the component in the main testing window.
2. In the toolbar window, navigate to the report in which the testing results should be saved.
3. Select the "Capture Node" button.
4. On the subsequent form:
   1. Enter a name for the module.
   2. If any elements within the node should be ignored when testing, select the element in the "Ignore Elements" section. 
   3. Select the "Node Selector" button or the "DOM Selector". This will activate the node selection tool.  The DOM Selector will display the DOM to allow selection of a node. The Node Selector tool will allow the user to select an element on the page being tested to select it as a node. 
   4. When the Node Selector tool is used, the selected node will be displayed after selection. Verify the selection and confirm it by selecting it in this window. 
      
   5. Once the node is selected, select the "Save" button to capture the node as a module and test it.