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NSAccessibility Protocol Reference

(informal protocol)

Overview

The NSAccessibility informal protocol defines methods that Cocoa classes must implement to make themselves available to an external assistive application. An assistive application interacts with your application to allow persons with disabilities to use your application. For example, a person with a visual impairment could use an application to convert menu items and button labels into speech and then perform actions by verbal command.

Because many Cocoa user interface classes already implement the NSAccessibility protocol, providing reasonable default behavior in most cases, Cocoa applications built with standard widgets are automatically accessible. In general, you need to explicitly implement the NSAccessibility protocol methods only if you subclass one of them, adding new behavior.

The Cocoa implementations of these methods raise an NSAccessibilityException when errors occur, such as requesting the value of an unsupported attribute. In most cases, subclasses do not need to raise or catch these exceptions, because overridden methods should invoke their inherited methods for unrecognized attribute and action names.

See “Accessibility” for descriptions of Application Kit functions related to accessibility.

Tasks

Accessing Attributes

• – accessibilityAttributeNames
• – accessibilityAttributeValue:
• – accessibilityIsAttributeSettable:
• – accessibilitySetValue:forAttribute:
• – accessibilitySetOverrideValue:forAttribute:

Accessing Parameterized Attributes

• – accessibilityParameterizedAttributeNames
• – accessibilityAttributeValue:forParameter:

Accessing Actions

• – accessibilityActionNames
• – accessibilityActionDescription:
• – accessibilityPerformAction:

Querying Elements

• – accessibilityIsIgnored
• – accessibilityHitTest:
• – accessibilityFocusedUIElement

Instance Methods

accessibilityActionDescription:

Returns a localized description of the action action.

- (NSString *)accessibilityActionDescription:(NSString *)action

Discussion

A button, for example, could return the string press button for the NSAccessibilityPressAction action. User interface classes must implement this method to return descriptions for all actions returned from accessibilityActionNames. Subclasses should invoke the superclass’s implementation, if it exists, to obtain the descriptions of any inherited actions.

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

accessibilityActionNames

Returns an array of action names supported by the receiver.

- (NSArray *)accessibilityActionNames

Discussion

User interface classes must implement this method. Subclasses should invoke the superclass’s implementation, if it exists, and append additional action names or remove unsupported actions. Some common action names are defined by Cocoa and are described in the “Constants” section.

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Related Sample Code

• Clock Control
• Dicey
• ImageMapExample
• TrackBall

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

accessibilityAttributeNames

Returns an array of attribute names supported by the receiver.

- (NSArray *)accessibilityAttributeNames

Discussion

User interface classes must implement this method. Subclasses should invoke the superclass’s implementation, if it exists, and append additional attributes or remove unsupported attributes. Some attribute names are defined by Cocoa and are described in the “Constants” section.

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Related Sample Code

• Clock Control
• Dicey
• ImageMapExample
• TrackBall

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

accessibilityAttributeValue:

Returns the value of the receiver’s attribute attribute.

- (id)accessibilityAttributeValue:(NSString *)attribute

Discussion

User interface classes must implement this method. Subclasses should invoke the superclass’s implementation, if it exists, if attribute is not implemented in the subclass.

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

accessibilityAttributeValue:forParameter:

Returns the value of the receiver’s parameterized attribute corresponding to attribute and parameter. If you implement this method you should also implement accessibilityParameterizedAttributeNames.

- (id)accessibilityAttributeValue:(NSString *)attribute forParameter:(id)parameter

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

accessibilityFocusedUIElement

Returns the deepest descendant of the user interface hierarchy that has the focus.

- (id)accessibilityFocusedUIElement

Discussion

You can assume that the search for the focus has already been narrowed down to the receiver. Override this method to do deeper searching by identifying which child element, if any, may have the focus. If a child element does not have the focus, either return self or, if available, invoke the superclass’s implementation. The default NSView and NSCell implementations test whether the receiver is an ignored element and, if so, return the receiver’s first unignored parent; otherwise they return self.

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Related Sample Code

• Dicey
• ImageMapExample
• TrackBall

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

accessibilityHitTest:

Returns the deepest descendant of the accessibility hierarchy that contains the point point, which is in lower-left relative screen coordinates.

- (id)accessibilityHitTest:(NSPoint)point

Discussion

You can assume the point has already been determined to lie within the receiver. Override this method to do deeper hit-testing by identifying which child element, if any, contains the point. NSMatrix, for example, identifies which of its cells contains point and propagates the hit-test to it. If point is not contained within one of the receiver’s children, either return self or, if available, invoke the superclass’s implementation. The default NSView and NSCell implementations test whether the receiver is an ignored element and, if so, return the receiver’s first unignored parent; otherwise they return self.

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Related Sample Code

• Dicey
• ImageMapExample

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

accessibilityIsAttributeSettable:

Returns YES if the value for the receiver’s attribute attribute can be set.

- (BOOL)accessibilityIsAttributeSettable:(NSString *)attribute

Discussion

User interface classes must implement this method. Subclasses should invoke the superclass’s implementation, if it exists, if attribute is not implemented in the subclass.

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

accessibilityIsIgnored

Returns YES if the receiver should not be visible in the parent-child accessibility hierarchy.

- (BOOL)accessibilityIsIgnored

Discussion

In other words, when asking for an object’s children, ignored children should not be included; instead, the ignored children should be replaced by their own unignored children. The same applies when asking for an object’s parent; an ignored parent should be skipped and the first unignored ancestor treated as the real parent. Likewise, when a hit-test or focus test is satisfied by an ignored element, the element’s first unignored ancestor (or descendant in certain cases, such as single-celled controls) should be used instead.

Ignored elements allow the accessibility hierarchy to be a simplified version of the view and object ownership hierarchies. Intermediate objects can be bypassed and the real user interface objects accessed more quickly. For example, NSControl objects are ignored when they are single-celled; the visible parent-child relationship is between the control’s parent (or a higher ancestor if the parent is ignored, too) and the control’s cell.

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Related Sample Code

• Dicey
• ImageMapExample
• TrackBall

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

accessibilityParameterizedAttributeNames

Returns a list of parameterized attribute names supported by the receiver. If you implement this method you should also implement accessibilityAttributeValue:forParameter:.

- (NSArray *)accessibilityParameterizedAttributeNames

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

accessibilityPerformAction:

Performs the action associated with the name action.

- (void)accessibilityPerformAction:(NSString *)action

Discussion

User interface classes must implement this method to handle all the actions returned from accessibilityActionNames. Subclasses should invoke the superclass’s implementation, if it exists, if action is not implemented in the subclass.

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

accessibilitySetOverrideValue:forAttribute:

Overrides the receiver’s attribute attribute, or adds it if it does not exist, and sets its value to value.

- (BOOL)accessibilitySetOverrideValue:(id)value forAttribute:(NSString *)attribute

Discussion

This method is for changing the set of attributes on an instance, as an alternative to subclassing. The return value indicates if the override was successful.

This method only works on objects whose class already implements the NSAccessibility protocol. If the specified attribute is already supported by the object, the value specified by this method wins.

If the specified attribute does not exist it is created. This is done outside the NSAccessibility protocol, so accessibilityAttributeNames still returns the old list which does not contain the new attribute. Likewise, accessibilityAttributeValue does not return attributes created by the override process nor does it return their overridden values.

The values of overridden attributes are not settable by assistive applications.

If you need to undo the effect of using this method, call it again passing nil for the value.

Ensure that you invoke this method on the actual object that represents the user interface element. For example, in the case of NSButton, use the underlying NSButtonCell. The NSButton itself is ignored by accessibility.

This method works only on an object representing a single user interface element. So, for example, you cannot use it when a single object represents multiple user interface elements, as with NSSegmentedCell, which has only a single object but provides user interface elements for each segment).

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

accessibilitySetValue:forAttribute:

Sets the value of the receiver’s attribute attribute to value.

- (void)accessibilitySetValue:(id)value forAttribute:(NSString *)attribute

Discussion

User interface classes must implement this method if any of its attributes are setable. Subclasses should invoke the superclass’s implementation, if it exists, if attribute is not implemented in the subclass.

Availability

• Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

Constants

NSAccessibility defines numerous attribute names. Some can be used by any object; others are specific to a particular type of object.

Standard attributes for any object

The following are the standard attributes that can be adopted by any object.

NSString *const NSAccessibilityChildrenAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityContentsAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityDescriptionAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityEnabledAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityFocusedAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityHelpAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityMaxValueAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityMinValueAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityParentAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityPositionAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityRoleAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityRoleDescriptionAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilitySelectedChildrenAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityShownMenuAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilitySizeAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilitySubroleAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityTitleAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityTopLevelUIElementAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityValueAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityValueDescriptionAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityVisibleChildrenAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityWindowAttribute;

Constants

NSAccessibilityChildrenAttribute

Elements that current element contains (NSArray)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityContentsAttribute

Elements that represent the contents in the current element, such as the document view of a scroll view (NSArray)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityDescriptionAttribute

Instance description (NSString)

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityEnabledAttribute

Flag indicating enabled state of element (NSNumber)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityFocusedAttribute

Flag indicating presence of keyboard focus (NSNumber)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityHelpAttribute

Instance description, such as a help tag string (NSString)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityMaxValueAttribute

Element’s maximum value (id)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityMinValueAttribute

Element’s minimum value (id)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityParentAttribute

Element containing current element (id)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityPositionAttribute

Screen position of element’s lower-left corner in lower-left relative screen coordinates (NSValue)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityRoleAttribute

Element type, such as NSAccessibilityRadioButtonRole (NSString). See the role attribute table below

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityRoleDescriptionAttribute

Localized, user-readable description of role, such as radio button (NSString)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilitySelectedChildrenAttribute

Currently selected children (NSArray)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityShownMenuAttribute

Menu currently being displayed (id)

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilitySizeAttribute

Element size (NSValue)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilitySubroleAttribute

Element subrole type, such as NSAccessibilityTableRowSubrole (NSString). See the subrole attribute table below.

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityTitleAttribute

Title of element, such as button text (NSString)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityTopLevelUIElementAttribute

User interface element for the top-level element (id)

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityValueAttribute

Element’s value (id)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityValueDescriptionAttribute

Text description of value (NSString)

Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityVisibleChildrenAttribute

Child elements that are visible (NSArray)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityWindowAttribute

Window containing current element (id)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

Text-specific attributes

The following are attributes specific to text.

NSString *const NSAccessibilityInsertionPointLineNumberAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityNumberOfCharactersAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilitySelectedTextAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilitySelectedTextRangeAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilitySelectedTextRangesAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilitySharedCharacterRangeAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilitySharedTextUIElementsAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityVisibleCharacterRangeAttribute;

Constants

NSAccessibilityInsertionPointLineNumberAttribute

Line number containing caret (NSNumber)

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityNumberOfCharactersAttribute

Number of characters (NSNumber)

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilitySelectedTextAttribute

Currently selected text (NSString)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilitySelectedTextRangeAttribute

Range of selected text (NSValue)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilitySelectedTextRangesAttribute

Array of NSValue (rangeValue) ranges of selected text (NSArray)

Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilitySharedCharacterRangeAttribute

The (rangeValue) part of shared text in this view (NSValue)

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilitySharedTextUIElementsAttribute

Text views sharing text (NSArray)

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityVisibleCharacterRangeAttribute

Range of visible text (NSValue). Returns ranges for entire lines. For example, characters that are horizontally clipped will be reported in the visible range.

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

Parameterized text-specific attributes

Parameterized attributes behave similar to a function by allowing you to pass a parameter when requesting an attribute value. The following are parameterized attributes specific to text:

NSString *const NSAccessibilityAttributedStringForRangeParameterizedAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityBoundsForRangeParameterizedAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityLineForIndexParameterizedAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityRTFForRangeParameterizedAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityRangeForIndexParameterizedAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityRangeForLineParameterizedAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityRangeForPositionParameterizedAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityStringForRangeParameterizedAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityStyleRangeForIndexParameterizedAttribute;

Constants

NSAccessibilityLineForIndexParameterizedAttribute

The line number (NSNumber) of the specified character (NSNumber)

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityRangeForLineParameterizedAttribute

The range of characters (NSValue containing an NSRange) corresponding to the specified line number (NSNumber).

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityStringForRangeParameterizedAttribute

The substring (NSString) specified by the range (NSValue containing an NSRange)

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityRangeForPositionParameterizedAttribute

The range of characters (NSValue containing an NSRange) composing the glyph at the specified point (NSValue containing NSPoint)

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityRangeForIndexParameterizedAttribute

The full range of characters (NSValue containing an NSRange), including the specified character, which compose a single glyph (NSNumber)

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityBoundsForRangeParameterizedAttribute

The rectangle (NSValue containing an NSRect) enclosing the specified range of characters (NSValue containing an NSRange). If the range crosses a line boundary, the returned rectangle will fully enclose all the lines of characters.

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityRTFForRangeParameterizedAttribute

The RTF data (NSData) describing the specified range of characters (NSValue containing an NSRange)

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityStyleRangeForIndexParameterizedAttribute

The full range of characters (NSValue containing an NSRange), including the specified character (NSNumber), which have the same style

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityAttributedStringForRangeParameterizedAttribute

Does not use attributes from Appkit/AttributedString.h (NSAttributedString)

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

Text attributed string attributes and constants

The following attributes and key constants are used with attributed strings:

NSString *const NSAccessibilityAttachmentTextAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityBackgroundColorTextAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityFontFamilyKey;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityFontNameKey;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityFontSizeKey;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityFontTextAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityForegroundColorTextAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityLinkTextAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityMisspelledTextAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityShadowTextAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityStrikethroughColorTextAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityStrikethroughTextAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilitySuperscriptTextAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityUnderlineColorTextAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityUnderlineTextAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityVisibleNameKey;

Constants

NSAccessibilityForegroundColorTextAttribute

Text foreground color (CGColorRef)

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityBackgroundColorTextAttribute

Text background color (CGColorRef)

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityUnderlineColorTextAttribute

Text underline color (CGColorRef)

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityStrikethroughColorTextAttribute

Text stikethrough color (CGColorRef)

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityUnderlineTextAttribute

Text underline style (NSNumber)

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilitySuperscriptTextAttribute

Text superscript style (NSNumber). Values > 0 are superscript; values < 0 are subscript.

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityStrikethroughTextAttribute

Text strikethrough (NSNumber as a Boolean value)

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityShadowTextAttribute

Text shadow (NSNumber as a Boolean value)

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityAttachmentTextAttribute

Text attachment (id)

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityLinkTextAttribute

Text link (id)

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityMisspelledTextAttribute

Misspelled text (NSNumber as a Boolean value)

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityFontTextAttribute

Font keys (NSDictionary)

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityFontNameKey

Required key for font name

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityFontFamilyKey

Optional key for font family

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityVisibleNameKey

Optional key for font visibility

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityFontSizeKey

Required key for font size

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

Window-specific attributes

The following are attributes specific to windows:

NSString *const NSAccessibilityCancelButtonAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityCloseButtonAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityDefaultButtonAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityGrowAreaAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityMainAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityMinimizeButtonAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityMinimizedAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityModalAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityProxyAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityToolbarButtonAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityZoomButtonAttribute;

Constants

NSAccessibilityCloseButtonAttribute

Element for close button (id)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityGrowAreaAttribute

Element for grow area (id)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityModalAttribute

Element is the window modal (NSNumber)

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityDefaultButtonAttribute

Element for default button (id)

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityCancelButtonAttribute

Element for cancel button (id)

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityMainAttribute

Flag indicating whether a window is the main window (NSNumber)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityMinimizeButtonAttribute

Element for minimize button (id)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityMinimizedAttribute

Flag indicating whether a window is minimized (NSNumber)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityToolbarButtonAttribute

Element for toolbar toggle button (id)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityProxyAttribute

Element for title’s icon (id)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityZoomButtonAttribute

Element for zoom button (id)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

Orientations

NSAccessibility defines the following values to indicate the orientation of elements, such as scroll bars and split views. One of these values is returned as the value for an object’s NSAccessibilityOrientationAttribute.

NSString *const NSAccessibilityHorizontalOrientationValue;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityVerticalOrientationValue;

Constants

NSAccessibilityHorizontalOrientationValue

Element is oriented horizontally

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityVerticalOrientationValue

Element is oriented vertically

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

Application-specific attributes

The following are attributes specific to the application object.

NSString *const NSAccessibilityClearButtonAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityColumnTitlesAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityFocusedUIElementAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityFocusedWindowAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityFrontmostAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityHiddenAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityMainWindowAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityMenuBarAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityOrientationAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilitySearchButtonAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilitySearchMenuAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityWindowsAttribute;

Constants

NSAccessibilityFocusedUIElementAttribute

Element with the current focus (id)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityFocusedWindowAttribute

Application’s window with current focus (id)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityFrontmostAttribute

Flag indicating whether application is in front (NSNumber)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityHiddenAttribute

Flag indicating whether application is hidden (NSNumber)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityMainWindowAttribute

Application’s main window (id)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityMenuBarAttribute

Application’s menu bar (id)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityWindowsAttribute

Application’s windows (NSArray)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

Grid view attributes

The following attributes are used with grid views, which are user interfaces like thumbnails and media browsers that present a grid of items. The children of a grid are ordered.

NSString *const NSAccessibilityColumnCountAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityOrderedByRowAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityRowCountAttribute;

Constants

NSAccessibilityColumnCountAttribute

Number of columns in grid (NSNumber as intValue)

Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityOrderedByRowAttribute

Whether grid is ordered row major if YES, column major if NO (NSNumber as boolValue)

Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityRowCountAttribute

Number of rows in grid (NSNumber as intValue)

Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

Table view and outline view attributes

The following are attributes specific to tables and outlines.

NSString *const NSAccessibilityColumnsAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityRowsAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilitySelectedColumnsAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilitySelectedRowsAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilitySortDirectionAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityVisibleColumnsAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityVisibleRowsAttribute;

Constants

NSAccessibilityColumnsAttribute

Table’s columns (NSArray)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityRowsAttribute

Table’s rows (NSArray)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilitySelectedColumnsAttribute

Table’s selected columns (NSArray)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilitySelectedRowsAttribute

Table’s selected rows (NSArray)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilitySortDirectionAttribute

Column’s sort direction (NSString). See “Column sort direction”.

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityVisibleColumnsAttribute

Table’s visible columns (NSArray)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityVisibleRowsAttribute

Table’s visible rows (NSArray)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

Outline view attributes

These attributes are used in outline views.

NSString *const NSAccessibilityDisclosedByRowAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityDisclosedRowsAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityDisclosingAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityDisclosureLevelAttribute;

Constants

NSAccessibilityDisclosedByRowAttribute

Row disclosing this row (id)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityDisclosedRowsAttribute

Rows disclosed by this row (NSArray)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityDisclosingAttribute

Flag indicating whether a row is disclosing other rows (NSNumber)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityDisclosureLevelAttribute

Indentation level of this row (NSNumber)

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

Column sort direction

NSAccessibility defines the following values for NSAccessibilitySortDirectionAttribute to indicate the sort direction of a column.

NSString *const NSAccessibilityAscendingSortDirectionValue;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityDescendingSortDirectionValue;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityUnknownSortDirectionValue;

Constants

NSAccessibilityAscendingSortDirectionValue

Column sorted in ascending values

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityDescendingSortDirectionValue

Column sorted in descending values

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityUnknownSortDirectionValue

Sort direction unknown

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

Slider attributes

The following attributes are specific to sliders.

NSString *const NSAccessibilityAllowedValuesAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityLabelUIElementsAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityLabelValueAttribute;

Constants

NSAccessibilityAllowedValuesAttribute

Array of allowed values (NSArray)

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityLabelUIElementsAttribute

Array of label elements (NSArray)

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityLabelValueAttribute

Value of label element (NSNumber)

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

Screen matte attributes

The following attributes are specific to screen mattes.

NSString *const NSAccessibilityMatteContentUIElementAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityMatteHoleAttribute;

Constants

NSAccessibilityMatteHoleAttribute

Bounds of matte hole in screen coordinates (NSValue containing an NSRect)

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityMatteContentUIElementAttribute

Element clipped by the matte (id)

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

Ruler view attributes

The following attributes are specific to ruler views.

NSString *const NSAccessibilityMarkerGroupUIElementAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityMarkerTypeAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityMarkerTypeDescriptionAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityMarkerUIElementsAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityMarkerValuesAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityUnitDescriptionAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityUnitsAttribute;

Constants

NSAccessibilityMarkerGroupUIElementAttribute

Marker group user interface element (id)

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityMarkerTypeAttribute

Type of marker (NSString). See “Ruler marker type values”.

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityMarkerTypeDescriptionAttribute

Description of marker type (NSString)

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityMarkerUIElementsAttribute

Array of marker user interface elements (NSArray)

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityMarkerValuesAttribute

Marker values

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityUnitDescriptionAttribute

Description of ruler units (NSString)

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityUnitsAttribute

Ruler units (NSString). See “Ruler unit attributes”.

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

Ruler marker type values

NSAccessibility defines the following values for NSAccessibilityMarkerTypeAttribute to indicate the marker type of an element:

NSString *const NSAccessibilityCenterTabStopMarkerTypeValue;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityDecimalTabStopMarkerTypeValue;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityFirstLineIndentMarkerTypeValue;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityHeadIndentMarkerTypeValue;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityLeftTabStopMarkerTypeValue;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityRightTabStopMarkerTypeValue;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityTailIndentMarkerTypeValue;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityUnknownMarkerTypeValue;

Constants

NSAccessibilityLeftTabStopMarkerTypeValue

Left tab stop

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityRightTabStopMarkerTypeValue

Right tab stop

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityCenterTabStopMarkerTypeValue

Center tab stop

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityDecimalTabStopMarkerTypeValue

Decimal tab stop

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityHeadIndentMarkerTypeValue

Head indent marker

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityTailIndentMarkerTypeValue

Tail indent marker

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityFirstLineIndentMarkerTypeValue

First line indent marker

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityUnknownMarkerTypeValue

Unknown marker type

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

Ruler unit attributes

NSAccessibility defines the following values for NSAccessibilityUnitsAttribute to indicate the unit values of the ruler.

NSString *const NSAccessibilityCentimetersUnitValue;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityInchesUnitValue;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityPicasUnitValue;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityPointsUnitValue;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityUnknownUnitValue;

Constants

NSAccessibilityInchesUnitValue

Ruler units are inches.

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityCentimetersUnitValue

Ruler units are centimeters.

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityPointsUnitValue

Ruler units are points.

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityPicasUnitValue

Ruler units are picas.

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityUnknownUnitValue

Ruler units are unknown.

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

Linkage elements

These constants define link attributes.

NSString *const NSAccessibilityLinkedUIElementsAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityServesAsTitleForUIElementsAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityTitleUIElementAttribute;

Constants

NSAccessibilityLinkedUIElementsAttribute

Elements corresponding to each other (NSArray)

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityTitleUIElementAttribute

Element’s title element (id)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityServesAsTitleForUIElementsAttribute

Elements to which title applies (NSArray)

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

Miscellaneous attributes

The following are miscellaneous attributes.

NSString *const NSAccessibilityDecrementButtonAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityDocumentAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityEditedAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityExpandedAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityFilenameAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityHeaderAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityHorizontalScrollBarAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityIncrementButtonAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityIndexAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityNextContentsAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityOverflowButtonAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityPreviousContentsAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilitySelectedAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilitySplittersAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityTabsAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityURLAttribute;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityVerticalScrollBarAttribute;

Constants

NSAccessibilityClearButtonAttribute

Search field clear button (id)

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityColumnTitlesAttribute

Elements for column titles (NSArray)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityDecrementButtonAttribute

Stepper’s decrement button (id)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityDocumentAttribute

URL for the file represented by the element (NSString)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityEditedAttribute

Flag indicating whether element has been modified (NSNumber)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityExpandedAttribute

Flag indicating whether element is expanded (NSNumber)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityFilenameAttribute

Filename associated with element (NSString)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityHeaderAttribute

Table view’s header element (id)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityHorizontalScrollBarAttribute

Scroll view’s horizontal scroll bar (id)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityIncrementButtonAttribute

Stepper’s increment button (id)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityIndexAttribute

Index of element (NSValue)

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityNextContentsAttribute

Contents following current divider element, such as a subview adjacent to a split view’s splitter element (NSArray)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityOrientationAttribute

Element’s orientation, which can have the value NSAccessibilityHorizontalOrientationValue or NSAccessibilityVerticalOrientationValue

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityOverflowButtonAttribute

Toolbar’s overflow button (id)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityPreviousContentsAttribute

Contents preceding current divider element, such as a subview adjacent to a split view’s splitter bar element (NSArray)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilitySearchButtonAttribute

Search field search button (id)

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilitySearchMenuAttribute

Search field menu (id)

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilitySelectedAttribute

Flag indicating whether element is selected (NSNumber)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilitySplittersAttribute

Splitter bar elements in a split view (NSArray)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityTabsAttribute

Tab view’s tab elements (NSArray)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityURLAttribute

URL associated with element (NSURL)

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityVerticalScrollBarAttribute

Scroll view’s vertical scroll bar (id)

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

Roles

These constants define standard roles that identify the type of object an accessibility object represents. One of these values is returned as the value for an object’s NSAccessibilityRoleAttribute.

NSString *const NSAccessibilityApplicationRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityBrowserRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityBusyIndicatorRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityButtonRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityCheckBoxRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityColorWellRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityColumnRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityComboBoxRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityDisclosureTriangleRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityDrawerRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityGridRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityGroupRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityGrowAreaRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityHelpTagRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityImageRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityIncrementorRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityLinkRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityListRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityMatteRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityMenuBarRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityMenuButtonRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityMenuItemRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityMenuRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityOutlineRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityPopUpButtonRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityProgressIndicatorRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityRadioButtonRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityRadioGroupRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityRowRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityRulerMarkerRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityRulerRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityScrollAreaRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityScrollBarRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilitySheetRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilitySliderRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilitySortButtonRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilitySplitGroupRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilitySplitterRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityStaticTextRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilitySystemWideRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityTabGroupRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityTableRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityTextAreaRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityTextFieldRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityToolbarRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityUnknownRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityValueIndicatorRole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityWindowRole;

Constants

NSAccessibilityApplicationRole

Application

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityBrowserRole

Browser

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityBusyIndicatorRole

Busy indicator

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityCheckBoxRole

Checkbox

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityColorWellRole

Color well

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityColumnRole

Column

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityComboBoxRole

Combo box

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityDisclosureTriangleRole

Disclosure triangle

Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityDrawerRole

Drawer

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityGridRole

Grid

Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityGroupRole

Group

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityGrowAreaRole

Window’s grow (resize) area

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityHelpTagRole

Help tag

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityImageRole

Image

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityIncrementorRole

Stepper

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityLinkRole

Link

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityListRole

List

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityMatteRole

Matte

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityMenuBarRole

Menu bar

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityMenuButtonRole

Menu button

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityMenuItemRole

Menu item

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityMenuRole

Menu

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityOutlineRole

Outline

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityPopUpButtonRole

Pop-up button

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityProgressIndicatorRole

Progress indicator

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityButtonRole

Button

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityRadioButtonRole

Radio button

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityRadioGroupRole

Radio group

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityRowRole

Row

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityRulerRole

Ruler

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityRulerMarkerRole

Ruler marker

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityScrollAreaRole

Scroll view

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityScrollBarRole

Scroll bar

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilitySheetRole

Sheet

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilitySliderRole

Slider

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilitySortButtonRole

Sort button

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilitySplitGroupRole

Split view

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilitySplitterRole

Splitter bar of a split view

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityStaticTextRole

Uneditable text

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilitySystemWideRole

Special system-wide element

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityTabGroupRole

Tab group

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityTableRole

Table

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityTextAreaRole

Text view

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityTextFieldRole

Text field

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityToolbarRole

Toolbar

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityUnknownRole

Unknown object type

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityValueIndicatorRole

Value indicator

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityWindowRole

Window

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

Subroles

These constants define the sub-roles that identify a specialized type of object an accessibility object represents. One of these values is returned as the value for an object’s NSAccessibilitySubroleAttribute.

NSString *const NSAccessibilityCloseButtonSubrole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityDecrementArrowSubrole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityDecrementPageSubrole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityDialogSubrole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityFloatingWindowSubrole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityIncrementArrowSubrole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityIncrementPageSubrole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityMinimizeButtonSubrole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityOutlineRowSubrole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilitySearchFieldSubrole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilitySecureTextFieldSubrole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityStandardWindowSubrole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilitySystemDialogSubrole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilitySystemFloatingWindowSubrole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityTableRowSubrole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityTextAttachmentSubrole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityTextLinkSubrole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityTimelineSubrole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityToolbarButtonSubrole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityUnknownSubrole;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityZoomButtonSubrole;

Constants

NSAccessibilityCloseButtonSubrole

Window’s close button

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityDecrementArrowSubrole

Decrement arrow

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityDecrementPageSubrole

Decrement page

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityDialogSubrole

Dialog

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityFloatingWindowSubrole

Floating window

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityIncrementArrowSubrole

Increment arrow

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityIncrementPageSubrole

Increment page

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityMinimizeButtonSubrole

Window’s minimize button

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityOutlineRowSubrole

Outline row

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilitySearchFieldSubrole

Search field

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilitySecureTextFieldSubrole

Secure text field

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityStandardWindowSubrole

Standard window

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilitySystemDialogSubrole

System dialog

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilitySystemFloatingWindowSubrole

System floating window

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityTableRowSubrole

Table row

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityTextAttachmentSubrole

Text attachment

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityTextLinkSubrole

Text link

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityTimelineSubrole

Timeline

Available in Mac OS X v10.5 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityToolbarButtonSubrole

Window’s toolbar toggle button

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityUnknownSubrole

Unknown subrole

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityZoomButtonSubrole

Window’s zoom button

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

Action values

These constants define standard actions that accessibility objects can perform.

NSString *const NSAccessibilityCancelAction;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityConfirmAction;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityDecrementAction;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityDeleteAction;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityIncrementAction;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityPickAction;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityPressAction;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityRaiseAction;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityShowMenuAction;

Constants

NSAccessibilityConfirmAction

Simulates pressing Return in object, such as a text field.

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityDecrementAction

Decrements the value of object.

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityDeleteAction

Deletes the value of object.

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityIncrementAction

Increments the value of object.

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityPickAction

Selects the object, such as a menu item.

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityPressAction

Simulates clicking an object, such as a button.

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityCancelAction

Cancels the operation.

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityRaiseAction

Simulates bringing a window forward by clicking on its title bar.

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityShowMenuAction

Simulates showing a menu by clicking on it.

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

Focus-change notifications

NSAccessibility defines the following notifications, which are sent to observing assistive applications when focus-change events occur. The notifications are sent using the NSAccessibilityPostNotification function instead of an NSNotificationCenter object.

NSString *const NSAccessibilityMainWindowChangedNotification;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityFocusedWindowChangedNotification;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityFocusedUIElementChangedNotification;

Constants

NSAccessibilityMainWindowChangedNotification

Main window has changed.

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityFocusedWindowChangedNotification

Key window has changed.

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityFocusedUIElementChangedNotification

Element has gained focus.

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

Window-change notifications

NSAccessibility defines the following notifications, which are sent to observing assistive applications when window-change events occur. The notifications are sent using the NSAccessibilityPostNotification function instead of an NSNotificationCenter object.

NSString *const NSAccessibilityWindowCreatedNotification;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityWindowDeminiaturizedNotification;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityWindowMiniaturizedNotification;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityWindowMovedNotification;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityWindowResizedNotification;

Constants

NSAccessibilityWindowCreatedNotification

A new window has appeared.

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityWindowDeminiaturizedNotification

Window has been restored to full size from the Dock.

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityWindowMiniaturizedNotification

Window has been put in the Dock.

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityWindowMovedNotification

Window has moved.

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityWindowResizedNotification

Window has changed size.

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

Application notifications

NSAccessibility defines the following notifications, which are sent to observing assistive applications when application events occur. The notifications are sent using the NSAccessibilityPostNotification function instead of an NSNotificationCenter object.

NSString *const NSAccessibilityApplicationActivatedNotification;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityApplicationDeactivatedNotification;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityApplicationHiddenNotification;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityApplicationShownNotification;

Constants

NSAccessibilityApplicationActivatedNotification

Application has activated.

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityApplicationDeactivatedNotification

Application has deactivated.

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityApplicationHiddenNotification

Application has been hidden.

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityApplicationShownNotification

Application has been shown.

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

Drawer and sheet notifications

NSAccessibility defines the following notifications, which are sent to observing assistive applications when drawer and sheet events occur. The notifications are sent using the NSAccessibilityPostNotification function instead of an NSNotificationCenter object.

NSString *const NSAccessibilityDrawerCreatedNotification;
NSString *const NSAccessibilitySheetCreatedNotification;

Constants

NSAccessibilityDrawerCreatedNotification

A drawer has appeared.

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilitySheetCreatedNotification

A sheet has appeared.

Available in Mac OS X v10.3 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

Element notifications

NSAccessibility defines the following notifications, which are sent to observing assistive applications when certain events occur. The notifications are sent using the NSAccessibilityPostNotification function instead of an NSNotificationCenter object.

NSString *const NSAccessibilityCreatedNotification;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityMovedNotification;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityResizedNotification;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityTitleChangedNotification;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityUIElementDestroyedNotification;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityValueChangedNotification;

Constants

NSAccessibilityCreatedNotification

Element has been created.

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityMovedNotification

Element has been moved.

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityResizedNotification

Element has been resized.

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityTitleChangedNotification

Title has changed.

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityUIElementDestroyedNotification

Element has been destroyed.

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityValueChangedNotification

Element’s value has changed.

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

Miscellaneous notifications

NSAccessibility defines the following notifications, which are sent to observing assistive applications when certain events occur. The notifications are sent using the NSAccessibilityPostNotification function instead of an NSNotificationCenter object.

NSString *const NSAccessibilityHelpTagCreatedNotification;
NSString *const NSAccessibilityRowCountChangedNotification;
NSString *const NSAccessibilitySelectedChildrenChangedNotification;
NSString *const NSAccessibilitySelectedColumnsChangedNotification;
NSString *const NSAccessibilitySelectedRowsChangedNotification;
NSString *const NSAccessibilitySelectedTextChangedNotification;

Constants

NSAccessibilityHelpTagCreatedNotification

A help tag has appeared.

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilityRowCountChangedNotification

A row has been added or deleted.

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilitySelectedChildrenChangedNotification

Selected child elements have changed.

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilitySelectedColumnsChangedNotification

Selected columns have changed.

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilitySelectedRowsChangedNotification

Selected rows have changed.

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

NSAccessibilitySelectedTextChangedNotification

Selected text has changed.

Available in Mac OS X v10.4 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

UserInfo key for error codes in accessibility exceptions

This is a key used by the userInfo dictionary of an NSAccessibilityException.

NSString *const NSAccessibilityErrorCodeExceptionInfo;

Constants

NSAccessibilityErrorCodeExceptionInfo

Integer error code used for debugging (as an NSNumber).

Available in Mac OS X v10.2 and later.

Declared in NSAccessibility.h.

Declared In

NSAccessibility.h

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