What's New for Release 2.15

What's New in 2.15

New Option for Latest axe-core Selection on the Admin Settings screen

In the Admin Settings Page, the axe-core selection has an additional option, "Latest (Recommended)." With this option selected, the administrators won't have to update the default axe-core version every time a new axe-core version is added to axe Auditor. Selecting this option will also ensure that any newly added axe-core version is always checked in the list of available versions below.

Search for Test Units within a Test Run

You can now search for Test Units by name (or by words present in the Test Unit name) for each Test Run. There is a new Search field on top of the section where Components and Pages are listed. Simply enter words in the search field and activate the 'Search' button. Axe Auditor automatically looks for matching Pages and Components and filters their list on the associated tabs.

Increased Screenshot Limit Per Issue to 10

Users can now include additional screenshots per issue while adding or editing an issue. This number has been increased from the limit of 5 to 10 screenshots per issue.

Improved Import from axe DevTools Pro

When importing files from axe DevTools Pro, axe Auditor now shows checkpoints that have been tested as part of IGTs that had no issues reported. This enhancement allows you to get a more complete list of checkpoints that have been tested as part of testing with axe DevTools Pro and axe Auditor, enabling you to focus on only those checkpoints that remain to be tested.

Strong axe-core Version Matching Removed During Import of issues

Axe Auditor now allows you to import issues generated by the axe DevTools Pro extension as long as they are using the same major axe-core version. This enhancement modifies the current requirement of mandating at least the same minor version compatibility. For example, axe Auditor will only prevent the import of an extension-generated file if the major version number (the first digit in the version number) differs between the Test Run and the extension.

In case the minor versions are different, axe Auditor will only provide a warning to the user, indicating that the axe-core version being imported does not match the axe Auditor version and that there may be some variations in the test data. These variations mostly relate to potential differences in Deque checkpoints associated with the issues in axe Auditor.

Moved the number of records to the Top of the Table

Previously, the total paginated items were displayed at the bottom of the page as "showing y items." This information has been relocated from the bottom of the pagination area to the top of the table data, where it is presented as "Showing x of y items". For example, "Showing 10 of 100 items."

Tooltip for IGT Export/Import

The IGT Testing section in the Components and Pages page has a new tooltip informing the user to "Use the 'Saved test and issues' option while exporting issues from the axe DevTools Extension."

Bug Fixes

• Trying to access a test run that has been archived or does not exist throws a Gateway Timeout error.

• Even after a user was marked as inactive in the system, the user continued to appear in the user assignment drop-down and other relevant sections within the Auditor.

• Selectors that were previously highlighted on a page being tested continued to appear on the tested page although they should not be visible.

• For a completed Test Run, the manual testing status was intermittently displayed as 'In Progress' incorrectly (instead of 'Complete') on a few of the test units.

• Multiple A11y and security bugs fixed.

Future Deprecation Announcement

• Starting from axe Auditor v2.16, support for axe-core versions 4.5 or lower for new test runs is being dropped. Administrators won't have the option to select lower versions of axe-core in the Admin settings. For existing test runs, older axe-core versions will be supported.

Infrastructure Upgrade

• The axe-core version has been upgraded to 4.8.2.

• Deque Way version upgraded to 3.9.6

  • New Standard:

    • WCAG 2.2 (Preview) - Testing methodology, issues, and recommendations added for the following Digital Asset types: Desktop Web, Mobile Web, Native Android, Native iOS.

  • New Checkpoints:

    • EN 301 549 / WAD - two new checkpoints were added for two requirements specific to the Web Accessibility Directive (not part of EN 301 549).

  • Additional updates to 13 checkpoints. Details can be found below in the Detailed Deque Way Release Notes section below.

• Node JS has been upgraded to 18.17.1.

Known Issues

• The filter function is not working on the Checkpoint tab for flagged issues.

• Performing automated testing on a component behind an iFrame throws an error and the loading icon is displayed indefinitely.

• This release introduced the testing standard WCAG 2.2, and was specified as "Preview" - WCAG 2.2 Level A (Preview) and WCAG 2.2 Level AA (Preview). This classification was necessary in axe Auditor as the official release of WCAG 2.2 had not yet taken place at the time of launching axe Auditor. The discrepancy in the naming of the WCAG 2.2 standard between the two tools resulted in a problem when importing IGT issues from the axe DevTools Pro extension to axe Auditor.

  Workaround: Include the word "(Preview)" at the end of the testing standard name in the JSON file exported from the axe DevTools Pro extension to ensure successful importing of IGT issues from the axe DevTools Pro extension to axe Auditor.

Browser/Driver Support

The following table describes the minimum version and the recommended version on which Axe Auditor is actively tested and best supported.

Browser	Min Version	Recommended Version
Chrome	102.0.5005.184 (LTS)	117.0.x
Firefox	102.15.1 (ESR)	118.0.x
Safari	16	16.6
Edge	110.0.1587.41 (ESR)	117.0.x

Note: Automated testing is only supported on Chrome and Firefox.

Detailed Deque Way 3.9.6 Release Notes

Standards:

• New Standard:

  • WCAG 2.2 (Preview) - Testing methodology, issues, and recommendations added for the following Digital Asset types: Desktop Web, Mobile Web, Native Android, Native iOS.

• New Checkpoints:

  • EN 301 549 / WAD - two new checkpoints were added for two requirements specific to the Web Accessibility Directive (not part of EN 301 549).

Testing Notes:

• Updates the Overview descriptions for many Checkpoints.

• 1.4.13.a Content on Hover or Focus

  • Adds Enter key as a way to dismiss content that opens on focus.

• 2.1.1 Keyboard

  • Adds a new issue and recommendation for in-page links that are not keyboard accessible with a moderate impact.

• 2.4.3 Focus Order

  • Adds optional screen reader testing.

• 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context)

  • Updates remediation examples for 2.4.4.a to use aria-describedby instead of aria-labelledby. Adds a note to the remediation rec regarding the effects of aria-label and aria-labelledby vs aria-describedby.

• 2.5.3.a Label in Name

  • Updates "Accessible text" to "accessible name" in the testing methodology.

• 3.2.1 On Focus

  • Adds optional screen reader testing.

• 3.2.2 On Input

  • Adds optional screen reader testing.

• 3.3.1.b Errors Identification

  • Updates error message requirements for clarity.

• 3.3.2.a Visible Labels

  • Adds a note: "It is permissible for labels to appear only when a field is hovered and focused. For example, the "Select all messages" checkbox on the Gmail Inbox screen. Keep in mind, this may not be a viable solution for mobile web."

• 3.3.2.c Required Form Fields

  • Updates the note on form fields that have only one field needing input for clarity.

• 3.3.4.a Error Prevention (Legal, Financial, Data)

  • Updates testing methodology to remove non-WCAG requirements and add examples.

• 4.1.2.a Name Role Value

  • Adds a new recommendation: "Use aria-pressed or aria-label (e.g. on a selected calendar date)" to the existing issue: "The selected state of an element is not conveyed to screen reader users."

• 4.1.2.b Custom Controls

  • Adds a new 4.1.2.b issue and recommendation for ARIA switches.