Instructions for Navigating ACL.gov with a Keyboard

Screen readers and browsers have their own individual methods of handling navigation. There is no "one-size-fits-all" approach. This website has been tested with the NVDA screen reader due to its open source availability, browser compatibility, and robust ARIA support. It should be noted that browser and screen reader updates can change the way pages are read by screen readers.

• Navigate the main menu
• Navigate the tree menus
• Navigate the accordions

Top Navigation (Button Menu)

• Use the TAB key to access the top navigation buttons.

• Once inside the top navigation, use LEFT / RIGHT arrow keys to navigate back and forth through the buttons.

• When on a top navigation button, pressing the ENTER key will take you to that button's home page.

• Each top navigation button (except for About Community Living and Programs) has a sub-menu under it. To access sub-menus:

• Press the TAB key to expand a sub-menu:

  • Press the ESC key to collapse a sub-menu. Pressing ESC will return you to the top navigation button.

  • After collapsing a sub-menu by pressing the ESC key, using the LEFT / RIGHT arrow keys will take you back and forth through the top navigation.

  • Once inside a sub-menu, use either the TAB key or UP / DOWN arrow keys to navigate. Do not use the left/right arrow keys to navigate a sub-menu.

  • Press the ENTER key to go to any page in the menus.

• Press the ESC key to return to the top navigation from within a sub-menu. From there, resume navigating the top by using the LEFT / RIGHT arrow keys.

Left Side Navigation (Tree Menu)

• Use the TAB key to access the left navigation menu.

• Pressing the ENTER key on a top-level menu item (denoted by a + sign) will take you to that menu item’s landing page.

• On menu items with a sub-menu (denoted by a + sign), use the RIGHT arrow key to expand the sub-menu.

  • Use the LEFT arrow key to collapse a sub-menu.

  • Use the UP / DOWN arrow keys to navigate through the left navigation menu items.

Accordion Navigation (Expand/Collapse Content)

Accordions are found in the main text content of some pages on the site (denoted by a + sign), and contain expandable and collapsible content.

• Use the TAB key to access accordions (note: accordions may or may not exist on any given page of the site).

• To expand an accordion: 

  • Press the ENTER key. The content within the accordion expands and can be navigated by using UP / DOWN arrow keys.

• To collapse an accordion:

  • If you have already tabbed to an accordion title and have expanded it by pressing the ENTER key, press the ENTER key again to collapse it.

  • Either TAB (forward) or shift-TAB (backwards) to an accordion title and press the ENTER key to expand and collapse.