2021 Quarter 1 Release Notes

February 2, 2021 : Map Release

Update Inactive Maps’ “Cannot Access” Landing Page

Occasionally, old end users try to access maps that are no longer active and available and were met with a very plain, text-only landing page. This landing page has since been updated to follow suit with Concept3D’s branding.

The new “cannot access” screen users will land on if they attempt to access an inactive map.

(ADA) Logical Navigation of Google Map Controls and Links

When navigating Interactive Maps with a keyboard, actionable elements like buttons should be navigated left-to-right, top-to-bottom. This has been true of OSM and MapboxGL maps but not of Google Maps. When keyboard users would enter the map region, filled with map controls and links to Terms of Service and Privacy, the order jumped all over the place: bottom-left, top-right, bottom-right, etc. While there are still some limitations that prevent matching the exact flow as OSM, this has been updated and Interactive Maps using Google are able to be navigated more logically now.

(ADA) Increase Readability of Keyboard Shortcut Menu

Keyboard and screen reader users have had access to a “short menu” when they begin navigating Interactive Maps. This menu has been made more readable for screen reader users. They’re notified that they’re in a “skip link region”, which describes each link in the short menu as a “same page link” so users know they’re shortcuts rather than links to an external site. The one exception to this is the Text Only Map link, which now has an icon attached. The Text Only Map link both visually and audibly lets users know they will be leaving the Map.

The shortcut menu keyboard users access when they begin tabbing through an Interactive Map.

Search server migration to Amazon CloudSearch

Concept3D's search functionality had some major improvements! To understand all the updates and what changes you will see with your map, please refer to the detailed Search Engine information here.

(ADA) Read the Map Name when Screen Reader Focuses on Logo

Having a well-organized HTML backbone for Interactive Maps helps screen reader users navigate more logically and efficiently. Part of having this HTML backbone well organized is to have correctly ordered headings and descriptive headings. “Logo” has been dropped and just the map name is used for the heading. We likely will add “map” at the end in the future, but first wanted to address all maps and then find a solution for map names with “map” in them next.

(ADA) High Contrast Styling for Wayfinding

While thin, light designs are the hot trend in the web world, they’re rather inaccessible experiences for users with low vision. It is hard to decipher thin and light elements, especially when they have a light background behind them. Per Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5 to 1 is recommended to ensure all components are legible, and all components of Wayfinding have been updated such that they fulfill this requirement.

The clear locations button in Wayfinding only appears when there is location information inputted now.

The new contrast ratios of elements in the Wayfinding module.

New Data Uploader Button in CMS

There is now a new, standard link all clients can use to upload their reference data to Concept3D’s Google Drive.

CMS users can now access the Data Uploader directly from their CMS.

(ADA) Sidebar Tabs Move Screen Reader Focus to Content Immediately

The tabs in the sidebar give users quick access to the three major types of location info on the map. However, these tabs were incorrectly setup and keyboard users could get lost in the tabs before finding the content they were looking for. Now, when a keyboard user clicks on one of the tabs, they are immediately taken to the content of the tab itself. For example, if a user clicks on Tours, their keyboard focus is immediately moved to the first tour in the list (versus having to navigate past the Transit tab before reaching their content).

Focus jumps directly to the content if one of the Locations, Tours, or Transit tabs is pressed.

Other Updates
Various Feed Updates
Various Bug Fixes