The VA for Vets website adheres to all Department of Veterans Affairs web policies. Additional steps have been taken to ensure the website is accessible and easy to use. The information below covers the following topics: Accessibility, Browser Compatibility, Cookies, and JavaScript.
Accessibility
To ensure that visually impaired users are able to more easily distinguish content and contrast color schemes, specific areas within the VA for Vets site have been created to meet compliancy standards and assist with these needs. Techniques such as providing methods for skipping repetitive navigation and avoiding non-distinct link labels, in addition to proper header tags, alternate text and table headers, have been implemented throughout the site.
The following features are also available throughout the site:
A contact form has been put in place for any additional needs regarding the VA for Vets program. Contact Us if you have any difficult accessing information on vaforvets.va.gov.
A text equivalent for every non-text element has been provided.
Synchronized closed captioning, audio descriptions and text transcripts are available for multimedia presentations.
Information conveyed with color is also available without color. WCAG-recommended text/background color contrast ratios are used. Colors schemes associated with color vision deficiency are not used.
Content is readable without requiring an associated style sheet.
Time-based content can be paused with user controls.
Data tables use appropriate mark-up to identify headers and associate them with data cells.
Frames are titled.
Pages are designed to avoid rapid screen flicker.
Pages that utilize scripting languages contain functional text that can be read by assistive technology.
Links to all required plug-ins are provided.
Forms are designed to be accessible to those using assistive technology.
For
additional assistance accessing information within the VA for Vets
website, access keys are available for use:
Access
Key 1 - The user will gain tabbed access to the global navigation (top
navigation).
Access
Key 3 - The user will gain tabbed access to the local navigation (left-hand
navigation). With this access key, the user also gains tabbed access to the
breadcrumb path of the website structure, key feature links within the utility
and footer of the website, hyperlinks and attachments within the body content
of the website, as well as the PRINT/SHARE button.
Access
Key S - The user will gain access to the search control, with the ability to
type in the necessary keywords and press Enter without having to click within
the site search box for VA for Vets.
A means for users to skip
repetitive navigation has been enabled to facilitate the easy
tracking of page content for those who use assistive technology.
For more information, see the VA’s Section 508 accessibility policy.
Browser Compatibility
This site has been optimized for the browsers and platforms in the table below.
|
Browser
|
Windows
|
Mac
|
|
Firefox
|
3.6., 4.0
|
n/a
|
|
Internet Explorer
|
7.0, 8.0, 9.0
|
n/a
|
|
Safari
|
n/a
|
5.0
|
| Chrome |
10.0 |
n/a |
Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 users are recommended to upgrade (free) to Internet Explorer 8 or 9 or alternatively use the latest version of Firefox.
Internet Explorer browsers may return the “Webpage has expired” message when the Back button is pressed. If this occurs, press the Refresh or Back button again.
Cookies
If you encounter an error page on the site, try to clear the browser's cache and delete the cookies.
The instructions for clearing the cache and cookies may be different for each browser and version, so please check the browser's help menu if you need assistance.
For more information about cookies, see the VA’s privacy policy.
JavaScript
You need to enable JavaScript for this site to function properly. To enable JavaScript, follow these step-by-step instructions:
Internet Explorer
1. Select Tools from menu
2. Click Internet Options
3. To enable your browser for JavaScript:
- Click Security tab at top
- Select Custom Level
- Scroll down to Active Scripting
- Click option to Enable
- Click OK to accept changes
Safari for Mac OS
1. Select Preferences from the Safari menu
2. Click Security
3. Check Enable JavaScript
4. Close the window
5. Click Reload