Updated Toolbar Released

We’re happy to announce the release of an updated version of the WAVE Toolbar. You can install the new version at http://wave.webaim.org/toolbar - or if you already have the toolbar, you can force the update by going to the Add-ons menu in Firefox and selecting Find Updates.

While still in beta, this release includes many updates and additional features.

Firefox 3 compatibility

The updated toolbar provides full support for Firefox 3. There were some issues with the previous toolbar version in the Release Candidate versions of FF3. It also is MUCH faster in FF3.

New mini-toolbar button

The new toolbar now includes a small WAVE button that can be positioned almost anywhere within the chrome of Firefox, giving you quick access to WAVE functionality. The button can even be positioned on OTHER toolbars, such as the Bookmarks toolbar.

To move the WAVE button, right click on the toolbar, select Customize… and then drag the button (or any of the WAVE buttons for that matter) to its new location on the Firefox window. You can even add the button to other Add-ons. When you’re done, click Done in the Customize window.

New features

• There is a new Reset Page icon that returns the page to it’s un-WAVEed status. This does not refresh the page.
• There is a new Toggle styles icon that allows you to remove the page styles and linearize tables. Beyond being a great evaluation tool by itself, this is also useful on pages that become broken or cluttered when a WAVE report is displayed.
• You can now customize the toolbar to display both icons and labels, icons only, or labels only. This can be helpful if you want to reduce the size or display of the toolbar.

Bug fixes

• If you select two reports consecutively, the reports now display correctly.
• WAVE now properly displays icons withing nested frames and iframes.
• The possible heading rule is much more accurate with fewer false alerts.
• Fixed a bug that incorrectly flagged any image with missing alt text within a link as an error. If you have an image with empty alt text within a link, it is no longer an error as long as there is text within the link or another image that has alternative text. Any image with a missing alt attribute is still flagged as an error.
• Fixed a bug that displayed an error if an image with alt text was used as a label for a form element.

The updates to WAVE rules above have also been implemented into the server version of WAVE.

While you’re checking out WAVE, it would be really great if you could take a few moments to post a review and rating of the toolbar at the Firefox Add-ons Site. Without reviews and ratings, the toolbar will be forever marked as “experimental”.

If you have any feedback or recommendations for WAVE or the WAVE toolbar, please send us feedback.