Accessibility help

Navigate with a keyboard

Press Tab or Shift+Tab to move between controls, Enter to activate buttons, and Escape to dismiss dialogs and menus. The first Tab stop on every page offers Skip to main content, High contrast mode, and Accessibility help. On a board, the next controls skip to the canvas or inspector.

In the inspector object tree, use Up and Down to browse objects, Right and Left to expand or collapse groups, and Enter to inspect an object. Back to objects returns to the tree. Space remains available for canvas panning.

In Parts Bin, use Up and Down to browse categories, Right to enter a category and Left to return to its parent, then use a part’s Add to board button. Skip parts list moves past the cards. Use Load more parts to request another page while browsing with the keyboard.

Help buttons (ⓘ) and some controls open a short guide preview. Focus the button and press ? (or Enter on a help button) to open it with focus inside; Tab reaches the clip's Pause button and Open guide, and Escape closes it and returns focus. With a pointer, keep hovering for about a second; the preview stays open while the pointer is over it. On a touch screen, tap a help button to open the preview as a sheet. Clips start paused when reduced motion is on.

Edit a board

A ProtoPart is an individual hardware component. A harness connects two parts; its interfaces and functions describe the connection. Groups organize objects. Annotations add notes, and annotation connections link those notes to other objects.

Select a part in the inspector to edit its fields and position. Create harness opens a destination picker; select another part and configure the connection in its inspector. Coordinates, group membership, annotation connections, and removal actions are available in the inspector. Removal asks for confirmation.

The canvas toolbar contains Add blank part, Add note, and Add group. With focus on the canvas, arrow keys pan; Shift increases the distance. Press plus or minus to zoom. Delete or Backspace removes the focused canvas object (or the selection it belongs to) only while the canvas has focus; Protoboard announces what was removed, and undo and redo announce what changed. Framing controls bring objects into view. Shortcuts and controls, at the bottom of the canvas, lists every keyboard and pointer shortcut.

Canvas parts, notes, groups and harnesses are announced by name, type, status and connections. To describe a board image, open it from Board Identity and fill in Image description; it becomes the image’s text alternative.

Expand Board text summary below the object tree for descriptions, connections, group membership, and part coordinates. The summary uses the board’s actual data; missing authored descriptions are identified explicitly.

Save and reopen

Local drafts are stored in this browser. From the project menu, choose Export to File to keep a portable copy, or Import from File to reopen a board file or paste board JSON. Choose Save to Cloud to sign in and save your board to your account. Ctrl+S (Command+S on Mac) also starts saving. Check the save status in the header before leaving.

Appearance and motion

You can also turn on High contrast mode from the first Tab stop on any page, or from More options (the three-dot menu beside the theme button) in the board or dashboard header. On narrow board screens, use More board actions. It turns on automatically when your operating system’s increase-contrast or high-contrast setting is on, until you choose otherwise. This setting increases text, surface, border, status, and focus contrast, and saves your preference on this browser when storage is available. Light and dark theme controls remain separate.

When the ProtoBot chat is open, typing outside another control moves focus to the chat box. To turn this off, clear Typing moves focus to the chat box in More options.

In Screenshot, use High contrast screenshot or Toggle theme to change the presentation and regenerate the preview before copying or saving it.

Enable reduced motion in your operating system or browser to suppress interface animations; loading spinners keep turning so you can tell work is in progress. For everyone, loading placeholders and animated hints stop within five seconds.

At narrow widths, the editor presents panels as sheets. Tab through the panel controls; focused controls should scroll into view.

Accessibility support

For accessibility assistance or a copy of the current Accessibility Conformance Report, email support@protoboard.ai. Full guides are available in the Protoboard documentation. Include the task, browser, assistive technology, and the control where you encountered a barrier. Avoid sending confidential board contents.