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Release note

Final – webReader August 2025 (v 3.8.8)

These are the final release notes for the August 2025 patch release.

Release date: 2025-08-28


New Features and Changes

WCAG 2.2 AA Compliance

This version contains numerous updates and is fully WCAG 2.2 AA compliant.

Notable Accessibility Updates

Screenshot of the webReader menu with the Keyboard Mode button enabled.

A new Keyboard mode has been added which makes it possible to perform the following actions using the keyboard:

  • Select the text that should be read.
  • Look up words in the dictionary.
  • Translate text.

Screenshot of the bottom right corner of a dialog window, where there are two buttons that when focused can be used to resize or move the dialog window.

Dialog windows can now be resized and repositioned using the keyboard.

Color contrast enhancements in many places.

Focus order improved in dialogs and menus.

Non-descriptive accessible names have been updated to make more sense.

ARIA attributes have been updated or added in many places.


Set Reading Area Programmatically

This version introduces a method for setting the reading area programmatically at runtime. #10459


Notable Corrections

Pause button in control panel not updated when playback ends

The state of the pause button in the control panel would not change state when the playback ended. This has now been resolved. #9674


Incorrect parameter parsing prevents webReader from loading

This issue would prevent webReader from loading in Canvas in some cases. It has now been fixed. #10148


Click and Listen interferes with using the keyboard

This issue was most notable when trying to type the character L in a text field while Click and Listen was enabled. It has now been resolved. #10150


Click and Listen configuration not working on mobile

The mobile player would ignore if the Click and Listen feature was disabled in the configuration. This has been fixed. #10167


Blackboard Learn Ultra – webReader disabled on assignments

A change in the HTML for Learn Ultra caused the webReader player to not show up. This has been addressed. #10171


Changing reading speed restarts the first player

In pages with multiple players, changing reading speed would always restart the first one regardless of which player was active to begin with. This has been resolved in 3.8.8. #10356