Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
DSpace Angular's own SCSS contains no @media (prefers-color-scheme: ...) or @media (forced-colors: active) rules. The prefers-reduced-motion adaptation that users currently benefit from comes from Bootstrap 5 itself, not from any DSpace-authored rule. As a result:
- Users with the OS-level "Dark" preference see the same light theme regardless.
- Users in Windows High Contrast Mode see UI elements rendered with author-chosen colours that may be ignored or replaced unpredictably; controls without a
forced-color-adjust strategy can become invisible or low-contrast in HCM.
This is not a current WCAG AA failure, but it is a growing accessibility expectation referenced by Microsoft's Forced Colors guidance and the WAI ARIA Authoring Practices, and it is increasingly common across modern web platforms.
A grep across src/**/*.scss on main (commit 9b025a61e) confirms zero authored prefers-color-scheme / forced-colors rules.
Describe the solution you'd like
- Baseline
prefers-color-scheme: dark mapping for the dspace base theme, that flips a small, well-defined set of CSS custom properties (background, surface, text, border). Can ship as opt-in via a configuration toggle.
@media (forced-colors: active) adjustments for the navbar, the admin sidebar, focus rings, and the skip link, mainly to set forced-color-adjust and use safe system colour keywords (Canvas, CanvasText, LinkText, ButtonText, Highlight).<meta name="color-scheme" content="light dark"> in src/index.html, so the user agent applies sensible scrollbars and form-control colours under HCM and dark mode.
Describe alternatives or workarounds you've considered
Leave both adaptations entirely to deployer themes. The trade-off is that no theme today does it, so the entire ecosystem ships without HCM / dark-mode handling.
Additional information
Touches WCAG 2.2 SC 1.4.3 / 1.4.6 / 1.4.11 (the forced-colors part guards against contrast failures in HCM specifically).
Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
DSpace Angular's own SCSS contains no
@media (prefers-color-scheme: ...)or@media (forced-colors: active)rules. Theprefers-reduced-motionadaptation that users currently benefit from comes from Bootstrap 5 itself, not from any DSpace-authored rule. As a result:forced-color-adjuststrategy can become invisible or low-contrast in HCM.This is not a current WCAG AA failure, but it is a growing accessibility expectation referenced by Microsoft's Forced Colors guidance and the WAI ARIA Authoring Practices, and it is increasingly common across modern web platforms.
A grep across
src/**/*.scssonmain(commit9b025a61e) confirms zero authoredprefers-color-scheme/forced-colorsrules.Describe the solution you'd like
prefers-color-scheme: darkmapping for thedspacebase theme, that flips a small, well-defined set of CSS custom properties (background, surface, text, border). Can ship as opt-in via a configuration toggle.@media (forced-colors: active)adjustments for the navbar, the admin sidebar, focus rings, and the skip link, mainly to setforced-color-adjustand use safe system colour keywords (Canvas,CanvasText,LinkText,ButtonText,Highlight).<meta name="color-scheme" content="light dark">insrc/index.html, so the user agent applies sensible scrollbars and form-control colours under HCM and dark mode.Describe alternatives or workarounds you've considered
Leave both adaptations entirely to deployer themes. The trade-off is that no theme today does it, so the entire ecosystem ships without HCM / dark-mode handling.
Additional information
Touches WCAG 2.2 SC 1.4.3 / 1.4.6 / 1.4.11 (the
forced-colorspart guards against contrast failures in HCM specifically).