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Re: 508 that says "all info conveyed with color, also available without color"

for

From: Moore, Michael
Date: May 22, 2008 7:00AM

Nancy Johnson wrote:

To help the user understand what is expected I added a a sample number
below each box. Here, I bolded and changed the text-size of the part of
the number associated with that select box by using a style sheet.
Later I realized when I disabled the style sheet the bolding and
text-size went away.

Question: If I had put <strong>xxx</strong> inline instead of using
style sheets, is this something that text readers would pick up and
distinguish from the other part of the text even when style sheets are
turned off?

Mike's reply,

The text needs to be contained within a label element so that screen
readers will report the text when focus is placed on the drop down list.
Although some screen readers can be configured to read text differently
when placed within the <strong> element this is not a default setting
and in my experience very few if any users adjust this setting. The
text needs to be clear enough that the user understands what needs to be
placed in each element. The whole set of drop downs should be placed
within a field set containing a legend that describes the purpose of the
group.

Example pattern.

<fieldset>
<legend>Tire Size</legend>
<label for="p1">
xxx
</label>
<select>
<option>yyy</option>
....
</select>
...
</fieldset>

Mike