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Re: JAWS 10 and Hidden Text

for

From: Al Sparber
Date: Mar 23, 2009 3:15PM

From: "Terrill Thompson" < <EMAIL REMOVED> >

> It just came to my attention that JAWS 10.0.1139 has the following
> Internet
> Explorer enhancement:
> "JAWS no longer announces input fields that are hidden from view by a
> cascading style sheet."
>
> That's listed here:
> http://www.freedomscientific.com/downloads/jaws/JAWS-whats-new.asp#Enhanceme
> nts
>
> Anyone know what this means? I just tested an input field (and paragraph,
> for comparison) hidden using various techniques, and I'm not observing any
> changes in JAWS behavior. JAWS does not read content hidden using
> visibility:hidden or display:none, and it does read content positioned off
> screen. I just want to make sure I'm not missing something critical.
>
> Here's my test page:
> http://terrillthompson.com/tests/hiddencontent.html

In JAWS 10, only the off-screen content is accessible. Nothing else,
including your ARIA labels, is accessible.

Why would you feel you need to use ARIA? It would seem that if it should be
used at all it's primary value would be for added content, not existing
content that is hidden. There are too many more practical ways to make
hidden content accessible.

--
Al Sparber - PVII
http://www.projectseven.com