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Re: Forms as lists

for

From: adam solomon
Date: Sep 2, 2010 11:29PM

I misunderstood you, Jared. I was not at all referring to the form element
per se, rather to a user input form, i.e. user input controls. You are
obviously correct that a fieldset should not be used in every form element,
especially given the common use of form as a wrapper for the whole page, as
occurs in most asp.net apps. In any event, after reviewing the links you
sent me, I admit that the specs are not as tight as I had previously read.
For clarity's sake, let us consider a sample web page which consists of two
sections: a search bar which contains dropdownlists and textboxes with which
the user can filter the search results; second, a results table. I propose
that the first section, which contains all the filter controls, even though
they are not radio or checkboxes, should be inside a fieldset, since they
are related in their common purpose, namely to filter a particular search.
The legend might read simply, "search filter", or something of that nature.
Would you agree? Another point is hidden legends. In these cases the analyst
will often refuse to allow a visual legend. Should a hidden legend
(accessible to the screen reader) then be implemented?

On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 10:26 PM, Jared Smith < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:

> On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 12:57 PM, adam solomon wrote:
> > To Jared:
> > The spirit of WCAG is to use markup to convey the relevance and
> > relationships in web content. Form elements need to be in a fieldset in
> > order to convey to the user that he is in an area of the page which
> requires
> > user input and has multiple related input fields.
>
> This is precisely what the <form> element already does.
>
> I think you're very much misunderstanding the function of fieldset.
> Where does WCAG require or even suggest that all form elements must be
> within fieldsets?
>
> In just a few minutes of perusal I found many WCAG documentation code
> examples that include form elements that are not within fieldsets. The
> only references I found that suggest the use of fieldsets are
> http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/NOTE-WCAG20-TECHS-20081211/H71 and
> http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/WD-WCAG20-TECHS-20080430/H82.html, both of
> which only recommend it when a logical grouping occurs *WITHIN* the
> form (e.g., checkboxes, radio buttons, and a few other cases).
>
> > The second point, related to the first, is that you suggest we don't
> always
> > have to follow wcag markup suggestions, though not in those words.
>
> No, I'm simply saying (as does WCAG) that you should use the fieldset
> markup where it is appropriate. Nowhere does WCAG suggest you must
> always have <form><fieldset> ... </fieldset></form>.
>
> Jared
>