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Re: using title attribute as form field label

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From: GILLENWATER, ZOE M
Date: Nov 8, 2011 7:33AM

Hi John,

Yes, there are thankfully lots of ways nowadays to address these situations where the one label-one field setup won't work! I guess what I'm trying to get at is, is it OK to recommend the title attribute as the technique of "first resort"? So far I haven't heard anything against it *in general* (yes, won't work or isn't best in particular use cases) so I'm going to say yes, it's OK. :-)

One thing I have noticed with using the title attribute on form fields is that, while it is read exactly like a label in forms reading mode, it is sometimes read differently than a label in normal reading mode. I haven't tested this extensively, but in some screen reader and browser combos the field with the title attribute won't be announced at all when in the normal reading mode, or the field will be announced but not its title. In forms reading mode, I haven't had any problems getting both the field and its title announced. So I guess this is one of the disadvantages of using title: the user may never know a field is there when in normal reading mode, so they'll never know to go into forms mode, where they would hear the field.

Thanks,
Zoe

Zoe Gillenwater
Technical Architect, Design Standards Accessibility
Creative Experience Team
AT&T eCommerce

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