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Re: Fwd: Table captions using span and css class wb-invisible from the template

for

From: Sailesh Panchang
Date: Apr 22, 2013 8:34PM

A table's caption is like a title for a table.
Screen readers announce it as one navigates to the table.
I discourage off-screen captions for the same reason Jared cited.
I am ok with an h<n> with the table's title and a table below it
without a caption.
That heading works like a section heading for all users and provides
context, structure etc ... enough for SC 1.3.1.
It is the author's prerogative to use h<n> or a caption.
There could be a data table or a paragraph of text under the heading
but if the author wants to use a section heading, that's fine too.
I fault use of heading above the table and an identical caption with
one of them made off-screen. Nuisance for screen reader users ...
avoidable duplication.
I do not recommend using summary attribute for table's caption ...
that is not what a summary is designed for.
Yes caption with an h<n> works alright bbbut it is duplicating
structural markup and that's why it is a validation issue.
The h-tag is really being used for styling only. Just make it bold or
whatever within the caption for visual reinforcement.
I also wonder why there is a need for something (in the context of
this discussion) to be exposed as a heading for AT users only. If it
is meant to be a heading for the table simply use the native HTML h<n>
tag above the table or a table caption.
Style the heading / caption as needed. Why use WAI-ARIA here?
Sailesh Panchang
www.deque.com