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Re: Form error messages (asp.net 4)

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From: Paul J. Adam
Date: May 2, 2013 5:59PM

If you're coding the asp.net forms by hand or at least tweaking the code by hand then any ARIA attributes would be possible. I understand the default drag and drop controls are not usually accessible.

If you're still limited to not using aria-describedby to programmatically associate the error messages with the invalid inputs then inserting them into the connected label would be your only other option to associate errors to inputs.

Inserting errors into the connected label is the bullet-proof method that would work on any user agents with no aria support.

My recommended approach is to send focus to the first invalid input after a bad form submit. If the error is associated with the input then the user will hear it.

For form validation I also recommend the use of HTML5 required an/or aria-required. I also recommend the jQuery Validation plugin with some tweaks to how it inserts the error messages.

I've given this presentation a number of times and will be doing it at AccessU as well, HTML5 & WAI-ARIA Forms with jQuery Validation, http://pauljadam.com/forma11y/.

Hope this helps :)

Paul J. Adam
Accessibility Evangelist
www.deque.com

On May 2, 2013, at 6:44 PM, Angela French < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:

> We are having a discussion where I work about different ways to implement the display of form validation error messages so that they are accessible. We develop with asp.net 4 using Visual Studio 2010, which, if I understand correctly has limited support ARIA so that aria-described by or aria-alerts wouldn't be an option.
>
> What is the most bomb-proof, most widely support means of displaying error messages that can be perceived by screen readers when in forms mode that we could implement given our environment? I'm assuming that only putting errors in the <label> tag or by using ARIA would meet this criteria, but am eager for other ideas we may not have thought of.
>
> As always, I appreciate your input.
>
> Angela French
> Internet Specialist
> State Board for Community and Technical Colleges
> 360-704-4316
> <EMAIL REMOVED> <mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> >
> http://www.checkoutacollege.com/
>
> > >