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Re: default values in type="text"

for

From: Lori K. Brown
Date: Nov 10, 2002 6:02AM




...And isn't this requirement really one of the only accessibility
requirements that reduces the usability of these forms for non-
screen reader users? From my team's own research, we found that many
users disliked default values, and that some were confused by them.
The solution used by many sites of using javascript to add this
default value but to wipe the value away when the user's cursor is
placed in the text input is itself just another accessibility
headache, since one of the OTHER requirements of the W3C is that
everything work with javascript turned OFF!

Lori Kay Brown
User Interface Engineer
SiteScape, Inc.
E-mail: <EMAIL REMOVED>


-------- Original Message --------

==> From: Emma Jane Hogbin < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
==> Date: Sun, 10 Nov 2002 01:17:04 -0500

Hi everyone:

http://www.w3.org/WAI/wcag-curric/sam81-0.htm says that I need to
have default text in type="text" input areas. Bobby.cast.org says I
need to have this text to be AAA Accessible. I understand that this
might be necessary for BUTTON and TEXTAREA elements...but I've never
heard of this problem for INPUT (where the type isn't button or
image).

Does anyone know what screen readers/browsers /require/ type="text"
to have a default value set?

Thanks!

emma

-- Emma Jane Hogbin [[ 416 417 2868 ][ www.xtrinsic.com ]]

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