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Re: problem with pop up windows

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From: Lovely, Brian (CONT)
Date: Jan 18, 2017 12:43PM


The content of a modal doesn't need to automatically read out. The main concern is to make sure that the user can consume the modal content, using the tab key and virtual cursor (arrow keys). Ensure that focus is trapped in the modal (in other words when moving through the modal content from top to bottom, when the last piece of content is moved off of, focus goes back to the first, and vice versa. This is to avoid a situation where the user accidently moves off the modal content and runs the risk of becoming lost in the page content and not being able to find their way back to the modal. Also, ensure that when the modal is closed focus is returned to the element that originally triggered the modal. This is to ensure that the user can easily pick up where they left off when they originally opened the modal. For instance, if a user encounters a button labelled "edit profile", activates it, and successfully completes editing their profile within a modal, when that modal is dismissed the user is right back with focus on the "edit profile" button.

To reiterate, you don't need to automatically read out all content, just empower the user to consume the content at their own pace, using a combination of the tab key, screen reader shortcut keys, and the arrow buttons.