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Re: Must all form fields be active to be perceivable?

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From: Meacham, Steve - FSA, Kansas City, MO
Date: May 12, 2017 7:54AM

Not really. Forms are not always filled out one-pass top-to-bottom. Using mouse or keyboard, it's entirely possible to skip around form fields in any order. This can have seldom-considered consequences.

Consider this scenario: Three form fields in visual and code order named A, B, and C. Field A enables and determines what is valid in field B. Field B enables and determines what is valid in field C. The user has filled in all three in order, then goes back to change field A. What happens, and how is a sight-free user made aware?

Now consider a more typical business form with a dozen or more fields with even more complex interdependencies.