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Re: List of default screen reader announcements of varioustagged elements?

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From: Mark Magennis
Date: Feb 21, 2022 2:00AM

Hi Christine,

I don't know of such a list but you would have to be careful with giving the wrong expectations because the way a screen reader reads something often depends on how you got to it, the context it is in, and whether the screen reader has read it previously. I've not done any systematic testing of this with any screen readers but my experience is that:

- If you Tab to an element a screen reader may announce it differently from if you arrow to it.
- If you read an element, move somewhere else, then return to the element, it will often read it differently the second time.
- If you Tab to an element that is within some kinds of containers, such as regions or lists, the screen reader may announce the name and role of the container along with the element.
- Within a container such as a list or a fieldset, the first element may be read differently from the other elements.

There may also be other reasons why the experience may vary and screen readers sometimes just seem to be having a 'bad day' where they don't read things the way they normally do!

Mark