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Re: Tab controls and WCAG 1.4.10 Reflow

for

From: Birkir R. Gunnarsson
Date: Mar 31, 2022 5:44AM

It's a question of whether you make the tabpenl elements focusable
(adding tabindex="0") or not.
If you do, NVDA will snap out of application mode and start reading
the contents of the tabpanel when you focus it. It's also better for
sighed keyboard users, who can scroll the tabpanel if it is focusable.
It does add an extra tab stop (the tabpanel element has no function)
which might cause some confusion for some users.
If, however, the tabpanel element dois not focusable, your fcus will
land on the next focusable element after the tab, which might be part
of the ttabpanel content or it might be later on the page (if the
tabpanel has no focusable elements). In that case, your only solution
is to manually switch out of application mode to explore the tabpanel.
I remember discussing this when I was on the ARIA Authoring Practices
taskforce, but it was a long time ago and I don't remember whether we
came to a hard conclusion on the subject.
On the balance of things, I'd recommend making the tabpanel focusable,
but it is not an absolute requirement.

On 3/31/22, Geethavani.Shamanna < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:
> I have a related question regarding tab panels.
>
> I am currently testing a page where there are four tabs. When in the Focus
> mode of NVDA, on selecting a tab and pressing the Tab key, the contents of
> the tab panel are not read out. NVDA merely says 'Property page'. However,
> on selecting a tab in the Browse/Document mode, on pressing the Tab key,
> NVDA reads out the contents of the tab panel. Should this not work in the
> Focus mode as well?
>
> In the following example, the tab panel contents are not read out in the
> Focus mode:
> https://www.w3.org/TR/wai-aria-practices/examples/tabs/tabs-2/tabs.html
>
> Many thanks.
> Geetha
>