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Re: Semi-inert modals

for

From: Bryan Garaventa
Date: Mar 31, 2022 12:21PM

Hi,
Actually there are use cases for non-modal dialogs. Here is one, a datepicker where it is still possible to interact with background content.
https://whatsock.com/Templates/Datepickers/Basic/index.htm

From a keyboard perspective on Windows using a screen reader like JAWS or NVDA, the dialog seems modal because the user perspective is confined within the dialog content. However, this is not true for touch device users such as those using VoiceOver on iOS for example. In this last case, it is possible to interact with the background content, which is important because the triggering element is actually a toggle that can be used to dismiss the dialog by touch.

There are times when it is important to implement a non-modal dialog, and in this case, adding aria-modal="true" will actually impaire the accessibility of the widget by hiding the background content from iOS touch device users by making the background content inaccessible. This automatically occurs without the use of aria-hidden within this environment.



Bryan Garaventa
Principal Accessibility Architect
Level Access, Inc.
<EMAIL REMOVED>
415.624.2709 (o)
www.LevelAccess.com