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Re: Including non-interactive elements in the tab order

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From: Mark Magennis
Date: Feb 26, 2024 10:04AM

No this isn't a 2.4.3 failure but why would they want them to be focusable at all? What purpose would that serve? Is it to ensure that they are read when the user tabs through the form? If so, they should be included within the description of the form field that they relate to. Then they will be read when the field receives focus. This also avoids the possibility of any confusion about which field the error relates to, in case it isn't clear from the error message text alone.

Mark
From: WebAIM-Forum < <EMAIL REMOVED> > on behalf of Geethavani.Shamanna < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
Sent: Monday 26 February 2024 14:42
To: WebAIM Discussion List < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
Subject: [EXTERNAL] [WebAIM] Including non-interactive elements in the tab order

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Hello all,

I am trying to convince some developers that including non-interactive elements (such as error messages) in the tab order is not best practice. The forms in question are validated in real-time and error messages are dynamically inserted into the tab order if a required field is left blank. The error message appears as the next tab stop following the unpopulated required field.

I came across a discussion in the archives about how including non-interactive elements in the tab order does not fail SC 2.4.3, Focus Order. In this instance, where error messages are included within the tab order, does this not fail SC 2.4.3?

Thank you.
Geetha