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Thread: Table captions or summaries visible only by screen readers
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From: Haim Roman
Date: Mon, Oct 29 2018 5:03AM
Subject: Table captions or summaries visible only by screen readers
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I'm trying to make an existing site accessible. I'm trying to change its
look as little as possible.
How does one add a caption or summary to a data table that's visible only
to screen readers?
Thanks
From: Birkir R. Gunnarsson
Date: Mon, Oct 29 2018 5:10AM
Subject: Re: Table captions or summaries visible only by screen readers
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You can use the aria-label or aria-labelledby attribute on the <table>
element for a short label and aria-describedby for a longer
description (the target can be visually hidden).
A simple, well-formed data table does not need a screen reader description.
Technically a table does not need an accessible name either though
they generally are a screen reader usability improvement.
On 10/29/18, Haim Roman < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> I'm trying to make an existing site accessible. I'm trying to change its
> look as little as possible.
>
> How does one add a caption or summary to a data table that's visible only
> to screen readers?
>
> Thanks
> > > > >
--
Work hard. Have fun. Make history.
From: Jared Smith
Date: Mon, Oct 29 2018 5:17AM
Subject: Re: Table captions or summaries visible only by screen readers
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Don't. If the table does not have or need a caption visually, then don't
force one on screen reader users. Summary has been dropped from HTML5, adds
overhead just for screen reader users, is misused most of the time (it's
not for summarizing the table data), and is thus not supported by some
screen readers, so should not be used.
If the table makes sense, then there's no need for extra stuff just for
screen reader users (despite what some testing tools suggest).
Jared