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Thread: AW: label without form-element

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From: Barthofer Michael
Date: Mon, Aug 08 2005 6:00AM
Subject: AW: label without form-element
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hallo jan

I could find someone to check the page with ibm home page reader 3.0.
neither in form-mode nor in word-reading-mode, the label text was read aloud. could this be different in other screen readers.

michael

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From: Barthofer Michael
Date: Tue, Aug 09 2005 11:08AM
Subject: AW: label without form-element
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> In addition, when there is no label correctly
> associated with a form element, the label text _may_ be read as the
> reader attempts to intuit what the correct label is for the control.

but if there is only a label without any form element, would it be read in this case as well?

michael barthofer

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From: Andrew Kirkpatrick
Date: Tue, Aug 09 2005 11:08AM
Subject: RE: label without form-element
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> > > A screen reader will only "fetch" a label when its focus is in a
> > > form element. That said, only some screen readers will
> currently do that.

I think that this statement is confusing. Readers that I've tested
(JAWS 4.50-6.2, Window-Eyes 5.0, VoiceOver, HAL/SuperNova 6.0 and HPR
3.04) read the label inline as one reads the page from top to bottom,
and also when the label is correctly associated with an
input/select/textarea. In addition, when there is no label correctly
associated with a form element, the label text _may_ be read as the
reader attempts to intuit what the correct label is for the control.

AWK

Andrew Kirkpatrick
Principal Accessibility Engineer, Macromedia
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From: Andrew Kirkpatrick
Date: Tue, Aug 09 2005 11:08AM
Subject: RE: label without form-element
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> > In addition, when there is no label correctly associated
> with a form
> > element, the label text _may_ be read as the reader
> attempts to intuit
> > what the correct label is for the control.
>
> but if there is only a label without any form element, would
> it be read in this case as well?

If you are in forms mode or some differently-named analog and you tab to
each of the three controls on an imaginary page, the label for each
control should be read. If there is no explicit label (or title
attribute), then the reader generally takes a guess. If in the process
of guessing the label text is in the right location, it could be read.
If there are no control that are looking for labels, then no, you
wouldn't hear the label text, but if there are no form controls you're
probably not going to spend much time in forms mode!

If you put a label element into a document that lacks form control, it
is treated similarly to a span element (today). The text is there, and
nothing special is done with it when it is read, but it is read.

AWK




From: Barthofer Michael
Date: Tue, Aug 09 2005 11:08AM
Subject: AW: label without form-element
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sorry, the previous check with home page reader was not representative. another test showed, that the ibm-home page reader would also not read the labels on the registration page aloud, where the labels are set according to the rules. maybe it has to be turned on somewhere in the program-settings.

michael

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From: Jan Eric Hellbusch
Date: Tue, Aug 09 2005 11:08AM
Subject: RE: label without form-element
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Hello Michael,

> I could find someone to check the page with ibm home page reader 3.0.
> neither in form-mode nor in word-reading-mode, the label text was
> read aloud. could this be different in other screen readers.

That's odd. Well I use JAWS 5.1 to test these things. If you have a test
case, then send an URI and I will gladly have a go at it.

Regs
Jan

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