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Thread: Using Firefox with nvda for accessibility testing needs
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From:
Subject: Using Firefox with nvda for accessibility testing needs
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Hello everyone,
Today I heard the statement that it is better to test accessibility in
firefox with nvda than using chrome with the same screen reader.
I don't really understand the difference now, but it would be really
useful for me to understand it better. In which cases is it better to
use firefox plus nvda for accessibility testing than using nvda with
chrome and why? Where is the difference and how can I find it in the
example?
I would like to use several browsers for testing and that's why I am
asking it.
Thank you in advance!
--
Best regards,
Vsievolod
From: Patrick H. Lauke
Date: Mon, Nov 30 2020 11:48AM
Subject: Re: Using Firefox with nvda for accessibility testing needs
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On 30/11/2020 18:39, ÐÑеволод Ðопов wrote:
> Hello everyone,
>
> Today I heard the statement that it is better to test accessibility in
> firefox with nvda than using chrome with the same screen reader.
>
> I don't really understand the difference now, but it would be really
> useful for me to understand it better. In which cases is it better to
> use firefox plus nvda for accessibility testing than using nvda with
> chrome and why? Where is the difference and how can I find it in the
> example?
>
> I would like to use several browsers for testing and that's why I am
> asking it.
It used to be that Firefox was better in terms of correctly exposing the
accessibility tree/properties correctly, compared to Chrome. But that
gap has pretty much been closed, I'd say.
Often, decisions on which browser/AT to test with is driven by stats -
which combinations have the most users/marketshare. Here as well,
though, Chrome/NVDA is really not that far off from Firefox/NVDA usage,
if we just go by stats like WebAIM's survey (I think last year's is the
most recent, can't remember if this was pushed out for this year?)
https://webaim.org/projects/screenreadersurvey8/#browsercombos
Anecdotally, I do a large chunk of testing in Chrome/NVDA purely out of
convenience (find NVDA a lot easier to just "quickly fire up something,
test, close it again", and particularly with Chrome, it's usually
seamless ... while with Firefox, I usually have to make sure that I fire
up NVDA first, and only *then* start Firefox, otherwise the browser gets
itself confused and exposes nothing). And I find that combination quite
good (though always best to double-check particularly complex scenarios,
particularly with convoluted ARIA, or live regions, in various other
combinations just to be sure).
P
--
Patrick H. Lauke
https://www.splintered.co.uk/ | https://github.com/patrickhlauke
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twitter: @patrick_h_lauke | skype: patrick_h_lauke
From: glen walker
Date: Mon, Nov 30 2020 12:00PM
Subject: Re: Using Firefox with nvda for accessibility testing needs
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I used to have to do what Patrick mentioned and start NVDA before Firefox
but for the past several years have not had any trouble with Firefox
running and then starting NVDA. I've been using FF for so long that I have
not had a need to switch to Chrome, but I certainly test there often.
What you might have heard before is testing with NVDA instead of JAWS (if
you had to make a choice between the two). JAWS is much more forgiving
about bad HTML so if you're listening for problems, you might not hear them
with JAWS. For example:
<label>name</label>
<input>
With JAWS (on Chrome), it will say "name, edit, type in text" even though
the label is not programmatically associated with the input. Interestingly
enough, JAWS on Firefox will *not* announce the label. NVDA also does not
announce the label (both FF and Chrome).
From: Mallory
Date: Mon, Nov 30 2020 12:16PM
Subject: Re: Using Firefox with nvda for accessibility testing needs
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Same, Firefox no longer sets certain flags when starting up for NVDA (I don't even remember it doing that, but do recall asking Jamie Teh about it). Last I heard, it still does for JAWS, so I start JAWS before starting Firefox (usually means I had it open and have to close and reopen it... ug).
_mallory
On Mon, Nov 30, 2020, at 8:00 PM, glen walker wrote:
> I used to have to do what Patrick mentioned and start NVDA before Firefox
> but for the past several years have not had any trouble with Firefox
> running and then starting NVDA. I've been using FF for so long that I have
> not had a need to switch to Chrome, but I certainly test there often.
>
> What you might have heard before is testing with NVDA instead of JAWS (if
> you had to make a choice between the two). JAWS is much more forgiving
> about bad HTML so if you're listening for problems, you might not hear them
> with JAWS. For example:
>
> <label>name</label>
> <input>
>
> With JAWS (on Chrome), it will say "name, edit, type in text" even though
> the label is not programmatically associated with the input. Interestingly
> enough, JAWS on Firefox will *not* announce the label. NVDA also does not
> announce the label (both FF and Chrome).
> > > > >
From:
Subject: Re: Using Firefox with nvda for accessibility testing needs
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Hello everyone,
What do you mean when refering to an accessibility tree/properties?
Do I understand correctly that it means the dev tools that are included
in any browser and that pop up in chrome by pressing ctrl+shift+i?
Or is it something else?
Thank you.
--
Best regards,
Vsievolod
From: Mark Magennis
Date: Wed, Dec 02 2020 3:11AM
Subject: Re: [EXTERNAL] Using Firefox with nvda for accessibility testing needs
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I experience a problem with using NVDA/Firefox with an external monitor. If I drag the Firefox window to my external monitor, NVDA doesn't work properly. Often doesn't read anything. Drag it back to the laptop screen and it works okay. Strange. Never experienced that with any other screen reader/browser combination.