508 - Will screenreader read object that is hidden on page show

cmercado7165
Community Member Posts: 3
As the title says,
I am working on a few dozen courses and I need to understand a key mechanic for 508 accessibility.
I know that initially hidden prevents an object from being read by a screenreader [so does empty alt tags].
But I have the following situation:
On Page Show - Hide Text Box A - if Variable = 1
On Page Show - Hide Text Box B - if Variable = 0.
This is an abstraction of my actual problem but the point stands. Neither object is initially hidden in the properties menu. Will a screenreader still read both text boxes no matter what?
What if it wasn't on page show, but tagged to an audio event?
Does a screenreader know everything it is going to read immediately when the page is loaded? or does it go object by object - and if the object is hidden or gone before it gets there, it skips it?
Thank you, I realize this is a very abstract question,
- Carlos
I am working on a few dozen courses and I need to understand a key mechanic for 508 accessibility.
I know that initially hidden prevents an object from being read by a screenreader [so does empty alt tags].
But I have the following situation:
On Page Show - Hide Text Box A - if Variable = 1
On Page Show - Hide Text Box B - if Variable = 0.
This is an abstraction of my actual problem but the point stands. Neither object is initially hidden in the properties menu. Will a screenreader still read both text boxes no matter what?
What if it wasn't on page show, but tagged to an audio event?
Does a screenreader know everything it is going to read immediately when the page is loaded? or does it go object by object - and if the object is hidden or gone before it gets there, it skips it?
Thank you, I realize this is a very abstract question,
- Carlos
Comments
-
Hi Carlos - I, too, have done quite a bit of work making sure my courses are compliant and compatible with screen readers, so I'll offer what I've learned in my testing and consulting.
When you choose to hide a text block, it includes the attribute "visibility: hidden" and will not be read by a screen reader, even if "Initially Hidden" is not selected. Screen readers typically do not start reading until the page is fully rendered. I say typically because there may be a setting within the screen reader to start immediately rather than waiting for the page to finish loading.
I've used a different solution for this scenario using Change Contents, assigning a class to the text block, and JavaScript to add an attribute to the text block. There is an attribute "aria-live" that can be used on elements to alert screen readers of changes on a site and can be "assertive" or "polite". I've attached a short sample with how I implement the solution.
I'd recommend browsing the WebAim.org site that has a ton of information on 508/WCAG solutions. One specific page is on Invisible Content Just for Screen Reader Users that addresses this to some extent. You can also download NVDA, which is a free (donation appreciated) screen reader that is very similar to JAWS, to do some testing.
Categories
- 35.8K All Categories
- 108 ✫ Announcements
- 33.1K Lectora®
- 31.1K Lectora Discussions
- 28.9K Lectora Desktop
- 2K Lectora Online
- 2K Lectora Feature Requests
- 71 Lectora User Groups
- 36 Lectora Accessibility User Group (LAUG)
- 22 ELB Learning Content
- 22 ELB Learning Content Discussions
- 321 CenarioVR®
- 188 CenarioVR Discussions
- 133 CenarioVR Feature Requests
- 41 Rockstar Learning Platform®
- 38 Rockstar Learning Platform Discussions
- 108 CourseMill®
- 108 CourseMill Discussions
- 47 ReviewLink®
- 47 ReviewLink Discussions
- 5 The Training Arcade®
- 5 The Training Arcade Discussions
- 934 All Things eLearning
- 36 eLearning Development
- 546 Learning Management System (LMS) Integration
- 332 Web Accessibility
- 1.2K ♪ The Green Room
- 9 Additional Learning Products