Accessibility - Labels redux

DM52

Hi

does the latest version of DataTables (1.10.7) still only use implicit labels for the 'show n entries' combo box and the 'search all columns' text entry at the top of the table?

I am being advised by our accessibility group that we should use explicit labels matching to the combo box and text entries id's.

This was raised before on http://datatables.net/forums/discussion/17598/accessibility-labels however I cannot see any changes between 1.9 and 1.10.7

thanks in advance

Chris.

allan

HI Chris,

Yes, the implicit link that is defined in the W3C specification for the labels is still used. There hasn't been a reason to change them as they are perfectly accessible and comply with the specifications as they are. However, if you have information to the contrary I would be most interested so I can improve DataTables.

Allan

DM52

Thanks for the speedy response Allan.

juliaelman

It looks like this issue has come up a few times and am currently running into as well. After reviewing with the accessibility expert at my workplace, W3C does recommend that you be explicit in your labeling in reference to the input field it is associated with. Here is a link to the docs, as well as an article outlining this recommendation:

http://www.w3.org/TR/2014/NOTE-WCAG20-TECHS-20140916/H44#H44-tests
http://usability.com.au/2008/09/accessible-forms-using-wcag-2-0/

With that, it makes sense to add for= into the label and be explicit.

allan

Thanks for the links. My issue with adding it is that according to the specs it is redundant. The markup as it is at the moment is valid, and I won't be changing the structure of the DOM elements as that would introduce backwards compatibility issues for those who have already styled their tables based on the current structure.

I could still add a for attribute and an id to the input / select, but I don't really see the need to be honest.

I'll open a discussion on the WCAG lists and see what they think. I'll post updates here when I get a chance to do that.

Allan