RE: Query about intent of aria-expanded

>Is there any way to get at the tabpanel -- for the user's point of regard to be on it -- without expanding it? 

I think this is implied by focus being set on the role=tab element that includes the aria-expanded attribute, which is conveyed to the user when it receives focus or when the state of aria-expanded changes on that element.

I can't see a use case where it would be desirable to set focus on a role=tabpanel container when it was closed, because there would be no need and I assume it would appear like a dead tab stop otherwise.

>If so, then it might be useful to be able to query the tabpanel and ask, "by the way, are you expanded?".

If aria-controls is present, it should be possible for the user agent to query the container and see if it is visually rendered or if display:none or visibility:hidden is set, or if aria-hidden="true" is set, and I think this would convey the open/closed status of the panel. This way, the purpose of aria-expanded wouldn't be confused with container elements that aren't triggering elements?

-----Original Message-----
From: Joseph Scheuhammer [mailto:clown@alum.mit.edu] 
Sent: Tuesday, September 09, 2014 11:46 AM
To: Bryan Garaventa; Joseph Scheuhammer; Karl Groves; James Craig
Cc: Léonie Watson; W3C WAI Protocols & Formats
Subject: Re: Query about intent of aria-expanded

> It looks like I was typing at the same time.

That's what I thought when I saw your message.  :-)

> So would aria-expanded='true' be applied to the container with role=tabpanel as well?

That's a user experience question -- would it be useful to a user that a given tabpanel is expanded if the user's point of regard is on that tabpanel?  I don't know.  My point was that in the case of tab/tabpanel, placing aria-expanded on both (and keeping them in sync), is not incoherent as it is for a treeitem and the children it controls.

However, as you said,  "Adding it to the container as well sounds a bit confusing to me, since, if the content is visible and readable, it is 
already implicitly expanded".   Is there any way to get at the tabpanel 
-- for the user's point of regard to be on it -- without expanding it?  
If so, then it might be useful to be able to query the tabpanel and ask, "by the way, are you expanded?".

--
;;;;joseph.

'Array(16).join("wat" - 1) + " Batman!"'
            - G. Bernhardt -

Received on Tuesday, 9 September 2014 22:42:18 UTC