divs and screen readers

Hello

I am testing a 3 column site that has been set up with css controlled divs,
with the code arranged in a logical order, so you get the navs (with a skip
navs link), then the content. There is a text only version that renders the
site in this way, which is easy to access with a screen reader.  But we know
that we shouldn't rely on that

However, the testers I have been working with say that both HAL and JAWS
read the graphical version horizontally, as it appears on the screen, rather
than, as it were, vertically as it appears in the the code, so you hear
(eg):

<leftdiv> line one </leftdiv>
<centrediv> line one </centrediv>
<rightdiv>line one</rightdiv>

then:

<leftdiv> line two</leftdiv>
<centrediv> line two</centrediv>
<rightdiv>line two</rightdiv>

rather than
<leftdiv>entire content</leftdiv>
<centrediv>entire content</centrediv>
<rightdiv>entire content</rightdiv>

Which is what was intended.

if there is an image starting on a line, you get the alt text joining into
the mix.

As you can appreciate, this rather defeats the purpose..... and is extremely
annoying.

Anyone know why, what I am doing wrong, or if the testers (all seasoned
screen reader users) need to adjust their settings (which can't be right,
surely).

Thanks

Julia


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Received on Thursday, 10 July 2003 08:36:58 UTC