RE: a single label where multiple fields follow

Jim Thatcher wrote:
> Hi Paul,
> 
>> Does this mean it is OK to not have any label associated with a
>> control, provided they have a title, fieldset and legend? 
> 
> Yes. Except you imply "title and fieldset/legend." The objective is
> to make a programmatic connection between the prompting text and each
> control. And there are several ways to do that. Label element, title
> attributes, or fieldset/legend combined with label or title, for
> examples.    
> 
> Jim

Not to contradict Jim, but one happy benefit of using the <label> element
wrapped around the actual label text is that it makes that text a 'target'
to place focus on the input.  Small inputs such as radio buttons and
checkboxes can be problematic to users with limited mobility, and allowing
them to click on any part of the text that 'labels' the input, and thus
putting the focus on the input, is a great benefit to this user-group.

So... While you don't *need* to use the label element, I would prefer it
over a title attribute any time...

JF
---
John Foliot 
Academic Technology Specialist - Online Accessibility
Stanford University
560 Escondido Mall 
Meyer Library 181 
Stanford, CA 94305-3093 

Received on Friday, 22 September 2006 23:16:02 UTC