RE: links as buttons and buttons as links

Is it possible to add ARIA roles to the menu and these buttons and links (eg: menu and menuitem)?



-----Original Message-----
From: Nicole [mailto:nicole@aiviloweb.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2016 12:52 AM
To: w3c-wai-ig@w3.org
Subject: Re: links as buttons and buttons as links

So question following along this thread....

What happens if in a "menu" which is part of a custom application there 
is the following pattern.  I put menu in quotes because it is not part 
of a navigational bar.  This is a web app where there is no traditional 
top navigational bar - there is only 1 option that has been coded as a 
button that when selected reveals a list (in drop down fashion) of 
additional actions to be taken within the app.

Here is the pattern:

User lands on the Button (with correct role and name value defined) when 
activated [by enter key] reveals a list of the following:

- List item #1 is a button (which opens a self-contained modal/dialogue 
window within the app) - button is defined as such and not defined as a link

- List item #2 is a button (which opens a self-contained different 
modal/dialogue window within the app) - button is defined as such and 
not defined as a link

- List item #3 is a link (which links outside the app to a web page) - 
link is defined as such and also alerts the user that selecting it will 
launch a new window

- List item #4 is a link (which links outside the app to a web page) - 
link is defined as such and also alerts the user that selecting it will 
launch a new window

All of the above are accessible via keyboard only.

What are the groups' thoughts/concerns with this implementation and the 
mix of buttons and links?

Thank you,

Nicole


On 7/11/2016 9:14 AM, Elizabeth Pyatt wrote:
> For screen readers, links and buttons are quite distinct.
> I saw someone using a screen reader miss an item on a navigation on a menu of links because it happened to be a button disguised to look like a link.
>
> You have to keep in mind that someone on a screen reader may choose to jump from link to link or button. If the “button” is buried in a set of links, it is easy to miss.
>
> It’s OK to use both, but developers need to keep them distinct for everyone.
>
> My two cents.
>
> Elizabeth
>
>> On Jul 9, 2016, at 3:49 PM, Balusani, Shirisha <sirib@uillinois.edu> wrote:
>>
>> Buttons and links has  different functionality so I think  it  is  violation  of  the  WCAG rule.
>>
>> Thanks ,
>> Siri
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Jul 8, 2016, at 11:37 PM, Adam Cooper <cooperad@bigpond.com> wrote:
>> hi all …
>>
>>   
>> quick question about styling links as buttons or styling buttons to look like links.
>>
>>   
>> Is it a failure of SC 3.2.4 to have a link styled like a button with the role semantics of link on one page and have the same functionality performed by a  button styled to look like a link with the role semantics of button on another page?
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
> Elizabeth J. Pyatt, Ph.D.
> Instructional Designer
> Teaching and Learning with Technology
> Penn State University
> ejp10@psu.edu, (814) 865-0805 or (814) 865-2030 (Main Office)
>
> 210 Rider Building  (formerly Rider II)
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>
>
>

-- 
Nicole Bergstrom
President
Aivilo Web Solutions, LLC
www.aiviloweb.com
703-307-2438

Received on Tuesday, 12 July 2016 08:31:11 UTC