Re: Required input. HTML attribute and plain "required" text in label results in duplication for AT. Hide one?

Thanks Adam for your idea:


> Why use both? Add   between the label text and the word required, and remove the HTML required attribute and problem solved for screen reader users ...


I feel my primary aim is accessibility for humans, but removing a valuable item of meta information that describes the input to machines (a secondary but important aim) feels like a different failure to fix the first.


Not being someone who relies on a screen reader to experience the web I do not know how frustrating it is to hear "required" in two ways when visiting a form with a required input.


Is this so common that it is irrelevant and a problem I should not bother about perhaps? I don't want to too easily make that assumption.


Maybe this is a compromise that--for now--has to exist, until SR software has sufficient intelligence to reliably work out when an input is required (from the attribute) and automatically avoid stating this twice. That seems like a big ask and maybe we need some other mechanism to allow us to flag such content to SRs?


A conundrum.


Regards,

Alan
. . . . -   . . - - -
Alan Bristow ( he / him / il )
Web Developer / Développeur Web
Elections Canada / Élections Canada
alan.bristow@elections.ca<mailto:alan.bristow@elections.ca>
________________________________
From: Adam Cooper <cooperad@bigpond.com>
Sent: Monday, August 29, 2022 7:38 PM
To: Bristow, Alan
Subject: RE: Required input. HTML attribute and plain "required" text in label results in duplication for AT. Hide one?



Why use both? Add &nbsp; between the label text and the word required, and remove the HTML required attribute and problem solved for screen reader users ...

From: Bristow, Alan <Alan.Bristow@elections.ca>
Sent: Monday, August 29, 2022 10:59 PM
To: w3c-wai-ig@w3.org
Subject: Required input. HTML attribute and plain "required" text in label results in duplication for AT. Hide one?


Hi,



Trying to avoid AT (assisstive technology) users with screen readers hearing content twice, specifically "required" and then "required" again, I wondered if  this use of aria-hidden="true" is considered safe  and a good idea, or risky given perhaps some user-agent might not announce "Required" when they encounter the HTML5 'required' attribute?:

<label for="fname">First name <span aria-hidden="true" class="mandatory">(required)</span>:</label>
<input name="fname" id="fname" type="text" autocomplete="given-name" required>


Thanks in advance for comments.


Regards,

Alan
. . . . -   . . - - -
Alan Bristow ( he / him / il )
Web Developer / Développeur Web
Elections Canada / Élections Canada
alan.bristow@elections.ca<mailto:alan.bristow@elections.ca>