Update Understanding "focus visible" (SC 2.4.7) #1022
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Reformatted the additions into the note to account for the changed structure since this PR was first filed, to clear the merge conflict |
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| <p>There may be situations where mouse/pointer users could also benefit from having a visible focus indicator, even though they did not set focus to an element using the keyboard. As a best practice, consider still providing an explicit focus indicator for these cases.</p> | ||
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| <p>If there is only one keyboard focusable control on the screen, the success criterion would be met because the visual design presents only one keyboard focusable item. The success criterion does not require the focus to be visible intially, e.g. after opening a new page, when displaying a pop-up or after activating in-page links. However, it is recommended to show the focus in these cases as well.</p> |
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How is the user supposed to work when the focus is not shown initially? How does a screen reader user perceive what happened to the focus?
If the focus is not visible initially, the user doesn't see where the focus is and might initiate an action that is not wanted. Also, having to interact to see the focus reduces efficiency considerable and distracts from the task all the time.
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I don't think I agree with this addition (and btw, there's a typo in "initially"):
The success criterion does not require the focus to be visible intially
There is a difference between a page that does not have an element in focus initially, and one where there is a focusable element that is not properly shown as active. I don't think this nuance is clear, nor how to address in respect to Focus Visible. I'm also not sure that the number of focusable controls on the screen is relevant to that.
I do not think this PR sufficiently captures or addresses the initial question in #1001.
I think these are good questions to provide guidance on:
- can an inoperable element on a page take focus?
- if so, should it have a focus indicator?
- if so, must it have a focus indicator to meet Focus Visible (and not doing so is a failure of 2.4.7)?
- conversely, is there a time when inoperable elements receiving focus constitutes a failure of WCAG?
I think more detail is required, and I don't think this PR is sufficient as written. I'm okay to keep the scope of this change contained, but I think it should clearly answer at least one of the questions that seems to exist in #1001 discussion.
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Add extra notes about single focusable elements, and initial state of focus on page opening etc.
Fixes #1001