FIELDSET with blank LEGEND Screen reader compatibility

Last updated: October 16, 2016

Expected Result: causes problems in some screen readers

Actual Result: causes problems in 28 screen reader / browser combinations

For expected failures, the results show which AT combos the failures affect. Results are recorded from the user's viewpoint, so describe the user impact of authoring errors.

Code used for this test:


        <fieldset>
            <legend> </legend>
            <label><input name='radio_blank_legend' type='radio' checked='checked'>Yes</label>
            <label><input name='radio_blank_legend' type='radio'>No</label>
        </fieldset>

Change History

Last updated: October 16, 2016

NVDA with IE Causes problems in NVDA 2016.2
NVDA with FF Causes problems in NVDA 2016.2
JAWS with IE Causes problems in JAWS 17.0.2619
JAWS with FF Causes problems in JAWS 17.0.2619
VoiceOver OS X Causes problems in VoiceOver OSX 10.11
VoiceOver iOS Causes problems from VoiceOver iOS 7.1 to VoiceOver iOS 9.1
WindowEyes with IE Causes problems in WindowEyes 9.2
Dolphin with IE Causes problems in Dolphin SR 15.05
SaToGo with IE Causes problems in SaToGo 3.4.96.0

Screen reader	Browser	Mode	Notes	What the user hears
NVDA 2016.2	FF48	Reading		Clickable radio button, checked, yes. Clickable radio button, not checked, no.
NVDA 2016.2	FF48	Tabbing	Nothing to indicate what Yes / No is a choice for.	Yes, radio button, checked, one of two.
NVDA 2016.2	IE11	Reading		Radio button, checked, yes, radio button, not checked, no.
NVDA 2016.2	IE11	Tabbing	Nothing to indicate what Yes / No is a choice for.	Yes, radio button, checked.
NVDA 2015.2	FF40	Reading		Radio button, checked, yes. Radio button, not checked, no.
NVDA 2015.2	FF40	Tabbing	Nothing to indicate what Yes / No is a choice for.	Yes, radio button, checked, one of two.
NVDA 2015.2	IE11	Reading		Radio button, checked, yes, radio button, not checked, no.
NVDA 2015.2	IE11	Tabbing	Nothing to indicate what Yes / No is a choice for.	Yes, radio button, checked.
NVDA 2014.1	FF28	Reading		Radio button, checked, yes. Radio button, not checked, no.
NVDA 2014.1	FF28	Tabbing	Nothing to indicate what Yes / No is a choice for.	Yes, radio button, checked, one of two.
NVDA 2014.1	IE11	Reading		Radio button, checked, yes. Radio button, not checked, no.
NVDA 2014.1	IE11	Tabbing	Nothing to indicate what Yes / No is a choice for.	Yes, radio button, checked.
JAWS 17.0.2619	FF48	Reading		Radio button, checked, yes, one of two. Radio button, not checked, no, two of two.
JAWS 17.0.2619	FF48	Tabbing	Nothing to indicate what Yes / No is a choice for.	Yes, radio button, checked, one of two.
JAWS 17.0.2619	IE11	Reading		Radio button, checked, yes. Radio button, not checked, no.
JAWS 17.0.2619	IE11	Tabbing	Nothing to indicate what Yes / No is a choice for.	Yes, radio button checked.
JAWS 16.0.4350	FF40	Reading		Radio button, checked, yes, one of two. Radio button, not checked, no, two of two.
JAWS 16.0.4350	FF40	Tabbing	Nothing to indicate what Yes / No is a choice for.	Yes, radio button, checked, one of two.
JAWS 16.0.4350	IE11	Reading		Radio button, checked, yes. Yes. Radio button, not checked, no. No.
JAWS 16.0.4350	IE11	Tabbing	Nothing to indicate what Yes / No is a choice for.	Yes, radio button checked.
JAWS 15.0.9023	FF29	Reading		Radio button, checked, yes. Radio button, not checked, no, two of two.
JAWS 15.0.9023	FF29	Tabbing	Nothing to indicate what Yes / No is a choice for.	Yes, radio button, checked, one of two.
JAWS 15.0.9023	IE11	Reading		Radio button, checked, yes. Yes. Radio button, not checked, no. No.
JAWS 15.0.9023	IE11	Tabbing	Nothing to indicate what Yes / No is a choice for.	Yes, radio button checked.
JAWS 14.0.9002	FF29	Reading		Radio button, checked, yes. Radio button, not checked, no. Two of two.
JAWS 14.0.9002	FF29	Tabbing	Nothing to indicate what Yes / No is a choice for.	Radio button, checked, yes. One of two.
JAWS 14.0.9002	IE11	Reading		Radio button, checked, yes. Yes. Radio button, not checked, no. No.
JAWS 14.0.9002	IE11	Tabbing	Nothing to indicate what Yes / No is a choice for.	Yes, radio button checked.
JAWS 13.0.852	FF29	Reading		Radio button, checked, yes, one of two. Radio button, not checked, no, two of two.
JAWS 13.0.852	FF29	Tabbing	Nothing to indicate what Yes / No is a choice for.	Yes, radio button, checked, one of two.
JAWS 13.0.852	IE11	Reading		Radio button, checked, yes. Radio button, not checked, no.
JAWS 13.0.852	IE11	Tabbing	Nothing to indicate what Yes / No is a choice for.	Yes, radio button checked.
WindowEyes 9.2	IE11	Reading		Yes, radio button, checked. Yes. No, radio button, unchecked. No.
WindowEyes 9.2	IE11	Tabbing	Nothing to indicate what Yes / No is a choice for when tabbing.	Yes, radio button, checked.
WindowEyes 8.4	IE11	Reading		Radio button, checked, yes. Radio button, unchecked, no.
WindowEyes 8.4	IE11	Tabbing	Nothing to indicate what Yes / No is a choice for when tabbing.	Yes, checked, radio button.
VoiceOver OSX 10.11	Safari 9.1.2	Reading		Yes, selected radio button, one of two. Yes. No, radio button, two of two. No.
VoiceOver OSX 10.11	Safari 9.1.2	Tabbing	Nothing to indicate what Yes / No is a choice for when tabbing.	Yes, selected radio button, one of two, yes yes, no no.
VoiceOver OSX 10.10	Safari 8.0.6	Reading		Yes, selected radio button, one of two. Yes. No, radio button, two of two. No.
VoiceOver OSX 10.10	Safari 8.0.6	Tabbing	Nothing to indicate what Yes / No is a choice for when tabbing.	Yes, selected radio button, one of two.
VoiceOver OSX 10.9	Safari 7.0.3	Reading		Yes, selected radio button, one of two. No, radio button, two of two.
VoiceOver OSX 10.9	Safari 7.0.3	Tabbing	Nothing to indicate what Yes / No is a choice for when tabbing.	Yes, selected radio button, one of two.
VoiceOver iOS 9.1	Safari iOS 9.1	Touch	Radio buttons not treated as part of same group	Yes, radio button ticked, one of one. No, radio button unticked, one of one.
VoiceOver iOS 8.4	Safari iOS 8.4	Touch	Radio buttons not treated as part of same group	Yes, radio button ticked, one of one. No, radio button unticked, one of one.
VoiceOver iOS 7.1	Safari iOS 7.1	Touch	Nothing to indicate what Yes / No is a choice for.	Yes, radio button ticked, one of two. No, radio button unticked, two of two.
Dolphin SR 15.05	IE11	Reading	Nothing to indicate what Yes / No is a choice for when reading.	Checked radio, yes. Yes. Unchecked radio, no. No.
Dolphin SR 15.05	IE11	Tabbing	Nothing to indicate what Yes / No is a choice for when tabbing.	Checked radio, yes. Unchecked radio, no.
SaToGo 3.4.96.0	IE11	Reading	Nothing to indicate what Yes / No is a choice for when reading.	Radio button selected, Yes. Radio button unselected, No
SaToGo 3.4.96.0	IE11	Tabbing	Nothing to indicate what Yes / No is a choice for when tabbing.	Yes, radio button selected. No, radio button unselected

SortSite rules: AccWcag1-12.3.4

Test notes

All tests were carried out with screen reader factory settings. JAWS in particular has a wide variety of settings controlling exactly what gets spoken.

Screen readers allow users to interact in different modes, and can produce very different results in each mode. The modes used in these tests are:

Reading Content read using the «read next» command in a screen reader
Tabbing Content read using the «tab» key in a screen reader
Heading Content read using the «next heading» key in a screen reader
Touch Content read when touching an area of screen on a mobile device

In the «What the user hears» column:

Commas represent short pauses in screen reader voicing
Full Stops represent places where voicing stops, and the «read next» or «tab» or «next heading» command is pressed again
Ellipsis … represent a long pause in voicing
(Brackets) represent voicing that requires a keystroke to hear