A link with empty label Screen reader compatibility
Last updated: December 27, 2017
Expected Result: causes problems in some screen readers
Actual Result: causes problems in 29 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:
<p>Preceding content</p>
<a href='javascript:void(0);'></a>
Change History
Last updated: December 27, 2017
- NVDA with IE
Causes problems in
NVDA 2016.2
- NVDA with FF
Causes problems in
NVDA 2016.2
- JAWS with IE
Causes problems from
JAWS 14.0.9002 to JAWS 17.0.2619
- JAWS with FF
Causes problems from
JAWS 14.0.9002 to JAWS 17.0.2619
VoiceOver OS X
Worse - was OK in
VoiceOver OSX 10.11,
but now causes problems in VoiceOver OSX 10.12
VoiceOver iOS
Better - caused problems in
VoiceOver iOS 8.4,
but now OK in VoiceOver iOS 10.3- WindowEyes with IE
Worse - was OK in
WindowEyes 8.4,
but now causes problems in WindowEyes 9.2
Dolphin with IE
OK in
Dolphin SR 15.05
| Screen reader | Browser | Mode | Notes | What the user hears |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NVDA 2016.2 | FF48 | Reading | Link not displayed, and not read. | |
| NVDA 2016.2 | FF48 | Tabbing | Link not displayed, "blank" read out for focusable label. | Blank |
| NVDA 2016.2 | IE11 | Reading | Link not displayed, but link URL read out. | Link void zero |
| NVDA 2016.2 | IE11 | Tabbing | Link not displayed, but link URL read out. | Void zero, link |
| NVDA 2015.2 | FF41 | Reading | Link not displayed, and not read. | |
| NVDA 2015.2 | FF41 | Tabbing | Link not displayed, "blank" read out for focusable label. | Blank |
| NVDA 2015.2 | IE11 | Reading | Link not displayed, but link URL read out. | Link void zero |
| NVDA 2015.2 | IE11 | Tabbing | Link not displayed, but link URL read out. | Void zero, link |
| NVDA 2014.1 | FF29 | Reading | Link not displayed, and not read. | |
| NVDA 2014.1 | FF29 | Tabbing | Link not displayed, "blank" read out for focusable label. | Blank |
| NVDA 2014.1 | IE11 | Reading | Link not displayed, but link URL read out. | Link void zero |
| NVDA 2014.1 | IE11 | Tabbing | Link not displayed, and not read. | |
| JAWS 17.0.2619 | FF48 | Reading | No link displayed, link gibberish read by screen reader. | Link, void left paren zero right paren |
| JAWS 17.0.2619 | FF48 | Tabbing | No link displayed, focus indicator very hard to see, link gibberish read by screen reader. | Void left paren zero right paren, link |
| JAWS 17.0.2619 | IE11 | Reading | No link displayed, link gibberish read by screen reader. | Link, void left paren zero right paren |
| JAWS 17.0.2619 | IE11 | Tabbing | No link displayed, focus indicator very hard to see, link gibberish read by screen reader. | Void left paren zero right paren, link |
| JAWS 16.0.4350 | FF41 | Reading | No link displayed, link gibberish read by screen reader. | Link, void left paren zero right paren |
| JAWS 16.0.4350 | FF41 | Tabbing | No link displayed, focus indicator very hard to see, link gibberish read by screen reader. | Void left paren zero right paren, link |
| JAWS 16.0.4350 | IE11 | Reading | No link displayed, link gibberish read by screen reader. | Link, void left paren zero right paren |
| JAWS 16.0.4350 | IE11 | Tabbing | No link displayed, focus indicator very hard to see, link gibberish read by screen reader. | Void left paren zero right paren, link |
| JAWS 15.0.9023 | FF29 | Reading | No link displayed, link gibberish read by screen reader. | Link, void left paren zero right paren |
| JAWS 15.0.9023 | FF29 | Tabbing | No link displayed, focus indicator very hard to see, link gibberish read by screen reader. | Void left paren zero right paren, link |
| JAWS 15.0.9023 | IE11 | Reading | No link displayed, link gibberish read by screen reader. | Link, void left paren zero right paren |
| JAWS 15.0.9023 | IE11 | Tabbing | No link displayed, focus indicator very hard to see, link gibberish read by screen reader. | Void left paren zero right paren, link |
| JAWS 14.0.9002 | FF29 | Reading | No link displayed, link gibberish read by screen reader. | Link, void left paren zero right paren |
| JAWS 14.0.9002 | FF29 | Tabbing | No link displayed, link gibberish read by screen reader. | Void left paren zero right paren, link |
| JAWS 14.0.9002 | IE11 | Reading | No link displayed, link gibberish read by screen reader. | Link, void left paren zero right paren |
| JAWS 14.0.9002 | IE11 | Tabbing | No link displayed, link gibberish read by screen reader. | Void left paren zero right paren, link |
| WindowEyes 9.2 | IE11 | Reading | No link displayed, link gibberish read by screen reader. | Link, void left paren zero right paren |
| WindowEyes 9.2 | IE11 | Tabbing | No link displayed, link gibberish read by screen reader. | Link, void left paren zero right paren |
| WindowEyes 8.4 | IE11 | Reading | Not visible in browser, and ignored in WindowEyes. | |
| WindowEyes 8.4 | IE11 | Tabbing | Text of previous element read as link label. | Link, preceding content |
| VoiceOver OSX 10.12 | Safari 10.1.2 | Reading | No link displayed, "link" read out. | Link |
| VoiceOver OSX 10.12 | Safari 10.1.2 | Tabbing | Link not displayed, and not read. | |
| VoiceOver OSX 10.11 | Safari 9.1.2 | Reading | Link not displayed, and not read. | |
| VoiceOver OSX 10.11 | Safari 9.1.2 | Tabbing | Link not displayed, and not read. | |
| VoiceOver OSX 10.10 | Safari 9.0.1 | Reading | Link not displayed, and not read. | |
| VoiceOver OSX 10.10 | Safari 9.0.1 | Tabbing | Link not displayed, and not read. | |
| VoiceOver OSX 10.9 | Safari 7.0.3 | Reading | Link not displayed, and not read. | |
| VoiceOver OSX 10.9 | Safari 7.0.3 | Tabbing | Link not displayed, and not read. | |
| VoiceOver iOS 10.3 | Safari iOS 10.3 | Touch | Link not displayed, and not read. | |
| VoiceOver iOS 9.1 | Safari iOS 9.1 | Touch | Link not displayed, and not read. | |
| VoiceOver iOS 8.4 | Safari iOS 8.4 | Touch | Text of previous element read out as link label. | Preceding content, link |
| VoiceOver iOS 7.1 | Safari iOS 7.1 | Touch | Link not visible in browser, and ignored in VoiceOver. | |
| Dolphin SR 15.05 | IE11 | Reading | Link not displayed, and not read. | |
| Dolphin SR 15.05 | IE11 | Tabbing | Link not displayed, and not read. |
SortSite rules: AccHtmlLinkTextBlank
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