On Mon, 9 May 2005, Jean Hollis Weber wrote: > Rob Unsworth wrote: > > This may help you to understand the difference between checkboxes and > > radio buttons it is an extract from the web site of well known > > accessibility expert Jakob Nielsen. > > I know the difference, but thank you for the reference; it's a good one.
I thought you might :) > My question was whether it was necessary to specify the difference so a screen > reader could deal with them. For sighted readers, I consider the use of GUI > terms like "checkbox" and "radio button" as unnecessary noise, information > that usually means absolutely nothing to most people and isn't needed by those > who do know the difference. However, I had forgotten that a blind reader might > need to know this information. Jean, You are right, the use of "checkbox" and "radio button" are wasted space. To accomodate both sighted and unsighted users you will find the following terms acceptable, or variations. For "Radio Buttons": "Select one of..... For "Checkboxes": Check the box(s).... You have to remember that screen readers read the underlying code to give the user a picture of what the sighted user is seeing. The screen reader will know if it is a "Radio Button" or "Checkbox" a blind person will know that "select" refers to a "Radio Button" and "check" refers to a "Checkbox" -- Regards | Lions District 201 Q3 Rob Unsworth | IT & Internet Ipswich Australia | http://www.lionsq3.asn.au ----------------------------------------------
