On Sat, 14 Feb 2026 23:47:10 GMT, Jeremy Wood <[email protected]> wrote:
> Previously:
> The action description would be localized text. So in German's case
> `getAccessibleActionDescription(0)` would return `Klicken`. As that String is
> passed upwards towards VoiceOver, we're counting on VoiceOver's code
> interpreting it correctly.
>
> With this PR:
> We always return "click" (using the AccessibleAction.CLICK constant).
> VoiceOver knows how to interpret an unlocalized "click".
>
> ## Context
>
> I looked up references to other AccessibleAction constants:
>
> - AccessibleAction.TOGGLE_EXPAND is referenced in JTree.java's
> `getAccessibleActionDescription` method.
> - AccessibleAction.INCREMENT and AccessibleAction.DECREMENT are referenced in
> JSlider's and JSpinner's `getAccessibleActionDescription` method.
> - AccessibleAction.CLICK and AccessibleAction.TOGGLE_POPUP are NOT currently
> referenced (prior to this PR)
>
> The javadoc for `getAccessibleActionDescription` simply describes the return
> value as "a String description of the action". It makes no comment on whether
> it should be localized or not.
>
> JList.java is similar to AbstractButton:
>
> public String getAccessibleActionDescription(int i) {
> if (i == 0) {
> return UIManager.getString("AbstractButton.clickText");
> } else {
> return null;
> }
> }
>
>
> JComboBox.java includes:
>
> public String getAccessibleActionDescription(int i) {
> if (i == 0) {
> return UIManager.getString("ComboBox.togglePopupText");
> }
> else {
> return null;
> }
> }
>
>
> I'd argue that we need to be consistent: either JTree/JSlider/JSpinner should
> be modified to return a localized action description, OR
> AbstractButton/JList/JComboBox should be modified to return the unlocalized
> constant.
>
> My preference is to modify AbstractButton and JList (as shown in this PR).
> (And I'd recommend addressing JComboBox in a separate PR.)
>
> (Also, I really like JTextComponent.java's implementation that combined
> Swing's ActionMap with AccessibleActions:
>
> public String getAccessibleActionDescription(int i) {
> Action [] actions = JTextComponent.this.getActions();
> if (i < 0 || i >= actions.length) {
> return null;
> }
> return (String)actions[i].getValue(Action.NAME);
> }
>
> ... but that's straying pretty far from the original ticket.)
>
> ## Non-Swing Context
>
> I also searched for `getAccessibleActionDescription` in general.
>
> In Button.java and MenuItem.java we have:
>
> public String getAccessibleActionDescription(int i) {
> if (i == 0) {
> // [[[PENDING: WDW -- need to provide a localized string]]]
> retur...
OK, thanks for the feedback. I was going to try to test Windows this weekend,
but if this is DOA I can skip it.
More broadly:
A. Do you think the original ticket is a valid complaint that should remain
open? (Or should it be closed as "won't fix"? or some other option?)
B. Do you agree with my assertion:
> we need to be consistent: either JTree/JSlider/JSpinner should be modified to
> return a localized action description, OR AbstractButton/JList/JComboBox
> should be modified to return the unlocalized constant.
This PR currently focuses on the second option. I could write up a new
ticket/PR to explore the first option (localizing other action action
descriptions)
-------------
PR Comment: https://git.openjdk.org/jdk/pull/29727#issuecomment-3928695623
