Forum Discussion
RISE - Question numbers in quiz hidden to screen readers (Accessibility)
Hi there, just above the content you have highlighted in the screen shot is the version of the question number that is optimised for screen readers as "Question 1 of 12" rather than "Question 01/12" which works visually, but makes less sense to a screen reader user.
You will see it is in a <H1> element. The element has a class of "visually-hidden-always", which hides it from the display layout, however, it is available to assistive technology.
<h1 class="visually-hidden-always" tabindex="-l">Question 1 of 12</h1>
I'm not sure if I understand the answer above, as to why the question numbers are aria-hidden="true".
The standard is that JAWS must read what is displayed on the screen. I’m not sure why that ARIA label is hiding that text, but, as a screen reader user, it can be more confusing to not have the text read, especially if multiple questions are displayed. Is there a way to remove this ARIA label to ensure all content is accessible to screen reader users? I've tried removing it using "inspect" but the changes don't save.
Hi there. It is not necessary to change anything. It is not a requirement that screen readers read everything on screen verbatim. There are instances, like the one explained above where the visual representation of a question number, "Question 01/12", works for users who are not using a screen reader, we can infer from 01/12 that it is question 1 of 12. A screen reader reading that information may read, "Question zero one slash twelve". As you can see, this doesn't work as well for screen readers. Hence the aria-hidden attribute to hide it from screen readers. As mentioned, a screen reader optimised version, which is visually hidden, is available for screen readers as "Question 1 of 12" which makes sense and provides the equivalent information, optimised for a screen reader.
Thank you for your response. Our 508 office confirmed JAWS does not announce "Question 1 of 1". Is there trick to activate the screen reader optimized version?
JeanLiai Oh dear. I just re-tested this and it has stopped working. The testers are correct and the question number is not longer being read by the screen reader (I'm using JAWS). I will investigate and see if I can find the reason. This issue has slipped into Rise either through a screen reader issue or there is something preventing it being read. I'll give NVDA a go and see what happens.