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aria-modal attribute (aria)

Screen Reader support level: partial (7/11)

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About this feature

Indicates whether an element is modal when displayed. For more robust support, consider making the rest of the document inert when an element has aria-modal=true.

Age of results

Results across all tests for this feature range from 3 years ago to 4 years ago. Detailed dates and version information can be found in associated tests.

Caution

Failing or partial results may be out of date. The oldest result is from 3 years ago. Consider running the associated tests and contributing results.

Expectations

What are expectations?

Screen Reader support by expectation

ExpectationJAWSNarratorNVDAOrcaTalkBackVoiceOver (iOS)VoiceOver (macOS)
ChromeEdgeFirefoxEdgeChromeEdgeFirefoxFirefoxChromeSafariSafari
MUST convey the presence of aria-modal=truesupportedsupportedsupportednonesupportedsupportedsupportednonenonesupportedpartial
SHOULD limit reading to children of aria-modal=truesupportedsupportedsupportednonesupportedsupportedsupportednonenonepartialpartial
SHOULD remove outside content from navigational shortcuts when aria-modal=truesupportedsupportedpartialnonesupportedsupportedsupportedpartialnonesupportedsupported

Expectation: convey the presence of aria-modal=true

Rationale:

Users need to be aware that other content is obscured by the modal.

Strength of this expectation for different types of assistive technologies:

  • Screen Readers: MUST
  • Voice Control: NA

Examples:

  • Screen readers might convey the modal state when entering the modal
  • Screen readers might imply the modal state by restricting reading and navigation to the modal content
Screen Reader support for 'MUST convey the presence of aria-modal=true'
TestJAWSNarratorNVDAOrcaTalkBackVoiceOver (iOS)VoiceOver (macOS)
ChromeEdgeFirefoxEdgeChromeEdgeFirefoxFirefoxChromeSafariSafari
APG modal dialog example applied to: dialog rolesupportedsupportedsupportednonesupportedsupportedsupportednonenonesupportedpartial

Expectation: limit reading to children of aria-modal=true

Rationale:

Users should not be able to access content outside of the modal. However, AT are not required to implement this functionality per the ARIA spec, and authors may implement this on their own.

Strength of this expectation for different types of assistive technologies:

  • Screen Readers: SHOULD
  • Voice Control: NA
Screen Reader support for 'SHOULD limit reading to children of aria-modal=true'
TestJAWSNarratorNVDAOrcaTalkBackVoiceOver (iOS)VoiceOver (macOS)
ChromeEdgeFirefoxEdgeChromeEdgeFirefoxFirefoxChromeSafariSafari
APG modal dialog example applied to: dialog rolesupportedsupportedsupportednonesupportedsupportedsupportednonenonepartialpartial

Expectation: remove outside content from navigational shortcuts when aria-modal=true

Rationale:

Users should not be able to access content outside of the modal. However, AT are not required to implement this functionality per the ARIA spec, and authors may implement this on their own.

Strength of this expectation for different types of assistive technologies:

  • Screen Readers: SHOULD
  • Voice Control: NA

Examples:

  • Screen readers must not allow allow users to jump to the next element type if that element is outside of the modal
  • Screen readers must not include outside content in the list of elements
Screen Reader support for 'SHOULD remove outside content from navigational shortcuts when aria-modal=true'
TestJAWSNarratorNVDAOrcaTalkBackVoiceOver (iOS)VoiceOver (macOS)
ChromeEdgeFirefoxEdgeChromeEdgeFirefoxFirefoxChromeSafariSafari
APG modal dialog example applied to: dialog rolesupportedsupportedpartialnonesupportedsupportedsupportedpartialnonesupportedsupported

Expectation: convey the aria-modal attribute or limit navigation when aria-modal=false

Strength of this expectation for different types of assistive technologies:

  • Screen Readers: MUST NOT
  • Voice Control: NA

No tests reference this expectation yet.

TestLast update
APG modal dialog example2022-01-13

Related issues, discussions, and bugs

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