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checkbox role (aria)

Screen Reader support level: supported

Voice Control support level: supported with 4 unknown results

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About this feature

A checkable input that has three possible values: true, false, or mixed.

Age of results

Results across all tests for this feature range from 3 years ago to 6 years ago. Detailed dates and version information can be found in associated tests.

Expectations

What are expectations?

Screen Reader support by expectation

ExpectationJAWSNarratorNVDAOrcaTalkBackVoiceOver (iOS)VoiceOver (macOS)
ChromeEdgeFirefoxEdgeChromeEdgeFirefoxFirefoxChromeSafariSafari
MUST convey its rolesupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupported
MUST convey its namesupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupported

Voice Control support by expectation

ExpectationDragon Naturally SpeakingVoice Access (Android)Voice Control (iOS)Voice Control (MacOS)Windows Speech RecognitionWindows Voice Access
ChromeChromeSafariSafariEdgeChromeEdgeChrome
MUST convey its rolesupportedsupportednot applicablesupportedsupportedsupportedunknownunknown
MUST convey its namesupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedunknownunknown

Expectation: convey its role

Rationale:

The user needs to know that the element has checkbox behavior.

Strength of this expectation for different types of assistive technologies:

  • Screen Readers: MUST
  • Voice Control: MUST

Examples:

  • A screen reader might announce an element as something like "<name>, <role>"
  • A screen reader might imply the role by the presence of certain context roles
  • Voice Control software might let the user say something like "click, <role>".
  • Voice Control software might let the user say something like "show numbers", and interactive roles will be flagged with numbers.
Screen Reader support for 'MUST convey its role'
TestJAWSNarratorNVDAOrcaTalkBackVoiceOver (iOS)VoiceOver (macOS)
ChromeEdgeFirefoxEdgeChromeEdgeFirefoxFirefoxChromeSafariSafari
APG 1.1 Checkbox Example (Two State)supportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupported
Voice Control support for 'MUST convey its role'
TestDragon Naturally SpeakingVoice Access (Android)Voice Control (iOS)Voice Control (MacOS)Windows Speech RecognitionWindows Voice Access
ChromeChromeSafariSafariEdgeChromeEdgeChrome
APG 1.1 Checkbox Example (Two State)supportedsupportednot applicablesupportedsupportedsupportedunknownunknown

Expectation: convey its name

Rationale:

The user needs to know the purpose of the checkbox.

Strength of this expectation for different types of assistive technologies:

  • Screen Readers: MUST
  • Voice Control: MUST

Notes:

For form inputs - commands to read line by line (down and up arrows in most windows screen readers) will not always result in the name being explicitly conveyed when the virtual focus is moved to an input where the label is visually displayed and programmatically associated with the input. This is acceptable because the name is implied by the fact that it should be naturally found in the reading order. Some screen readers choose to not convey the name in these cases, likely in an effort to reduce verbosity.

Screen Reader support for 'MUST convey its name'
TestJAWSNarratorNVDAOrcaTalkBackVoiceOver (iOS)VoiceOver (macOS)
ChromeEdgeFirefoxEdgeChromeEdgeFirefoxFirefoxChromeSafariSafari
APG 1.1 Checkbox Example (Two State)supportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupported
Voice Control support for 'MUST convey its name'
TestDragon Naturally SpeakingVoice Access (Android)Voice Control (iOS)Voice Control (MacOS)Windows Speech RecognitionWindows Voice Access
ChromeChromeSafariSafariEdgeChromeEdgeChrome
APG 1.1 Checkbox Example (Two State)supportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedunknownunknown