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section element (html)

Screen Reader support level: supported

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About this feature

Per the HTML AAM spec, a section element will be mapped to the region role if the section element has an accessible name. Otherwise, no corresponding role. Only the aria-label, aria-labelledby, and title attributes can provide an accessible name.

Age of results

Results across all tests for this feature range from 3 years ago to 5 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Failing or partial results may be out of date.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 5 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 its role and name if it is namedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupported
MUST NOT convey a role if it is not namedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupported
SHOULD convey boundaries if namedpartialpartialpartialpartialsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedpartialsupportedsupported
SHOULD provide shortcuts to jump to this rolesupportedsupportedunknownsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupported

Expectation: convey its role and name if it is named

Strength of this expectation for different types of assistive technologies:

  • Screen Readers: MUST
  • Voice Control: NA
Screen Reader support for 'MUST convey its role and name if it is named'
TestJAWSNarratorNVDAOrcaTalkBackVoiceOver (iOS)VoiceOver (macOS)
ChromeEdgeFirefoxEdgeChromeEdgeFirefoxFirefoxChromeSafariSafari
HTML section element with an accessible name (aria-label)supportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupported

Expectation: convey a role if it is not named

Strength of this expectation for different types of assistive technologies:

  • Screen Readers: MUST NOT
  • Voice Control: NA
Screen Reader support for 'MUST NOT convey a role if it is not named'
TestJAWSNarratorNVDAOrcaTalkBackVoiceOver (iOS)VoiceOver (macOS)
ChromeEdgeFirefoxEdgeChromeEdgeFirefoxFirefoxChromeSafariSafari
HTML section element with no accessible namesupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupported

Expectation: convey boundaries if named

Rationale:

A user might need to differentiate content inside the region from content outside of the region

Strength of this expectation for different types of assistive technologies:

  • Screen Readers: SHOULD
  • Voice Control: NA

Examples:

  • A screen reader might announce the role of the element when entering and say something like "leaving" when exiting.
  • A screen reader might not explicitly announce entering and existing the element, but instead imply that the is in the containing object by conveying the roles of required children (options in a listbox for example).
  • A screen reader might announce position in set information such as "1 of 6".
  • A screen reader might not convey boundaries if the content fits on a single line
Screen Reader support for 'SHOULD convey boundaries if named'
TestJAWSNarratorNVDAOrcaTalkBackVoiceOver (iOS)VoiceOver (macOS)
ChromeEdgeFirefoxEdgeChromeEdgeFirefoxFirefoxChromeSafariSafari
HTML section element with an accessible name (aria-label)partialpartialpartialpartialsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedpartialsupportedsupported

Expectation: provide shortcuts to jump to this role

Rationale:

Screen reader users might want to quickly navigate to elements of this type.

Strength of this expectation for different types of assistive technologies:

  • Screen Readers: SHOULD
  • Voice Control: NA
Screen Reader support for 'SHOULD provide shortcuts to jump to this role'
TestJAWSNarratorNVDAOrcaTalkBackVoiceOver (iOS)VoiceOver (macOS)
ChromeEdgeFirefoxEdgeChromeEdgeFirefoxFirefoxChromeSafariSafari
HTML section element with an accessible name (aria-label)supportedsupportedunknownsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupportedsupported

Related features

These are features that are usually used in combination with this feature.

option element (html)

DragonJAWSNarratorNVDAOrcaTalkBackVoice AccessVC iOSVC MacOSVoiceOver (iOS)VoiceOver (macOS)Speech RecognitionWindows Voice AccessWindowsMaciOSAndroid Keyboard
partial (1/6)supported with 1 unknown resultpartial (4/6)partial (14/16)partial (3/6)supported with 1 unknown resultsupported with 1 unknown resultno known supportpartial (2/6)partial (4/6)partial (2/6)partial (4/10)unknownunknownunknownunknownunknown

We are missing data on some combinations.

optgroup element (html)

DragonJAWSNarratorNVDAOrcaTalkBackVoice AccessVC iOSVC MacOSVoiceOver (iOS)VoiceOver (macOS)Speech RecognitionWindows Voice AccessWindowsMaciOSAndroid Keyboard
unknownno known supportno known supportpartial (3/10)no known supportpartial (1/4)unknownunknownunknownpartial (2/4)partial (1/4)unknownunknownunknownunknownunknownunknown
TestLast update
HTML section element with no accessible name2021-08-07
HTML section element with an accessible name (aria-label)2021-08-07

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