[thelist] Accessibility question about legends and table captions
Matthew Bernhardt
bernhardt.7 at osu.edu
Thu Sep 14 10:04:58 CDT 2006
Hello everyone,
I'd like to get some opinions on an issue that's troubling me this
morning. I'm working on a form that allows students to make an appointment
with an admissions counselor - you can view the page here:
plain CSS:
http://benedikt.knowlton.ohio-state.edu/?content=70
"pretty" CSS:
http://benedikt.knowlton.ohio-state.edu/default_full.asp?content=70
The question I have is how to not repeat the same information in multiple
places while still taking full advantage of accessibility options like
table headings, fieldsets/legends, etc.
The grid of appointment times for each counselor is currently displayed in
a table (which seems appropriate, but I'm willing to listen to
alternatives), which means I need a table caption and summary to describe
the contents of the table. However, each grid also wants to be grouped by
a fieldset, which means a legend. Thus, the legend and the table caption
seem to be identical.
Is there a way to only use one of these methods, or to combine them? In a
screen reader, it seems that I'm having to hear the same information
multiple times before I actually get to the meat of the table.
There are other issues with this page that are also vexing me - but if I
can get a handle on this one, I think I'll be happy for now.
Thanks for any input,
Matt
--
Matt Bernhardt, bernhardt.7 at osu.edu
Webmaster + Fab Lab Coordinator
Knowlton School of Architecture
The Ohio State University
More information about the thelist
mailing list