Meetup. UI-Patterns.com. Modernizr: the feature detection library for HTML5/CSS3. IE9 Compat Inspector - IEBlog. CSS in Action: Invisible Content Just for Screen Reader Users. You are here: Home > Articles > CSS in Action: Invisible Content Just for Screen Reader Users Introduction There are occasional instances where content should be made available to screen reader users, but hidden from sighted users.
In most cases, if content (particularly content that provides functionality or interactivity) is important enough to provide to screen reader users, it should probably be made available to all users. Cases where verbose cues or instructions are provided only for screen reader users are most likely a reflection of poor design and accessibility. However, there are a few cases where information is apparent visually, but may not be apparent to screen reader users. Techniques for hiding text There are several mechanisms that can be used for hiding content. Visibility: hidden; and/or display:none; These styles will hide text from all users.
Width:0px;height:0px text-indent: -10000px; CSS clip position: absolute ! Absolutely positioning content off-screen Note Examples. "Skip Navigation" Links. You are here: Home > Articles > "Skip Navigation" Links Overview The main content is not usually the first thing on a web page.
Keyboard and screen reader users generally must navigate a long list of navigation links, sub-lists of links, corporate icons, site searches, and other elements before ever arriving at the main content. This is particularly difficult for users with some forms of motor disabilities. Without some sort of system for bypassing the long list of links, some users are at a huge disadvantage. Of course, sighted people who use their mouse do not have any trouble with pages such as this. Creating "Skip Navigation" Links The idea is simple enough: provide a link at the top of the page which jumps the user down to an anchor or target at the beginning of the main content.
Providing visible links at the top of the page Providing visible links elsewhere on the page Making the link invisible Making the link invisible until it receives keyboard focus Example. Is it a good idea to make "skip navigation" links invisible? "Skip navigation" links are same-page links that allow users to skip past redundant navigational links that often appear across the top and/or down the left side of websites.
For an overview of these links, see the AccessIT Knowledge Base article What is a "skip navigation" link? . For sighted users, these links might be visually distracting or potentially confusing, particularly on pages where clicking on them produces no visible result. For this reason, many websites have deployed invisible "skip navigation" links. Some have done so using a tiny transparent graphic, set up as a link with an "alt" attribute set to "Skip to main content". However, "skip navigation" links are also useful for some sighted users.
Still, some web developers feel strongly that the potential confusion and distractibility of a visible "skip navigation" link warrants keeping it hidden. Note that color is used to toggle the link between visible and invisible.