iframe
with blank title
Screen reader compatibility
Expected Result: causes problems in some screen readers
Actual Result: causes problems in 19 screen reader / browser combinations
For expected failures, the results show which AT combos the failures affect. Results are recorded from the user's viewpoint, so describe the user impact of authoring errors.
Note: Frame titles are much more important for Mac VoiceOver users than JAWS or NVDA users on Windows, because VoiceOver doesn't read frame contents automatically as part of the reading order. On Macs the user has to press a keyboard shortcut to explore the frame, but are unlikely to do this unless they know what's in the frame. That means they may miss essential content, such as a Captcha or Login form hidden in an untitled iframe.
Code used for this test:
<iframe title='' src='1234.html' width='400' height='100'> </iframe>
Change History
Last updated: September 11, 2022
NVDA with Chrome Stable - OK from NVDA 2018.4 to NVDA 2022.2
NVDA with IE Stable - OK from NVDA 2014.1 to NVDA 2019.2
NVDA with FF Causes problems in NVDA 2022.2
JAWS with Chrome Stable - OK from JAWS 2018.1811.2 to JAWS 2022.2207.25
JAWS with IE Stable - OK from JAWS 13.0.852 to JAWS 2019.1912.1
JAWS with FF Better - caused problems in JAWS 14.0.9002, but now OK in JAWS 2022.2207.25
VoiceOver macOS Causes problems in VoiceOver macOS 12.5
VoiceOver iOS Stable - OK from VoiceOver iOS 7.1 to VoiceOver iOS 15.6
WindowEyes with IE Better - caused problems in WindowEyes 8.4, but now OK in WindowEyes 9.2
Dolphin with IE OK in Dolphin SR 15.05
SaToGo with IE OK in SaToGo 3.4.96.0
Screen reader | Browser | Mode | Notes | What the user hears |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Chrome 105 | Reading | Frame, this is an, link, example hyperlink in the target page. Out of frame. | |
![]() | Chrome 105 | Tabbing | Frame, example hyperlink, link. | |
![]() | FF102 | Reading | Frame, this is an, link, example hyperlink in the target page. Out of frame, blank. | |
![]() | FF102 | Tabbing | Silence when tab focus stops on iframe. | Silence. Frame, example hyperlink, link. |
![]() | Edge 105 | Reading | Frame, this is an, link, example hyperlink in the target page. Out of frame. | |
![]() | Edge 105 | Tabbing | Frame, example hyperlink, link. | |
![]() | Chrome 94 | Reading | Frame, this is an, link, example hyperlink in the target page. Out of frame. | |
![]() | Chrome 94 | Tabbing | Frame, example hyperlink, link. | |
![]() | FF91 | Reading | Frame, this is an, link, example hyperlink in the target page. Out of frame, blank. | |
![]() | FF91 | Tabbing | Silence when tab focus stops on iframe. | Silence. Frame, example hyperlink, link. |
![]() | Edge 94 | Reading | Frame, this is an, link, example hyperlink in the target page. Out of frame. | |
![]() | Edge 94 | Tabbing | Frame, example hyperlink, link. | |
![]() | Chrome 86 | Reading | Frame, this is an, link, example hyperlink in the target page. Out of frame. | |
![]() | Chrome 86 | Tabbing | Frame, example hyperlink, link. | |
![]() | FF78 | Reading | Frame, this is an, link, example hyperlink in the target page. Out of frame, blank. | |
![]() | FF78 | Tabbing | Silence when tab focus stops on iframe. | Silence. Frame, example hyperlink, link. |
![]() | Edge 92 | Reading | Frame, this is an, link, example hyperlink in the target page. Out of frame. | |
![]() | Edge 92 | Tabbing | Frame, example hyperlink, link. | |
![]() | Chrome 79 | Reading | Frame, this is an, link, example hyperlink in the target page. Out of frame. | |
![]() | Chrome 79 | Tabbing | Frame, example hyperlink, link. | |
![]() | FF68 | Reading | Frame, this is an, link, example hyperlink in the target page. Out of frame, blank. | |
![]() | FF68 | Tabbing | Silence when tab focus stops on iframe. | Silence. Frame, example hyperlink, link. |
![]() | IE11 | Reading | IFRAME title ignored. | Frame, this is an, link, example hyperlink in the target page. Out of frame. |
![]() | IE11 | Tabbing | Frame, this is an, link, example hyperlink in the target page. Example hyperlink, link. | |
![]() | Chrome 73 | Reading | Frame, this is an, link, example hyperlink in the target page. Out of frame. | |
![]() | Chrome 73 | Tabbing | Frame, example hyperlink, link. | |
![]() | FF60 | Reading | Frame, this is an, link, example hyperlink in the target page. Out of frame, blank. | |
![]() | FF60 | Tabbing | Silence when tab focus stops on iframe. | Silence. Frame, example hyperlink, link. |
![]() | IE11 | Reading | IFRAME title ignored. | Frame, this is an, link, example hyperlink in the target page. Out of frame. |
![]() | IE11 | Tabbing | Frame, this is an, link, example hyperlink in the target page. Example hyperlink, link. | |
![]() | FF60 | Reading | Frame, this is an, link, example hyperlink in the target page. Out of frame, blank. | |
![]() | FF60 | Tabbing | Silence when tab focus stops on iframe. | Silence. Out of frame, frame, example hyperlink, link. Out of frame. |
![]() | IE11 | Reading | IFRAME title ignored. | Frame, this is an, link, example hyperlink in the target page. Out of frame. |
![]() | IE11 | Tabbing | Frame, this is an, link, example hyperlink in the target page. Example hyperlink, link. Out of frame. | |
![]() | FF48 | Reading | Iframe, this is an, link, example hyperlink in the target page. Out of iframe, blank. | |
![]() | FF48 | Tabbing | Silence when tab focus stops on iframe. | Silence. Iframe, example hyperlink, link. |
![]() | IE11 | Reading | IFRAME title ignored. | Frame, this is an, link, example hyperlink in the target page. Out of frame. |
![]() | IE11 | Tabbing | Frame, this is an, link, example hyperlink in the target page. Example hyperlink, link. Out of frame. | |
![]() | FF40 | Reading | Iframe, this is an, link, example hyperlink in the target page. Out of iframe, blank. | |
![]() | FF40 | Tabbing | Silence when tab focus stops on iframe. Focus trap on forward tabbing - only when NVDA running | Silence. Example hyperlink, link. |
![]() | IE11 | Reading | IFRAME title ignored. | Frame, this is an, link, example hyperlink in the target page. Out of frame. |
![]() | IE11 | Tabbing | Frame, this is an, link, example hyperlink in the target page. Example hyperlink, link. Out of frame. | |
![]() | FF28 | Reading | IFrame, This is an, link, example hyperlink in the target page. Example hyperlink, link. | |
![]() | FF28 | Tabbing | IFrame. This is an, link, example hyperlink in the target page. Example hyperlink, link. | |
![]() | IE11 | Reading | IFRAME title ignored. | Frame, This is an, link, example hyperlink in the target page. Out of frame. |
![]() | IE11 | Tabbing | Frame. This is an, link, example hyperlink in the target page. Example hyperlink, link. | |
![]() | Chrome 105 | Reading | This is an. Link example hyperlink. In the target page. | |
![]() | Chrome 105 | Tabbing | Frame, example hyperlink, link. | |
![]() | FF102 | Reading | This is an. Link example hyperlink. In the target page. | |
![]() | FF102 | Tabbing | Reads out title tag of frame source page when iframe title blank. | Frame, example target. Example hyperlink, link. |
![]() | Edge 105 | Reading | This is an. Link example hyperlink. In the target page. | |
![]() | Edge 105 | Tabbing | Frame, example hyperlink, link. | |
![]() | Chrome 94 | Reading | This is an. Link example hyperlink. In the target page. | |
![]() | Chrome 94 | Tabbing | Frame, example hyperlink, link. | |
![]() | FF91 | Reading | This is an. Link example hyperlink. In the target page. | |
![]() | FF91 | Tabbing | Reads out title tag of frame source page when iframe title blank. | Frame, example target. Example hyperlink, link. |
![]() | Edge 94 | Reading | This is an. Link example hyperlink. In the target page. | |
![]() | Edge 94 | Tabbing | Frame, example hyperlink, link. | |
![]() | Chrome 86 | Reading | This is an, link, example hyperlink, in the target page. | |
![]() | Chrome 86 | Tabbing | Frame, example hyperlink, link. | |
![]() | FF78 | Reading | This is an. Link example hyperlink. In the target page. | |
![]() | FF78 | Tabbing | Reads out title tag of frame source page when iframe title blank. | Frame, example target. Example hyperlink, link. |
![]() | Edge 92 | Reading | This is an. Link example hyperlink. In the target page. | |
![]() | Edge 92 | Tabbing | Frame, example hyperlink, link. | |
![]() | Chrome 79 | Reading | This is an, link, example hyperlink, in the target page. | |
![]() | Chrome 79 | Tabbing | Frame, example hyperlink, link. | |
![]() | FF68 | Reading | This is an, link, example hyperlink, in the target page. | |
![]() | FF68 | Tabbing | Reads out title tag of frame source page when iframe title blank. | Frame, example target. Example hyperlink, link. |
![]() | IE11 | Reading | This is an, link example hyperlink, in the target page. | |
![]() | IE11 | Tabbing | Example target. Example hyperlink, link. | |
![]() | Chrome 73 | Reading | This is an, link, example hyperlink, in the target page. | |
![]() | Chrome 73 | Tabbing | Tab, frame example hyperlink. | |
![]() | FF60 | Reading | This is an, link, example hyperlink, in the target page. | |
![]() | FF60 | Tabbing | Reads out title tag of frame source page when iframe title blank. | Tab, frame, example target. Tab, example hyperlink, link. |
![]() | IE11 | Reading | This is an, link example hyperlink, in the target page. | |
![]() | IE11 | Tabbing | Tab, example target. Tab, example hyperlink, link. | |
![]() | FF52 | Reading | Reads out title tag of frame source page when iframe title blank. | Example target frame. This is an, link, example hyperlink, in the target page. Example target frame end. |
![]() | FF52 | Tabbing | Reads out title tag of frame source page when iframe title blank. | Tab, frame, example target. Tab, example hyperlink, link. |
![]() | IE11 | Reading | Reads out title tag of frame source page. | Example target, frame. This is an, link, example hyperlink, in the target page. Example target, frame end. |
![]() | IE11 | Tabbing | Tab, example target, frame. Tab, example hyperlink, link. | |
![]() | FF48 | Reading | Reads out title tag of frame source page when iframe title blank. | Example target frame. This is an, link, example hyperlink, in the target page. Example target frame end. |
![]() | FF48 | Tabbing | Reads out title tag of frame source page when iframe title blank. | Tab, frame, example target. Tab, example hyperlink, link. |
![]() | IE11 | Reading | Reads out title tag of frame source page. | Example target, frame. This is an, link, example hyperlink, in the target page. Example target, frame end. |
![]() | IE11 | Tabbing | Example target, frame. Example hyperlink, link. | |
![]() | FF40 | Reading | Reads out title tag of frame source page when iframe title blank. | Example target frame. This is an, link, example hyperlink, in the target page. Example target frame end. |
![]() | FF40 | Tabbing | Tab, frame, this is an. Tab, example hyperlink, link. | |
![]() | IE11 | Reading | Reads out title tag of frame source page. | Example target, frame. This is an, link, example hyperlink, in the target page. Example target, frame end. |
![]() | IE11 | Tabbing | Example target, frame. Example hyperlink, link. | |
![]() | FF29 | Reading | Reads out title tag of frame source page when iframe title blank. | Example target frame. This is an, link, example hyperlink, in the target page. Example target frame end. |
![]() | FF29 | Tabbing | Frame. This is an. Example hyperlink, link. | |
![]() | IE11 | Reading | Reads out title tag of frame source page. | Example target, frame. This is an, link, example hyperlink, in the target page. Example target, frame end. |
![]() | IE11 | Tabbing | Example target, frame. Example hyperlink, link. | |
![]() | FF29 | Reading | Reads out filename of frame. | Twelve thirty four frame. This is an. Link, example hyperlink. In the target page. Twelve thirty four frame end. |
![]() | FF29 | Tabbing | Frame. This is an. Example hyperlink, link. | |
![]() | IE11 | Reading | Reads out title tag of frame source page. | Example target, frame. This is an, link, example hyperlink, in the target page. Example target, frame end. |
![]() | IE11 | Tabbing | Example target, frame. Example hyperlink, link. | |
![]() | FF29 | Reading | Reads out title tag of frame source page when iframe title blank. | Example target frame. This is an, link, example hyperlink, in the target page. Example target frame end. |
![]() | FF29 | Tabbing | Frame, example target, frame. Example hyperlink, link. | |
![]() | IE11 | Reading | Reads out title tag of frame source page. | Example target, frame. This is an, link, example hyperlink, in the target page. |
![]() | IE11 | Tabbing | Example target, frame. Example hyperlink, link. | |
![]() | IE11 | Reading | Stops speaking at line wraps in IFRAME. | This is an. Link, example hyperlink. In the. Target. Page. |
![]() | IE11 | Tabbing | Frame. Link, example hyperlink | |
![]() | IE11 | Reading | Reads out "Untitled" for frame name. | Untitled iframe. This is an, link, example hyperlink, in the target page. End frame. |
![]() | IE11 | Tabbing | Link, example hyperlink | |
![]() | Safari 15.6 | Reading | Meaningless frame title read out. | Frame three |
![]() | Safari 15.6 | Tabbing | Entering frame, link, example hyperlink. Leaving frame. | |
![]() | Safari 15.0 | Reading | Meaningless frame title read out. | Frame three |
![]() | Safari 15.0 | Tabbing | Entering frame. Link, example hyperlink. Leaving frame. | |
![]() | Safari 14.1 | Reading | Meaningless frame title read out. | Frame |
![]() | Safari 14.1 | Tabbing | Entering frame. Link, example hyperlink. Leaving frame. | |
![]() | Safari 13.0 | Reading | Meaningless frame title read out. | Frame |
![]() | Safari 13.0 | Tabbing | Link, example hyperlink | |
![]() | Safari 12.1 | Reading | Meaningless frame title read out. | Frame |
![]() | Safari 12.1 | Tabbing | Link, example hyperlink | |
![]() | Safari 10.1.2 | Reading | Meaningless frame title read out. | Frame |
![]() | Safari 10.1.2 | Tabbing | Link, example hyperlink | |
![]() | Safari 9.1.2 | Reading | Meaningless frame title read out. | Frame three |
![]() | Safari 9.1.2 | Tabbing | Link, example hyperlink | |
![]() | Safari 8.0.6 | Reading | Meaningless frame title read out. | Frame three |
![]() | Safari 8.0.6 | Tabbing | Link, example hyperlink | |
![]() | Safari 7.0.3 | Reading | Meaningless frame title read out. | Frame three |
![]() | Safari 7.0.3 | Tabbing | Leaving frame link, example hyperlink | |
![]() | Safari iOS 15.6 | Touch | This is an. Example hyperlink, link. In the target page. | |
![]() | Safari iOS 14.7 | Touch | This is an. Example hyperlink, link. In the target page. | |
![]() | Safari iOS 13.3 | Touch | This is an. Example hyperlink, link. In the target page. | |
![]() | Safari iOS 12.4 | Touch | This is an. Example hyperlink, link. In the target page. | |
![]() | Safari iOS 11.4 | Touch | This is an. Example hyperlink, link. In the target page. | |
![]() | Safari iOS 10.3 | Touch | This is an. Example hyperlink, link. In the target page. | |
![]() | Safari iOS 9.1 | Touch | This is an, example hyperlink, link, in the target page. | |
![]() | Safari iOS 8.4 | Touch | This is an, example hyperlink, link, in the target page. | |
![]() | Safari iOS 7.1 | Touch | This is an, example hyperlink, link, in the target page. | |
![]() | IE11 | Reading | Frame, normal, this is an. Example hyperlink, link. In the target page | |
![]() | IE11 | Tabbing | Frame, example hyperlink, link | |
![]() | IE11 | Reading | This is an, link, example hyperlink in the target page | |
![]() | IE11 | Tabbing | Example hyperlink, link |
SortSite rules: AccHtmlFrameTitleMissing
Test notes
All tests were carried out with screen reader factory settings. JAWS in particular has a wide variety of settings controlling exactly what gets spoken.
Screen readers allow users to interact in different modes, and can produce very different results in each mode. The modes used in these tests are:
- Reading Content read using the “read next” command in a screen reader
- Tabbing Content read using the “tab” key in a screen reader
- Heading Content read using the “next heading” key in a screen reader
- Touch Content read when touching an area of screen on a mobile device
In the “What the user hears” column:
- Commas represent short pauses in screen reader voicing
- Full Stops represent places where voicing stops, and the “read next” or “tab” or “next heading” command is pressed again
- Ellipsis … represent a long pause in voicing
- (Brackets) represent voicing that requires a keystroke to hear