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Data table with role=note Screen reader compatibility

ARIA HTML
Sep 11, 2022

Expected Result: causes problems in some screen readers

Actual Result: causes problems in 64 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.

This test checks whether applying non-table roles removes table semantics.

Code used for this test:


		<table role='note'>
		  <tbody>
			<tr>
			  <th><strong>Morning</strong></th>
			  <th><strong>Afternoon</strong></th>
			</tr>
			<tr>
			  <td>Free</td>
			  <td>Busy</td>
			</tr>
		  </tbody>
		</table>

Change History

Last updated: September 11, 2022

  • Bad NVDA with Chrome Causes problems from NVDA 2018.4 to NVDA 2022.2
  • Better NVDA with IE Better - caused problems in NVDA 2012.3, but now OK in NVDA 2019.2
  • Bad NVDA with FF Causes problems from NVDA 2012.3 to NVDA 2022.2
  • Bad JAWS with Chrome Causes problems from JAWS 2018.1811.2 to JAWS 2022.2207.25
  • Bad JAWS with IE Causes problems from JAWS 13.0.852 to JAWS 2019.1912.1
  • Bad JAWS with FF Causes problems in JAWS 2022.2207.25
  • Bad VoiceOver macOS Causes problems from VoiceOver macOS 10.9 to VoiceOver macOS 12.5
  • Bad VoiceOver iOS Causes problems from VoiceOver iOS 7.1 to VoiceOver iOS 15.6
  • Worse WindowEyes with IE Worse - was OK in WindowEyes 8.4, but now causes problems in WindowEyes 9.2
  • Good Dolphin with IE OK in Dolphin SR 15.05
  • Good SaToGo with IE OK in SaToGo 3.4.96.0
Screen readerBrowserModeNotesWhat the user hears
Fail NVDA 2022.2Chrome 105 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail NVDA 2022.2FF102 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail NVDA 2022.2Edge 105 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail NVDA 2021.2Chrome 94 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail NVDA 2021.2FF91 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail NVDA 2021.2Edge 94 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail NVDA 2020.2Chrome 86 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail NVDA 2020.2FF78 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail NVDA 2020.2Edge 92 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail NVDA 2019.2Chrome 79 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail NVDA 2019.2FF68 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
OK NVDA 2019.2IE11 Reading Table with two rows and two columns, row one column one, morning. Column two afternoon. Row two, morning, column one, free. Afternoon, column two, busy.
Fail NVDA 2018.4Chrome 73 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail NVDA 2018.4FF60 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
OK NVDA 2018.4IE11 Reading Table with two rows and two columns, row one column one, morning. Column two afternoon. Row two, morning, column one, free. Afternoon, column two, busy.
Fail NVDA 2017.3FF60 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
OK NVDA 2017.3IE11 Reading Table with two rows and two columns, row one column one, morning. Column two afternoon. Row two, morning, column one, free. Afternoon, column two, busy.
Fail NVDA 2016.2FF48 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
OK NVDA 2016.2IE11 Reading Table with two rows and two columns, row one column one, morning. Column two afternoon. Row two, morning, column one, free. Afternoon, column two, busy.
Fail NVDA 2015.2FF41 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
OK NVDA 2015.2IE11 Reading Table with two rows and two columns, row one column one, morning. Column two afternoon. Row two, morning, column one, free. Afternoon, column two, busy.
Fail NVDA 2014.1FF31 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
OK NVDA 2014.1IE11 Reading Table with two rows and two columns, row one column one, morning. Column two afternoon. Row two, morning, column one, free. Afternoon, column two, busy.
Fail NVDA 2012.3FF32 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail NVDA 2012.3IE11 Reading Treated as data table, but no headers read out. Table with two rows, row one column one, morning. Column two afternoon. Row two, column one, free. Column two, busy.
Fail JAWS 2022.2207.25Chrome 105 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Note. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail JAWS 2022.2207.25FF102 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Note. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail JAWS 2022.2207.25Edge 105 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Note. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail JAWS 2021.2107.12Chrome 94 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Note. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail JAWS 2021.2107.12FF91 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Note. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail JAWS 2021.2107.12Edge 94 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Note. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail JAWS 2020.2008.24Chrome 86 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Note. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail JAWS 2020.2008.24FF78 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Note. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail JAWS 2020.2008.24Edge 92 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Note. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail JAWS 2019.1912.1Chrome 79 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Note. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail JAWS 2019.1912.1FF68 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Note. Morning, afternoon, free, busy.
Fail JAWS 2019.1912.1IE11 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Note. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail JAWS 2018.1811.2Chrome 73 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Note. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail JAWS 2018.1811.2FF60 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Note. Morning, afternoon, free, busy.
Fail JAWS 2018.1811.2IE11 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Note. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail JAWS 18.0.5038FF52 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Note. Morning, afternoon, free, busy.
Fail JAWS 18.0.5038IE11 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Note. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail JAWS 17.0.2619FF48 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Note. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail JAWS 17.0.2619IE11 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Note. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail JAWS 16.0.4350FF41 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Note. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail JAWS 16.0.4350IE11 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Note. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail JAWS 15.0.9023FF31 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Note. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail JAWS 15.0.9023IE11 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Note. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail JAWS 14.0.9002FF31 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Note. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail JAWS 14.0.9002IE11 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Note. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
OK JAWS 13.0.852FF31 Reading Table with two columns and two rows. Morning (column one, row one, morning). Afternoon (column two, row one, afternoon). Free (column one, row two, morning, free). Busy (column two, row two, afternoon, busy).
Fail JAWS 13.0.852IE11 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail WindowEyes 9.2IE11 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
OK WindowEyes 8.4IE11 Reading Table three start, two rows, two columns. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail VoiceOver macOS 12.5Safari 15.6 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail VoiceOver macOS 11.5Safari 15.0 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail VoiceOver macOS 10.15Safari 14.1 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail VoiceOver macOS 10.14Safari 13.0 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail VoiceOver macOS 10.13Safari 12.1 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail VoiceOver macOS 10.12Safari 10.1.2 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail VoiceOver macOS 10.11Safari 9.1.2 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail VoiceOver macOS 10.10Safari 9.0.1 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail VoiceOver macOS 10.9Safari 7.0.3 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy.
Fail VoiceOver iOS 15.6Safari iOS 15.6 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Morning, Afternoon. Free, Busy.
Fail VoiceOver iOS 14.7Safari iOS 14.7 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Morning, Afternoon. Free, Busy.
Fail VoiceOver iOS 13.3Safari iOS 13.3 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Morning, Afternoon. Free, Busy.
Fail VoiceOver iOS 12.4Safari iOS 12.4 Reading Announced as table, but no row/column positions or headers read. Morning, table start, note, landmark. Afternoon. Free. Busy. Table end, end, note end.
Fail VoiceOver iOS 11.4Safari iOS 11.4 Reading Announced as table, but no row/column positions or headers read. Morning, table start, note, landmark. Afternoon. Free. Busy. Table end, end, note end.
Fail VoiceOver iOS 10.3Safari iOS 10.3 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Morning, note, landmark. Afternoon. Free. Busy, end note.
Fail VoiceOver iOS 9.1Safari iOS 9.1 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Morning, afternoon. Free, busy.
Fail VoiceOver iOS 8.4Safari iOS 8.4 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Morning, afternoon. Free, busy.
Fail VoiceOver iOS 7.1Safari iOS 7.1 Reading Table treated as layout table - not announced as table, and no headers read. Morning, afternoon. Free, busy.
OK Dolphin SR 15.05IE11 Reading Table two rows, two columns, morning, column one, row one. Afternoon, column two, row one. Free, column one, row two. Busy, column two, row two.
OK SaToGo 3.4.96.0IE11 Reading Entering table, morning. Afternoon. Free. Busy. Leaving table.

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