DropDownList Accessibility
The DropDownList is accessible by screen readers and provides WAI-ARIA, Section 508, WCAG 2.2, and keyboard support.
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Out of the box, the Kendo UI for jQuery DropDownList provides extensive accessibility support and enables users with disabilities to acquire complete control over its features.
The DropDownList is compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standards](https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG22/) and Section 508 requirements, follows the Web Accessibility Initiative - Accessible Rich Internet Applications (WAI-ARIA) best practices for implementing the keyboard navigation for its component role, provides options for managing its focus and is tested against the most popular screen readers.
WAI-ARIA
This section lists the selectors, attributes, and behavior patterns supported by the component and its composite elements, if any.
DropDownList Wrapping Element
The following table summarizes the selectors and attributes supported by the DropDownList wrapper element:
| Selector | Attribute | Usage |
|---|---|---|
.k-dropdownlist:not(.k-views-dropdown) |
role=combobox |
Announces the button drop-down element. |
label for or aria-label or aria-labelledby
|
The input requires an accessible name that will be assigned to it. | |
aria-haspopup=listbox |
Indicates the presence of a listbox popup. | |
aria-expanded=true/false |
Announces the visibility state of the popup. | |
aria-controls=.k-list-ul id |
Points to the listbox element. Signifies that the combobox controls the listbox element. |
|
aria-describedby=.k-input-inner id |
Announces the selected value of the drop-down. | |
aria-activedescendant=.k-list-item.k-focus id |
Points to the focused item in the popup. The focused item is changed through keyboard navigation. If the popup is not visible, the attribute must not point to any element or must be removed. | |
aria-readonly=true |
The attribute is rendered only when the DropDownList is read-only. | |
aria-busy=true |
The attribute is rendered only when the DropDownList is loading data. | |
tabindex=0 |
The element must be focusable. | |
.k-invalid .k-input-inner,.ng-invalid .k-input-inner |
aria-invalid=true |
The attribute is rendered only when the DropDownList is in a form, and announces the valid state of the component. |
.k-dropdownlist.k-disabled |
aria-disabled=true |
The attribute is rendered only when the DropDownList is disabled. |
.k-input-button |
role=button or nodeName=button
|
The element must either be a <button> element or must have the role="button" assigned. |
aria-label |
The button requires an accessible name that will be assigned to it. | |
tabindex=-1 |
The button element must not be focusable. |
Popup
The following table summarizes the selectors and attributes supported by the DropDownList popup:
| Selector | Attribute | Usage |
|---|---|---|
.k-list-filter>.k-searchbox>.k-input-inner |
role=searchbox |
Announces the search box capability of the input. |
aria-label |
Points to the search label. | |
aria-activedescendant=.k-list-item.k-focus id |
Points to the focused item or to an item from the popup. | |
aria-autocomplete=list |
Indicates the list-filtering capabilities of the selected items. | |
aria-controls=.k-list-ul id |
Points to the popup element. Builds the relationship between the input and the popup. | |
aria-haspopup=listbox |
Indicates the presence of a listbox popup. | |
.k-list-ul |
aria-live=polite/off |
Assures the live updates on the selected value of the popup. |
Popup Listbox
The listbox placed in the popup element of the DropDownList has to implement the WAI-ARIA specification for a Popup List component. The following table summarizes the selectors and attributes supported by the listbox popup of the DropDownList:
| Selector | Attribute | Usage |
|---|---|---|
.k-animation-container |
role=region |
When the component container is appended to the <body> element of the document, it requires you to assing a landmark role to it. Otherwise, append it to an element with an appropriate landmark role. |
aria-label or aria-labelledby
|
When the container has a region role assigned, povides a label. |
|
.k-list-ul |
role=listbox |
Identifies the ul element as a listbox. |
aria-label or aria-labelledby
|
Provides a label for the listbox of the ComboBox. | |
.k-list-item |
role=option |
Identifies the li element as a listbox option. |
id |
When grouped, the list items must have an id attribute specified, so that the aria-owns attribute of their group header elements (with role=group) point to that ids. |
|
aria-describedby |
When grouped, the list items must have an aria-describedby attribute pointing to the id of the k-list-item-text element in their k-list-group-item. |
|
.k-list-item.k-selected |
aria-selected=true |
Indicates the selected state of the item. |
.k-list-group-item |
role=group |
The group elements in the popup list must be have role=group. |
aria-owns |
The group elements in the popup list must own the list items belonging to their group. | |
.k-list-group-item>.k-list-item-text |
id |
The k-list-item-text elements of the k-list-group-item must have an id specified. The aria-labelledby attribute of the list items in the group must point to that id. |
Resources
WAI-ARIA Authoring Practices: Select-Only Combobox Example
Section 508
The DropDownList is fully compliant with the Section 508 requirements.
Testing
The DropDownList has been extensively tested automatically with axe-core and manually with the most popular screen readers.
To report any accessibility issues, contact the team through the Telerik Support System.
Screen Readers
The DropDownList has been tested with the following screen readers and browsers combinations:
| Environment | Tool |
|---|---|
| Firefox | NVDA |
| Chrome | JAWS |
| Microsoft Edge | JAWS |
Automated Testing
The DropDownList has been tested with axe-core.
Test Example
A live test example of the DropDownList component could be found here: https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-ui/accessibility/dropdownlist