Seeking Best Accessibility Practices

Screen Reader Visibility Test Results

Visibility Tests

This series of tests seeks to understand how screen readers and other assistive technology react to different methods of hiding information from visual display. The following table offers the results from Quizzes 5.2.1 through 5.2.12, test cases 1 through 12.

The desired result is y/n, meaning a screen reader announces the material, but it is not visible.

The result n/n means a screen reader does not announce the material and it is not visible either.

The result NT means not tested.

In the results table, hover over the test case number in the top row to see the test parameters.

Screen Reader or user agent 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Connect OutLoud 2 n/n y/n y/n n/n n/n n/n y/n y/n y/n y/* y/n y/n
Jaws 4 and IE 6 n/n y/n y/n n/n n/n y/n y/n y/n y/n y/* y/n y/*
Jaws 5 and IE 6 n/n n/n y/n n/n y/n y/n y/n y/n y/n y/* y/n y/n
Jaws 6 and IE 6 n/n n/n n/n n/n y/n y/n y/n y/n y/n y/* y/n y/*
Window Eyes 4.5 and IE 6 n/n n/n n/n n/n y/n y/n n/n n/n n/n n/n n/n n/n
Window Eyes 5 and IE 6 n/n n/n n/n n/n y/n y/n n/n y/n y/n y/n y/n y/n
IBM HPR 3.04 and IE 6 n/n n/n n/n n/n y/n y/n y/n y/n y/n y/* y/n y/*
pwWebSpeak 3 y/y y/y y/y y/y y/y y/y NT NT NT NT NT NT
Mac OSX Text to Speech NT y/n y/n NT NT NT NT NT NT NT NT NT
Microsoft Narrator NT y/n y/n NT NT NT NT NT NT NT NT NT
Opera 8 with Voice NT y/n n/n n/n y/n y/n y/n y/n y/n y/n y/n y/n
Voice Over and Safari 2.0 NT NT NT NT NY NT y/n y/n y/n y/* y/n y/*
Lynx -/y -/y -/y -/y -/y -/y -/y -/y -/y -/y -/y -/y
Fangs for Firefox (*) n/n n/n n/n n/n y/n y/n y/n y/n y/n y/n y/n y/n

Notes:

  • Fangs is rated y/n if the hidden material is displayed in the Fangs’ Screen Reader Output text, but not displayed in the Firefox visual display.
  • Test 10 in IE: text overprints next line. In Safari: VoiceOver cursor is visible.
  • Test 11: Text is not displayed, but space is reserved for the text block.
  • Test 12: IE and Safari display first letter of text, sometimes more.

Last updated: 5 June, 2005


5 Responses to “Screen Reader Visibility Test Results”

  1. Access Matters   : Speaking form labels - Summary Says:

    […] If there is no other choice than to hide labels, use the techniques we know work universally well: offtop, offleft, and nosize. Do not use display:none; It is unreliable and inconsistently implemented in screen readers. You can also check other techniques that we have previously tested. […]

  2. Comparativa de lectors de pantalla - a.css, esbudellant estàndards Says:

    […] A Access Matters, un seti interessant sobre accessibilitat presenta Screen Reader Test Results, una interessant comparativa dels resultats a diversos tests de visibilitat pels lectors de pantalla. […]

  3. Spider Trax » Table Captions and Internet Explorer Says:

    […] according to the Screenreader Visibility Test Results, the caption should still be available to all of the common screenreaders (although JAWS 7 needs […]

  4. mcdave.net » links for 2007-10-06 Says:

    […] Access Matters » Screen Reader Visibility Test Results (tags: accessibility css screenreaders reference comparison screenreader chart design) […]

  5. Do It Myself Blog - Glenda Watson Hyatt » Are Negative CAPTCHAs Any More Accessible? Says:

    […] vary widely in how they react to hidden or invisible information as demonstrated by  Bob Easton’s research results (note: you would want a n/n for this […]