Braille attributes need a non-braille equivalent
- Rule:
axe/aria-braille-equivalent - Checks: aria-braille attributes must have a non-braille equivalent
- WCAG: 4.1.2
- Fix class:
content: A fix needs authored text.
Who it affects
Section titled “Who it affects”- People who use a screen reader or a braille display, most of them blind.
How to fix it
Section titled “How to fix it”An element has aria-braillelabel but no accessible name
Section titled “An element has aria-braillelabel but no accessible name”Give the element an accessible name first, from its text, an alt or aria-label. aria-braillelabel only changes how that name is shown on a braille display; speech output still reads the name, so without one, people who listen get nothing. If the name reads well in braille as it is, remove aria-braillelabel instead.
<span role="img" aria-label="Rated 4 out of 5" aria-braillelabel="4/5">★★★★☆</span>An element has aria-brailleroledescription but no aria-roledescription
Section titled “An element has aria-brailleroledescription but no aria-roledescription”Add an aria-roledescription that describes the role in words, or remove aria-brailleroledescription. Browsers expose the braille version only alongside a role description, because it is meant as a shorter braille form of that description.
<div role="group" aria-roledescription="slide" aria-brailleroledescription="sld" aria-label="2 of 5"> <img src="harbor.jpg" alt="Boats moored in the harbor at dusk"></div>axe asks for review, as it does for every finding of this rule
Section titled “axe asks for review, as it does for every finding of this rule”Check that the element has a name, and a role description where it has a braille one, that people who listen can follow. Then check that each braille attribute conveys the same meaning in a form suited to braille.
Fixes that fail
Section titled “Fixes that fail”Copying the accessible name into aria-braillelabel
Section titled “Copying the accessible name into aria-braillelabel”Screen readers already show the name in braille, translated to each reader’s settings. A copy adds nothing and drifts when the name changes; keep aria-braillelabel for names that read badly in braille.
Putting information in aria-braillelabel that the name leaves out
Section titled “Putting information in aria-braillelabel that the name leaves out”Braille and speech users then get different content. The braille label stands in for the name on a braille display, so it carries the same meaning, not extra detail.
Writing the value in Unicode braille pattern characters
Section titled “Writing the value in Unicode braille pattern characters”Assistive technology passes those characters through untranslated, bypassing the reader’s own braille code and settings, so ARIA strongly discourages them. Write ordinary text unless an exact braille rendering is essential.
More on the rule
Section titled “More on the rule”axe-core’s documentation of the rule
CORA’s fix guidance adapts content from accessibility-agents, under the MIT License: see its notice.