Technique ARIA23:Using role=log
to identify sequential information updates
Description
The purpose of this technique is to notify Assistive Technologies (AT) when content
has been appended to sequential information concerning the application's history or
logs. The aria live region role of log
has an implicit aria-live
value of polite
and aria-atomic
value of false
, which allows a user to be notified via AT (such as a screen reader) when log messages
are added. The new content within the aria-live region is automatically read by the
AT, without the AT having to focus on the place where the text is displayed. See WAI-ARIA 1.1 log (role) for more details.
Examples
Example 1: Updating the contents of a chat conversation
Comments that users type into a chat input field are appended to the end of the chat
history region. The region is marked with role of log
so that new additions are announced by ATs. When each new chat message appears, a
screen reader should announce its content (depending on AT/browser compatibility).
<div id="chatRegion" role="log" aria-labelledby="chatHeading">
<h4 id="chatHeading">Chat History</h4>
<ul id="conversation">
<li>The latest chat message</li>
</ul>
</div>
Working example: chatlog.html
Example 2: Updating the log of a server
An application log records time-stamped activities. The log is exposed in the app
as a view, with the region marked with the role of log
so that the new additions are announced by the ATs. (The default value for the aria-relevant
attribute is "additions", so the removal of the old top entries due to log size limitations
will not be announced.) When each new log entry is added, a screen reader announces
it.
<div id="activityLog" role="log">
<h4 id="logHeading">Recent activity</h4>
<ul id="logentries"">
<li>08:03 UserX logged off</li>
</ul>
</div>
Working example: serverlog.html
Applicability
Content using WAI-ARIA.
Tests
Procedure
On a page that contains sequentially updating information:
- Check that the container for the information is given a role of
log
.
Expected Results
- #1 is true.