Combo Problems with JAWS

[ADe]

We have noticed that when using the JAWS screen reader the users cannot properly use the RadComboBox.

Obviously these users do not use a mouse and find then when using the cursor keys (with JAWS running) to navigate through combo boxes it allows you to go down a few entries and then stops doing anything.

Has anyone else experienced this problem?

Regards
ADe

[Simon]

Hi ADe,

The RadComboBox does not respond in this case because:

1. RCB's main interactive element is an <input type="text". />
2. It handles the browser keydown event to capture 'special' key presses, e.g. 'Down Arrow'.
3. The keydown event of input elements is, by default, handled by the JAWS reader, so it never reaches the RCB client-side object.

You can avoid this by first pressing 'Enter' while inside the RadComboBox. This immediately switches to JAWS Forms Mode where events start firing as in a normal browser. In this case, pressing the 'Down Arrow' properly changes the Items in the RCB.

Regards,
Simon
the Telerik team

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[bdr]

Hello Telerik Team,

We are still experiencing the behavior initially reported by ADe.  We have tried the recommended solution, but even after pressing Enter to go into Forms Mode, the arrow keys do not allow us to freely navigate through the list of RadComboBox items.  We can go a few items into the list, but then the arrow keys become unresponsive.  Is there a different workaround?

We greatly appreciate any further help you can provide.

Thanks,
bdr

[Simon]

Hello bdr,

We recently assessed our JAWS compliance in RadComboBox and did not come up with pleasant results. In response to this we will implement WAI-ARIA support for RadComboBox in the upcoming Service Pack for Q3 2010. Since JAWS 12 supports WAI-ARIA we hope that in this way we will cover the demand for more complete accessibility support in RCB.

Best wishes,
Simon
the Telerik team

[bdr]

Thanks very much for your reply, Simon.  Do you happen to know when the service pack that you mentioned for Q3 2010 is scheduled to be released?  Is that service pack something we'll be able to run as a trial version prior to purchasing so we can evaluate the added WAI-ARIA support for RCB on our end?

Many thanks,
bdr

[Yana]

Hi,

The service pack is expected in the middle of December and you'll be able to download it and evaluate it.

Greetings,
Yana
the Telerik team

[bdr]

Hi Yana (and Simon),

I was pleased to see that the latest service pack has been released, as mentioned in your previous post.  I read through the list of included features, but didn't see the WAI-ARIA support listed in association with the RCB.  Are you aware of whether that support made it into this release?

Many thanks,
bdr

[Kalina]

Hello ADe,

Please excuse us for the delay.
We started implementing the WAI ARIA support for the previous service pack release, but again the tests with JAWS screen reader were not satisfactory enough.

It seems that the screen readers still have some issues with WAI ARIA.
That is why at the moment we can offer a partial WAI ARIA support.
However we started researching these issues in order to find a way to overcome them.

At the upcoming Service Pack we will release an initial version of WAI ARIA support feature - you can download this version and give it a try. 
Please note that this feature is yet to be improved and enhanced.

All the best,
Kalina
the Telerik team

[Abhishek]

Hi Kalina, Is the issue of compatibility between RadCombo control and JAWS is resolved?

I am using RadCombo (Version:  2013.1.417.40) control and still facing issues. As soon as focus goes to combo control with JAWS reader is on the combo box becomes unresponsive and not accessible with key board.

Regards,

Abhishek

[Nencho]

Hello Abhishek,

We have enhanced and fully implemented the JAWS compliance of the RadComboBox.  However, these modification does not exists in the specified version that you use. You can get advantage of them in our latest official release. This is why, I would suggest you to upgrade the currently used version to our latest official release and test the behavior.

Regards,
Nencho
Telerik