On 23/2/06 10:19 PM, "Ian Anderson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Kevin Futter wrote: > >> Anyway, for the benefit of others interested in this thread/topic, the >> upshot from the above link seems to be that the pipe character (|) is the >> best compromise currently available as a screen reader-friendly element >> separator. > > I profoundly disagree with that. The vertical bar is the worst thing you > can use in a breadcrumb trail, regardless of how it reads in a screen > reader. This is conventionally used on the web as a separator for > sibling links, and it really doesn't work as a breadcrumb separator for > sighted users. For the record, I was merely summarising the article that Patrick's earlier link pointed to, not endorsing its conclusions. I too tend to agree that the pipe is a poor choice for sighted users as it already has semiotic significance on the web. > I don't think a list is appropriate markup for breadcrumbs and prefer > the conventional "You are in: home > products > foo" We certainly agree here! > Screen reader users in our user testing on sites with this construct had > no problems with it reading "home greater than products greater than > foo", and reported that it was a very useful aid. Now I find this very interesting, mainly because the article seemed not to be based on any user testing, but rather a developer running various alternatives through JAWS and making assumptions about the usability of the results. (Please correct me if I'm wrong - I didn't bookmark the link so I can't go back to confirm.) What you're saying is based on direct observation of and feedback from the target audience, which is of course far more valuable. -- Kevin Futter Webmaster, St. Bernard's College http://www.sbc.melb.catholic.edu.au/ ****************************************************** The discussion list for http://webstandardsgroup.org/ See http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm for some hints on posting to the list & getting help ******************************************************
