4.1.2 - Name, role, value

The intent of this success criterion is to ensure that Assistive Technologies (AT) can gather information about, activate (or set) and keep up to date on the status of user interface controls in the content. When standard controls from accessible technologies are used, this process is straightforward. If custom controls are created, however, or interface elements are programmed (in code or script) to have a different role and/or function than usual, then additional measures need to be taken to ensure that the controls provide important information to assistive technologies and allow themselves to be controlled by assistive technologies.

For all user interface components (including but not limited to: form elements, links and components generated by scripts), ENSURE that:

• name and role are programmatically determined
• states, properties, and values that can are to be set by the user can be programmatically set
• notification of changes to these items is available to user agents, including assistive technologies

This is specifically important when custom controls are coded as they need ARIA attributes to define the role and value at the element level.