Space separated words Screen reader compatibility

HTML WCAG

Dec 12, 2023

Expected Result: causes problems in some screen readers

Actual Result: causes problems in 82 screen reader / browser combinations

For expected failures, the results show which AT combos the failures affect. Results are recorded from the user's viewpoint, so describe the user impact of authoring errors.

WCAG Failure: F32

Code used for this test:


		<span>S A L E</span>

Change History

Last updated: December 12, 2023

NVDA with Chrome Causes problems from NVDA 2018.4 to NVDA 2023.3
NVDA with IE Causes problems from NVDA 2012.1 to NVDA 2019.2
NVDA with FF Causes problems from NVDA 2012.1 to NVDA 2023.3
JAWS with Chrome Causes problems from JAWS 2018.1811.2 to JAWS 2023.2311.34
JAWS with IE Causes problems from JAWS 13.0.852 to JAWS 2019.1912.1
JAWS with FF Causes problems from JAWS 13.0.852 to JAWS 2023.2311.34
VoiceOver macOS Causes problems from VoiceOver macOS 10.9 to VoiceOver macOS 13.6
VoiceOver iOS Causes problems from VoiceOver iOS 7.1 to VoiceOver iOS 16.6
WindowEyes with IE Causes problems from WindowEyes 8.4 to WindowEyes 9.2
Dolphin with IE Causes problems in Dolphin SR 15.05
SaToGo with IE Causes problems in SaToGo 3.4.96.0

Screen reader	Browser	Mode	Notes	What the user hears
NVDA 2023.3	Chrome 120	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
NVDA 2023.3	FF 115	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
NVDA 2023.3	Edge 120	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
NVDA 2022.2	Chrome 105	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
NVDA 2022.2	FF 102	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
NVDA 2022.2	Edge 105	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
NVDA 2021.2	Chrome 94	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
NVDA 2021.2	FF 91	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
NVDA 2021.2	Edge 94	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
NVDA 2020.2	Chrome 86	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
NVDA 2020.2	FF 78	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
NVDA 2020.2	Edge 92	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
NVDA 2019.2	Chrome 79	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
NVDA 2019.2	FF 68	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
NVDA 2019.2	IE11	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
NVDA 2018.4	Chrome 73	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
NVDA 2018.4	FF 60	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
NVDA 2018.4	IE11	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
NVDA 2017.3	FF 60	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S a L E
NVDA 2017.3	IE11	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S a L E
NVDA 2016.2	FF 48	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S a L E
NVDA 2016.2	IE11	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S a L E
NVDA 2015.2	FF 41	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S a L E
NVDA 2015.2	IE11	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S a L E
NVDA 2014.1	FF 29	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S a L E
NVDA 2014.1	IE11	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S a L E
NVDA 2012.1	FF 29	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S a L E
NVDA 2012.1	IE11	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S a L E
JAWS 2023.2311.34	Chrome 120	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
JAWS 2023.2311.34	FF 115	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
JAWS 2023.2311.34	Edge 120	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
JAWS 2022.2207.25	Chrome 105	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
JAWS 2022.2207.25	FF 102	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
JAWS 2022.2207.25	Edge 105	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
JAWS 2021.2107.12	Chrome 94	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
JAWS 2021.2107.12	FF 91	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
JAWS 2021.2107.12	Edge 94	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
JAWS 2020.2008.24	Chrome 86	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
JAWS 2020.2008.24	FF 78	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
JAWS 2020.2008.24	Edge 92	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
JAWS 2019.1912.1	Chrome 79	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
JAWS 2019.1912.1	FF 68	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
JAWS 2019.1912.1	IE11	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
JAWS 2018.1811.2	Chrome 73	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
JAWS 2018.1811.2	FF 60	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
JAWS 2018.1811.2	IE11	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
JAWS 18.0.5038	FF 52	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
JAWS 18.0.5038	IE11	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
JAWS 17.0.2619	FF 48	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
JAWS 17.0.2619	IE11	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
JAWS 16.0.4350	FF 41	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
JAWS 16.0.4350	IE11	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
JAWS 15.0.9023	FF 29	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
JAWS 15.0.9023	IE11	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
JAWS 14.0.9002	FF 29	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
JAWS 14.0.9002	IE11	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
JAWS 13.0.852	FF 29	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
JAWS 13.0.852	IE11	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
WindowEyes 9.2	IE11	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
WindowEyes 8.4	IE11	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
VoiceOver macOS 13.6	Safari 16.6	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
VoiceOver macOS 12.5	Safari 15.6	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
VoiceOver macOS 11.5	Safari 15.0	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
VoiceOver macOS 10.15	Safari 14.1	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
VoiceOver macOS 10.14	Safari 13.0	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
VoiceOver macOS 10.13	Safari 12.1	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
VoiceOver macOS 10.12	Safari 10.1.2	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
VoiceOver macOS 10.11	Safari 9.1.2	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
VoiceOver macOS 10.10	Safari 9.0.1	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
VoiceOver macOS 10.9	Safari 7.0.3	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
VoiceOver iOS 16.6	Safari iOS 16.6	Touch	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
VoiceOver iOS 15.6	Safari iOS 15.6	Touch	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
VoiceOver iOS 14.7	Safari iOS 14.7	Touch	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
VoiceOver iOS 13.3	Safari iOS 13.3	Touch	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
VoiceOver iOS 12.4	Safari iOS 12.4	Touch	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
VoiceOver iOS 11.4	Safari iOS 11.4	Touch	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
VoiceOver iOS 10.3	Safari iOS 10.3	Touch	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
VoiceOver iOS 9.1	Safari iOS 9.1	Touch	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
VoiceOver iOS 8.4	Safari iOS 8.4	Touch	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
VoiceOver iOS 7.1	Safari iOS 7.1	Touch	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
Dolphin SR 15.05	IE11	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S A L E
SaToGo 3.4.96.0	IE11	Reading	Spells out word a letter at a time.	S a L E

SortSite rules: AccWcag2-F32-1

Test notes

All tests were carried out with screen reader factory settings. JAWS in particular has a wide variety of settings controlling exactly what gets spoken.

Screen readers allow users to interact in different modes, and can produce very different results in each mode. The modes used in these tests are:

Reading Content read using the “read next” command in a screen reader
Tabbing Content read using the “tab” key in a screen reader
Heading Content read using the “next heading” key in a screen reader
Touch Content read when touching an area of screen on a mobile device

In the “What the user hears” column:

Commas represent short pauses in screen reader voicing
Full Stops represent places where voicing stops, and the “read next” or “tab” or “next heading” command is pressed again
Ellipsis … represent a long pause in voicing
(Brackets) represent voicing that requires a keystroke to hear