Accessibility in Angular Drop down list component

27 Apr 20248 minutes to read

The DropDownList component has been designed, keeping in mind the WAI-ARIA specifications, and applies the WAI-ARIA roles, states, and properties along with keyboard support. This component is characterized by complete keyboard interaction support and ARIA accessibility support that makes it easy for people who use assistive technologies (AT) or those who completely rely on keyboard navigation.

The DropDownList component followed the accessibility guidelines and standards, including ADA, Section 508, WCAG 2.2 standards, and WCAG roles that are commonly used to evaluate accessibility.

The accessibility compliance for the DropDownList component is outlined below.

Accessibility Criteria Compatibility
WCAG 2.2 Support Yes
Section 508 Support Yes
Screen Reader Support Yes
Right-To-Left Support Yes
Color Contrast Yes
Mobile Device Support Yes
Keyboard Navigation Support Yes
Accessibility Checker Validation Yes
Axe-core Accessibility Validation Yes
Yes - All features of the component meet the requirement.
Intermediate - Some features of the component do not meet the requirement.
No - The component does not meet the requirement.

WAI-ARIA attributes

The DropDownList component uses the Listbox role, and each list item has an option role. The following ARIA attributes denote the DropDownList state.

Properties Functionalities
aria-haspopup Indicates whether the DropDownList input element has a popup list or not.
aria-expanded Indicates whether the popup list has expanded or not.
aria-selected Indicates the selected option.
aria-readonly Indicates the readonly state of the DropDownList element.
aria-disabled Indicates whether the DropDownList component is in a disabled state or not.
aria-activedescendent This attribute holds the ID of the active list item to focus its descendant child element.
aria-owns This attribute contains the ID of the popup list to indicate popup as a child element.

Keyboard Interaction

You can use the following key shortcuts to access the DropDownList without interruptions.

Keyboard shortcuts Actions
Arrow Down Selects the first item in the DropDownList when no item selected. Otherwise, selects the item next to the currently selected item.
Arrow Up Selects the item previous to the currently selected one.
Page Down Scrolls down to the next page and selects the first item when popup list opens.
Page Up Scrolls up to the previous page and selects the first item when popup list opens.
Enter Selects the focused item, and when it is in an open state the popup list closes. Otherwise, toggles the popup list.
Tab Focuses on the next TabIndex element on the page when the popup is closed. Otherwise, closes the popup list and remains the focus of the component.
Shift + tab Focuses on the previous TabIndex element on the page when the popup is closed. Otherwise, closes the popup list and remains the focus of the component.
Alt + Down Opens the popup list.
Alt + Up Closes the popup list.
Esc(Escape) Closes the popup list when it is in an open state and the currently selected item remains the same.
Home Selects the first item.
End Selects the last item.

In the following sample, alt+t keys are used to focus the DropDownList component.

import { NgModule } from '@angular/core'
import { BrowserModule } from '@angular/platform-browser'
import { FormsModule, ReactiveFormsModule } from '@angular/forms'
import { DropDownListModule } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-dropdowns'
import { ButtonModule } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-buttons'



import { Component, HostListener, ViewChild } from '@angular/core';
import { DropDownListComponent } from '@syncfusion/ej2-angular-dropdowns';

@Component({
imports: [
        FormsModule, ReactiveFormsModule, DropDownListModule, ButtonModule
    ],


standalone: true,
    selector: 'app-root',
    // specifies the template string for the DropDownList component with change event
    template: `<ejs-dropdownlist id='ddlelement' #samples [dataSource]='data' [placeholder]='text' [popupHeight]='height'></ejs-dropdownlist>`
})
export class AppComponent {
    @ViewChild('samples')
    public sports?: DropDownListComponent;
    constructor() {
    }
    // defined the array of data
    public data: string[] = ['Badminton', 'Basketball', 'Cricket', 'FootBall', 'Golf', 'Hockey', 'Rugby', 'Snooker', 'Tennis'];
    // set placeholder to DropDownList input element
    public text: string = "Select a game";
    // set the popup list height
    public height: string = '200px';
    @HostListener('document:keyup', ['$event'])
    handleKeyboardEvent(event: KeyboardEvent) {
        if (event.altKey && event.keyCode === 84 /* t */) {
            // press alt+t to focus the control.
            this.sports!.focusIn();
        }
    }
}
import { bootstrapApplication } from '@angular/platform-browser';
import { AppComponent } from './app.component';
import 'zone.js';
bootstrapApplication(AppComponent).catch((err) => console.error(err));

Ensuring accessibility

The DropDownList component’s accessibility levels are ensured through an accessibility-checker and axe-core software tools during automated testing.

The accessibility compliance of the DropDownList component is shown in the following sample. Open the sample in a new window to evaluate the accessibility of the DropDownList component with accessibility tools.

See also