Accessibility in React Multi select component

2 Feb 202316 minutes to read

The MultiSelect 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.

ARIA attributes

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

Properties	Functionalities
aria-haspopup	Indicates whether the MultiSelect 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 MultiSelect element.
aria-disabled	Indicates whether the MultiSelect 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 MultiSelect without interruptions.

Keyboard shortcuts	Actions
Arrow Down	Set focus at the first item in the MultiSelect when no item selected. Otherwise, moves focus next to the currently selected item.
Arrow Up	Moves focus previous to the currently selected one.
Page Down	Scrolls down to the next page and set focus to the first item when popup list opens.
Page Up	Scrolls up to the previous page and set focus to the first item when popup list opens.
Enter	Selects the focused item, and popup list closes when it is in open state.
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	set focus to the first item.
End	set focus to the last item.

In the below sample, focus the MultiSelect component using alt+t keys.

[Class-component]

index.jsx

import { MultiSelectComponent } from '@syncfusion/ej2-react-dropdowns';
import * as React from 'react';
import * as ReactDOM from 'react-dom';
export default class App extends React.Component {
    // instance of MultiSelect component
    multiSelectObj;
    // defined the array of data
    gameList = [
        { id: 'Game1', game: 'Badminton' },
        { id: 'Game2', game: 'Basketball' },
        { id: 'Game3', game: 'Cricket' },
        { id: 'Game4', game: 'Football' },
        { id: 'Game5', game: 'Golf' },
        { id: 'Game6', game: 'Hockey' },
        { id: 'Game7', game: 'Rugby' },
        { id: 'Game8', game: 'Snooker' },
        { id: 'Game9', game: 'Tennis' }
    ];
    // maps the appropriate column to fields property
    fields = { text: 'game', value: 'id' };
    componentDidMount() {
        const proxy = this;
        document.onkeyup = (e) => {
            if (e.altKey && e.keyCode === 84 /* t */) {
                // press alt+t to focus the control.
                proxy.multiSelectObj.inputElement.focus();
            }
        };
    }
    render() {
        return (
        // specifies the tag for render the MultiSelect component
        <MultiSelectComponent id="mtselement" ref={(scope) => { this.multiSelectObj = scope; }} popupHeight='200px' fields={this.fields} dataSource={this.gameList} placeholder="Select a game"/>);
    }
}
ReactDOM.render(<App />, document.getElementById('sample'));

index.tsx

import { MultiSelectComponent } from '@syncfusion/ej2-react-dropdowns';
import * as React from 'react';
import * as ReactDOM from 'react-dom';

export default class App extends React.Component<{}, {}> {
    // instance of MultiSelect component
    public multiSelectObj: MultiSelectComponent | null;
    // defined the array of data
    private gameList: { [key: string]: Object }[] = [
        { id: 'Game1', game: 'Badminton' },
        { id: 'Game2', game: 'Basketball' },
        { id: 'Game3', game: 'Cricket' },
        { id: 'Game4', game: 'Football' },
        { id: 'Game5', game: 'Golf' },
        { id: 'Game6', game: 'Hockey' },
        { id: 'Game7', game: 'Rugby' },
        { id: 'Game8', game: 'Snooker' },
        { id: 'Game9', game: 'Tennis' }
    ];

    // maps the appropriate column to fields property
    private fields: object = { text: 'game', value: 'id' };


    public componentDidMount() {
        const proxy = this;
        document.onkeyup = (e) => {
            if (e.altKey && e.keyCode === 84 /* t */) {
                // press alt+t to focus the control.
                (proxy.multiSelectObj as any).inputElement.focus()
            }
        };
    }

    public render() {
        return (
            // specifies the tag for render the MultiSelect component
            <MultiSelectComponent id="mtselement" ref={(scope) => { this.multiSelectObj  = scope; }} popupHeight='200px' fields={this.fields} dataSource={this.gameList} placeholder="Select a game" />
        );
    }
}
ReactDOM.render(<App />, document.getElementById('sample'));

[Functional-component]

index.jsx

import { MultiSelectComponent } from '@syncfusion/ej2-react-dropdowns';
import * as React from 'react';
import * as ReactDOM from 'react-dom';
function App() {
    // instance of MultiSelect component
    let multiSelectObj;
    // defined the array of data
    const gameList = [
        { id: 'Game1', game: 'Badminton' },
        { id: 'Game2', game: 'Basketball' },
        { id: 'Game3', game: 'Cricket' },
        { id: 'Game4', game: 'Football' },
        { id: 'Game5', game: 'Golf' },
        { id: 'Game6', game: 'Hockey' },
        { id: 'Game7', game: 'Rugby' },
        { id: 'Game8', game: 'Snooker' },
        { id: 'Game9', game: 'Tennis' }
    ];
    // maps the appropriate column to fields property
    const fields = { text: 'game', value: 'id' };
    React.useEffect(() => {
        const proxy = this;
        document.onkeyup = (e) => {
            if (e.altKey && e.keyCode === 84 /* t */) {
                // press alt+t to focus the control.
                proxy.multiSelectObj.inputElement.focus();
            }
        };
    }, []);
    return (
    // specifies the tag for render the MultiSelect component
    <MultiSelectComponent id="mtselement" ref={(scope) => { multiSelectObj = scope; }} popupHeight='200px' fields={fields} dataSource={gameList} placeholder="Select a game"/>);
}
ReactDOM.render(<App />, document.getElementById('sample'));

index.tsx

import { MultiSelectComponent } from '@syncfusion/ej2-react-dropdowns';
import * as React from 'react';
import * as ReactDOM from 'react-dom';

function App() {
    // instance of MultiSelect component
    let multiSelectObj: MultiSelectComponent | null;
    // defined the array of data
    const gameList: { [key: string]: Object }[] = [
        { id: 'Game1', game: 'Badminton' },
        { id: 'Game2', game: 'Basketball' },
        { id: 'Game3', game: 'Cricket' },
        { id: 'Game4', game: 'Football' },
        { id: 'Game5', game: 'Golf' },
        { id: 'Game6', game: 'Hockey' },
        { id: 'Game7', game: 'Rugby' },
        { id: 'Game8', game: 'Snooker' },
        { id: 'Game9', game: 'Tennis' }
    ];

    // maps the appropriate column to fields property
    const fields: object = { text: 'game', value: 'id' };
    React.useEffect(() => {
        document.onkeyup = (e) => {
            if (e.altKey && e.keyCode === 84 /* t */) {
                // press alt+t to focus the control.
                (multiSelectObj as any).inputElement.focus()
            }
        };
    }, []);
    return (
    // specifies the tag for render the MultiSelect component
        <MultiSelectComponent id="mtselement" ref={(scope) => {multiSelectObj  = scope; }} popupHeight='200px' fields={fields} dataSource={gameList} placeholder="Select a game" />
    );
}
ReactDOM.render(<App />, document.getElementById('sample'));