Understanding Accessibility
by Vivienne Trulock
Users of this site also found these sites useful
Guideline 5. Create tables that transform gracefully.
Checkpoint 5.3 - Do not use tables for layout unless the table makes sense when linearized. Otherwise, if the table does not make sense, provide an alternative equivalent (which may be a linearized version
Tables may be rendered incorrectly by some assistive devices, such that pieces of text from adjacent cells are merged together. This is due to incorrect linearization of the table.
How do I do it?
Correct coding of table header and data information as in checkpoints 5.1 and 5.2 will help to render the table correctly. However, different assistive devices and browsers may treat tables differently.
How do I check that it meets the WCAG criteria?
To check whether a page’s tables linearize correctly they can be viewed using lynx, a text only viewer. An installer for lynx2.8.5 is also available. Lynx treats the <TR> tag as a <BR> tag, and the <TR> and <TD> tags as spaces, effectively linearising the table. Where the text is readable, understandable, and available in full the page has passed. Where the text is garbled or not displayed in any instances, the page will be have failed this check.
