Web Accessibility Checker : Check Details

Element

table

Error Type

Potential

Guidelines

BITV 1.0 (Level 2)
Level 1
5.4 If a table is used for layout, do not use any structural markup for the purpose of visual formatting.
Stanca Act
Requirement 13: Layout Table Linearize And Markup
WCAG 1.0 (Level AA)
Priority 2
5.4 If a table is used for layout, do not use any structural markup for the purpose of visual formatting.
WCAG 1.0 (Level AAA)
Priority 2
5.4 If a table is used for layout, do not use any structural markup for the purpose of visual formatting.
WCAG 2.0 (Level A)
1.3 Ensure that information and structure can be separated from presentation
Success Criteria 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A)
WCAG 2.0 (Level AA)
1.3 Adaptable: Create content that can be presented in different ways (for example simpler layout) without losing information or structure.
Success Criteria 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A)
WCAG 2.0 (Level AAA)
1.3 Adaptable: Create content that can be presented in different ways without losing information or structure.
Success Criteria 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A)

Requirement

All layout tables do not contain th elements.

Error

Layout table may be misusing th elements.

Short Description

Data tables must have th elements while layout tables can not have th elements.

How To Determine

Question	Is this a layout table (and does not require `th` elements)?
PASS	This is a layout table (and does not require `th` elements).
FAIL	Is this a data table (and requires `th` elements)

Steps To Check

Procedure

1. Check each table in the document.
2. Determine if the table is used for layout purposes.
3. Check if the table contains th elements.

Expected Result

1. All layout tables do not contain th elements.

Failed Result

1. Remove all th elements from the table.

Examples

Pass Examples

Layout table without th elements.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/xhtml; charset=UTF-8" />
<title>ATRC Testfile - Check #114-1 - Positive</title>
</head>
<body>

<table border="0" cellpadding="5" summary="this table is used to create 2 columns of text">
<tr><td>Latin is a dead language.</td><td>The English language thrives.</td></tr>
<tr>
<td>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.</td>
<td>But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure.</td>
</tr>
</table>

</body>
</html>

Fail Examples

Layout table with th elements.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/xhtml; charset=UTF-8" />
<title>ATRC Testfile - Check #114-1 - Positive</title>
</head>
<body>

<table border="0" cellpadding="5" summary="this table is used to create 2 columns of text">
<caption>a</caption>
<tr><th>Latin is a dead language.</th><th>The English language thrives.</th></tr>
<tr>
<td>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.</td>
<td>But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure.</td>
</tr>
</table>

</body>
</html>