Web Accessibility Checker : Check Details

Element

frameset

Error Type

Likely

Guidelines

BITV 1.0 (Level 2)
Level 1
12.2 Describe the purpose of frames and how frames relate to each other if it is not obvious by frame titles alone.
Section 508
I - frames shall be titled
WCAG 1.0 (Level A)
Priority 1
1.1 Provide a text equivalent for every non-text element.
WCAG 1.0 (Level AA)
Priority 2
12.2 Describe the purpose of frames and how frames relate to each other if it is not obvious by frame titles alone.
WCAG 1.0 (Level AAA)
Priority 2
12.2 Describe the purpose of frames and how frames relate to each other if it is not obvious by frame titles alone.

Requirement

Relationship between frames must be described.

Error

Relationship between frames may not be described.

Short Description

If frameset element contains 3 or more frame elements then frameset element must contain a longdesc attribute that is a valid URL.

How To Determine

Question	Is the relationship between `frames` described within the document?
PASS	Relationship between `frames` is described.
FAIL	Relationship between `frames` is not described.

Steps To Check

Procedure

1. Count the number of frames in each frameset.
2. If the frameset contains 3 or more frames then check for a longdesc attribute on the frameset element.
3. Check the content that is referenced by the longdesc attribute to see if it contains a description of the relationship between the frames.

Expected Result

1. A frameset with 3 or more frames is expected to contain a valid longdesc attribute. The longdesc attribute must refer to a content that describes the relationship between the frames.

Failed Result

1. Add a longdesc attribute to the frameset element.
2. Ensure the longdesc attribute refers to a content that describes the relationship between the frames.

Examples

Pass Examples

frameset has 4 frames and a longdesc attribute.

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN""http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd">
<html lang="en">
<head>
<title>OAC Testfile - Check #34 - Negative</title>
</head>
<body>

<frameset longdesc="description.html">
	<frame />
	<frame />
	<frame />
	<frame />
</frameset>

</body>
</html>

Fail Examples

frameset has 4 frames and no longdesc attribute.

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN""http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd">
<html lang="en">
<head>
<title>OAC Testfile - Check #34 - Positive</title>
</head>
<body>

<frameset>
	<frame />
	<frame />
	<frame />
	<frame />
</frameset>

</body>
</html>