WCAG 2.1/targets

SC from Sept WD

The size of the target for pointer inputs is at least 44 by 44 CSS pixels except when:

Customizable - A mechanism is available to change the size of the target independent of the level of page magnification;
Equivalent - The target is available through an equivalent link or control on the same page that is at least 44 by 44 CSS pixels;
Essential - A particular presentation of target is essential to the information being conveyed;
In-Page - The target is a text link where the destination is on the same page;
Inline - The target is in a block of text;
Grouped - Targets in groups of more than five have at least one dimension that is 44 pixels and the other is at least 22 pixels;
User Agent Control - The appearance of the target is determined by the user agent and is not modified by the author.

SC revision discussed at TPAC

The size of the target for pointer inputs is at least 44 by 22 CSS pixels except when:

Essential - A particular presentation of target is essential to the information being conveyed;
Text Links - The target is a text link with a size that is at least 22 pixels in width or height;
User Agent Control - The appearance of the target is determined by the user agent and is not modified by the author.

Note to clarify in understanding document: Pages with equivalent and conforming versions of non-conforming targets satisfy this Success Criteria per Conformance Requirement 2.

SC revision discussed on Nov 21 call (Kathy's suggestion)

The size of the target for pointer inputs is at least 44 by 22 CSS pixels except when:

Essential - A presentation of target is essential to the information being conveyed;
Equivalent - The target is available through an equivalent link or control on the same page that is at least 44 by 22 CSS pixels;
In-Page - The target is a text link where the destination is on the same page;
Text Links - The target is a text link with a size that is at least 22 pixels in width or height;
User Agent Control - The appearance of the target is determined by the user agent and is not modified by the author.

Concerns: small link (to footnotes, in math/sci content. Concerns about not including text links.

Alternative Wording

Level AA The size of the target for pointer inputs is at least 44 by 22 CSS pixels except when:

Essential - A presentation of target is essential to the information being conveyed;
Equivalent - The target is available through an equivalent link or control on the same page that is at least 44 by 22 CSS pixels;
Inline - The target is in a sentence or block of text;
User Agent Control - The size of the target is determined by the user agent and is not modified by the author

Level AAA The size of the target for pointer inputs is at least 44 by 44 CSS pixels except when:

Essential - A presentation of target is essential to the information being conveyed;
Equivalent - The target is available through an equivalent link or control on the same page that is at least 44 by 44 CSS pixels;
Inline - The target is at least 22 by 22 CSS pixels when in a sentence or block of text;
User Agent Control - The size of the target is determined by the user agent and is not modified by the author

Comment responses

558: In the latest draft we have modified the exceptions related to text links to require that text-based links within a sentence or block of text are exempted. We believe that this addressed your concern.

480: We agree that this is easier to test when you have access to the code, but as links are measurable on a screen we expect that tools will develop to ease the testing process.

420: In the latest draft we have modified the exceptions related to text links so that text-based links within a sentence or block of text are exempted. We believe that this addressed your concern.

357: In the latest draft we have modified the exceptions substantially and believe that this addresses some of your concerns. Regarding your point about the size of controls being determined by the device, this is why we are using CSS pixels as the measure - to account for different levels of pixel density.

332: We have made several changes to the SC text to address your concerns:

Text links: the SC is not limited to only text links (this is not a change), but text-based links within a sentence or block of text are exempted. Block of text: language was added to include individual sentences as well, but for blocks of text we are continuing to rely on the WCAG 2.0 definition. Mechanism is available: We will address this point in the understanding documentation Five links: removed.