And, describe a test Russ Weakley and I currently doing into the effective accessibility of different ways to mark up complex data tables.How the accessibility of data tables can be improved,.The presentation and layout of web page elements should now be controlled through the appropriate use of cascading style sheets. Complicated layout tables with their masses of cryptic code are no longer cool. The use of tables for layout can cause significant accessibility problems and thankfully the work of organisations like the Web Standards Group have seen this use decline in recent times. The table element was introduced with HTML 2.0 in 1994 as a means of presenting data, for example timetables, tabular information about weights, measures, prices etc.Īlmost from day one however, Web designers began using table elements to control the layout or presentation of information on a Web page.Īnd, by the time HTML 3.2 came along, the main use of tables on the web was to control the look of the page rather than the presentation of data in a tabular form. Prepared by Roger Hudson For the Web Essential Info Night in Sydney – 30 June 2005

Table accessibility screen reader