bcquality/microsoft/knowledge/ui/semantic-styles-need-independent-textual-meaning.md
Jesper Schulz-Wedde 2b5550c346
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Improve partner onboarding and documentation navigation (#174)
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Co-authored-by: Jesper Schulz-Wedde <jesper.schulzwedde@microsoft.com>
Co-authored-by: Copilot App <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
2026-09-09 17:31:03 +02:00

1.9 KiB

bc-version domain keywords technologies countries application-area
all
ui
style
favorable
unfavorable
ambiguous
color
accessibility
al
w1
all

Semantic styles need independent textual meaning

Description

Three Style values carry semantic meaning through color and must be backed by text that conveys the same meaning:

  • Favorable (Bold + Green) — implies a positive outcome.
  • Unfavorable (Bold + Italic + Red) — implies a negative outcome.
  • Ambiguous (Yellow) — implies an uncertain or mixed outcome.

For accessibility, assume the style is completely invisible to the user. The semantic meaning must be independently determinable from at least one of:

  1. The field caption matches the semantic meaning (e.g. caption "Error" with Style = Unfavorable, or "Profit" with Style = Favorable).
  2. The field value communicates the meaning (e.g. value "Success!" with Favorable, a negative number with Unfavorable).
  3. An adjacent field provides a textual representation of the semantic meaning (e.g. a "Status" column reads "High" / "Medium" / "Low" alongside a percentage field).

The rule applies equally whether Style is set to a literal value or to a variable that evaluates to a semantic style at runtime.

Best Practice

When you reach for Favorable, Unfavorable, or Ambiguous, verify that the caption, value, or an adjacent column already conveys the same meaning. See sample: semantic-styles-need-independent-textual-meaning.good.al.

Anti Pattern

Applying a semantic style for purely cosmetic emphasis (e.g. green company name for aesthetics), or using semantic colors where only the color reveals the threshold (e.g. confidence percentages with no qualitative label). See sample: semantic-styles-need-independent-textual-meaning.bad.al.