| bc-version |
domain |
keywords |
technologies |
countries |
application-area |
|
|
ui |
| showcaption |
| editable |
| accessibility |
| screen-reader |
| label |
|
|
|
|
Keep captions on editable fields
Description
ShowCaption = false on an editable page field removes the visible and accessible label that identifies the input. InstructionalText is not a replacement: it behaves like placeholder text, disappears after entry, and is not reliably announced as the field label. The default ShowCaption = true is the safe form-field pattern.
Best Practice
Leave captions visible on editable fields. ShowCaption = false is acceptable for non-editable content fields, for fields inside a valid data-table grid pattern, and for the first visible field in a parent group with a visible non-empty caption; in that last pattern, the group caption becomes the accessible label.
See sample: keep-captions-on-editable-fields.good.al.
Anti Pattern
Hiding the caption on an editable field because the page layout looks cleaner, or because InstructionalText appears to describe the input. Screen reader users lose the field label, and sighted users lose the persistent visual cue.
See sample: keep-captions-on-editable-fields.bad.al.