Back to JAWS, Window-Eyes and display:none: Return to 2007

Testing Window-Eyes and display:none

Below is a link in a paragraph. The link contains a span set to display:none, while the paragraph has a CSS background image. Window-Eyes 7.5 in Internet Explorer 9, but not in Firefox 5, still reads the hidden span's content because of the CSS background image on its ancestor.

Go to google.com this is a hidden span element

Removing the background image prevents Window-Eyes in IE9 from reading the content hidden using display:none, as is demonstrated in the following link.

Go to bing.com this is a hidden span element

If we use a simple div element and hide it with display:none, as long as it has background image on it or an ancestor, Window-Eyes in IE9 will read it. Immediately below is a div with a background image. It contains a second div hidden with just display:none that should not be read, but is nonetheless.

Even, as shown with the following link, if the anchor itself is hidden using display:none, and the containing paragraph has a background image, Window-Eyes in IE9 will still read it.

Hidden link to altavista.com

Finally, using visibility:hidden, with or without display:none, prevents Window-Eyes in IE9 from reading the hidden content, even if an ancestor element has a background image. In the following link, the containing paragraph has a CSS background image, but both display:none and visibility:hidden are used on the span inside the link. The hidden span is not read by Window-Eyes.

Go to yahoo.com this is a hidden span element