WCAG 3.2.2: On Input

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OVERVIEW

Effort:

  • Complexity:Difficult
  • Duration:Slow

Important for:

Development

What's it about?

Interacting with form elements such as text fields or checkboxes must not cause a context change unless the user has been informed about this behavior beforehand.

Illustration of a checkbox that triggers unexpected context changes when clicked, such as shifting focus or opening a new tab.

How to

Depending on your situation, you can implement one of the following options to meet the criterion. For a deeper dive, please refer to the linked WCAG techniques.

  • Provide a submit button

    Instead of submitting a form immediately after the user finishes the last input, there should be a submit button that only submits the form when the button is activated.

    Technique(s):

    Illustration of a contact form with a submit button. The form is only submitted after the submit button is pressed.

  • Inform users about context changes

    If a context change is unavoidable, inform the user before they interact with the form element so they know what will happen.

    Example: Checking a checkbox opens a new tab. This is allowed if the user is informed beforehand (through text above the checkbox).

    Technique(s):

    • WCAG does not list a technique for this.

    Notes

        • Illustration of a website with articles and filters for those articles. When the filters are clicked, the page’s content changes. This is allowed because it is a change of content, not a change of context

          Hint: Context vs. content change

          What is the difference between a context change and a content change?

          A context change occurs when the page reloads, the focus moves, or content changes automatically (more about this in criterion 3.2.1: On Focus).

          A content change, on the other hand, is when:

          • Only the content changes (e.g., filters in an e-commerce shop)

          • New content is loaded (e.g., new form fields appearing after input) but the focus is not moved to it

          Content changes are allowed. Context changes violate the criterion.

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