- Success Criterion 1.4.13
- Conformance level AA
Tooltip That Covers the Very Field It’s Meant to Explain
1.4.13 — Content on Hover or Focus
Scenario
Setting
A hospital's patient portal appointment scheduler
What’s wrong
Tooltip obscures the very field it describes and can't be dismissed.
Example
On a hospital's patient portal appointment scheduler, a visitor hits this wall: tooltip obscures the very field it describes and can't be dismissed.
Why it matters
Screen-magnifier users, people with motor tremors, and keyboard-only users of tooltips/menus. In this case (a hospital's patient portal appointment scheduler), they can't read the text against its background.
How to test
Trigger a tooltip near a form field: if it visually covers the very field it's describing and can't be dismissed, it fails.
How to fix
Hover/focus-triggered content must stay visible until dismissed, be dismissible with Esc without moving pointer/focus, and remain when the pointer moves onto it.
Outcome
Once corrected, a hospital's patient portal appointment scheduler lets them tell the information apart without relying on color, specifically for the “Tooltip That Covers the Very Field It's Meant to Explain” issue on a hospital's patient portal appointment scheduler.
Who is affected
Screen-magnifier users, people with motor tremors, and keyboard-only users of tooltips/menus.
Learn more
- Understanding Understanding document (opens in a new tab)
Related scenarios
- Hover Tooltip That Vanishes Before the Pointer Can Reach It
- Hover Content That Can’t Be Dismissed Without Moving the Mouse
- Tooltip That Can’t Be Closed With the Escape Key
- Mega-Menu That Collapses When Crossing the Gap to Reach It
- Hover Preview Card That Vanishes on the Slightest Pointer Move
- Focus-Triggered Popover That Steals or Dumps Keyboard Focus