Title: Notable Accessibility Changes in 5.2 Author: Will Earnhardt Published: April 24, 2019 --- [ ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/earnjam/) [Will Earnhardt](https://profiles.wordpress.org/earnjam/) 7:24 pm _on_ April 24, 2019 Tags: [5.2 ( 37 )](https://make.wordpress.org/core/tag/5-2/), [accessibility ( 59 )](https://make.wordpress.org/core/tag/accessibility/), [dev-notes ( 647 )](https://make.wordpress.org/core/tag/dev-notes/) # Notable Accessibility Changes in 5.2 In addition to the [semantic improvements to tabs in the admin area](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/04/02/admin-tabs-semantic-improvements-in-5-2/), there are a few additional accessibilityAccessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Accessibility) changes developers should make note of in WordPress 5.2. ## Post Formats in List Tables When post formats were used prior to WordPress 5.2, icons representing the specific format were displayed beside the post title in the Posts list table. These icons served as links that filtered the list by the associated post format. These icons have now been removed in favor of a dedicated dropdown select filterFilter Filters are one of the two types of Hooks [https://codex.wordpress.org/Plugin_API/Hooks](https://codex.wordpress.org/Plugin_API/Hooks). They provide a way for functions to modify data of other functions. They are the counterpart to Actions. Unlike Actions, filters are meant to work in an isolated manner, and should never have side effects such as affecting global variables and output. above the list table. See: [#35497](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/35497), [#46591](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/46591) ## Adminadmin (and super admin) Bar Submenu Link Markup In the WordPress admin bar, menu items with nested items used arrow icons generated via CSSCSS Cascading Style Sheets. with a `.ab-item:before` pseudo element. Starting with WordPress 5.2 these arrow icons use a wrapper `` element: `` _This change should only affect plugins that modify the admin bar using custom icons._ PluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress. org Plugin Directory [https://wordpress.org/plugins/](https://wordpress.org/plugins/) or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party. authors are encouraged to use the new markup and adjust their plugin CSS accordingly. This change is part of a broader effort—tracked in [#40428](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/40428)— to progressively introduce best practices to make screen readers ignore CSS generated content when it’s _not_ intended to be available for speech output. See: [#37513](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/37513) ## Archive WidgetWidget A WordPress Widget is a small block that performs a specific function. You can add these widgets in sidebars also known as widget-ready areas on your web page. WordPress widgets were originally created to provide a simple and easy-to-use way of giving design and structure control of the WordPress theme to the user. Dropdown Improvements To add consistency with the Categories Widget, and to improve contextual awareness for those using screen readers and other assistive technologies, WordPress 5.2 will now pre-select the currently viewed archive in the Archive Dropdown Widget. This is handled through the addition of a new `$selected` boolean parameter in the` get_archives_link()` function. By default, `$selected` is set to `true` if the current page is the selected archive page. The new parameter is also available in the associated` get_archives_link` filter. In addition, four new date-based parameters have been added to `wp_get_archives()`. By default, `$year`, `$monthnum`, `$day`, and `$w` are set to the their current date values, and are used to determine the value of `$selected` to pass to `get_archives_link()`, as noted above. Developers utilizing `wp_get_archives()` may pass in different date values through these parameters to use as the comparison for the currently viewed archive page. See: [#40662](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/40662) ## Other Changes of Note * A new media view, `wp.media.view.Heading`, was added to facilitate adding accessibility friendly headings to the media library/modal. This enables those using screen readers to quickly jump between sections of the interface. See [#36925](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/36925) * Similarly, headings were added to the data tables on the Export Personal Data and Erase Personal Data pages. See [#46041](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/46041) * Some minor adjustments have been made to the Alt text and URLURL A specific web address of a website or web page on the Internet, such as a website’s URL www. wordpress.org fields in the media modals. The Alt text field is now the first field displayed, and it has an explanation below it to help educate on proper usage. The label for the “URL” field now says “Copy link” instead of “URL”. See [#41612](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/41612) [#5-2](https://make.wordpress.org/core/tag/5-2/), [#accessibility](https://make.wordpress.org/core/tag/accessibility/), [#dev-notes](https://make.wordpress.org/core/tag/dev-notes/) ### Share this: * [ Threads ](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/04/24/notable-accessibility-changes-in-5-2/?share=threads) * [ Mastodon ](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/04/24/notable-accessibility-changes-in-5-2/?share=mastodon) * [ Bluesky ](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/04/24/notable-accessibility-changes-in-5-2/?share=bluesky) * [ X ](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/04/24/notable-accessibility-changes-in-5-2/?share=x) * [ Facebook ](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/04/24/notable-accessibility-changes-in-5-2/?share=facebook) * [ LinkedIn ](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/04/24/notable-accessibility-changes-in-5-2/?share=linkedin) 1. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/cd257f389c91f137dab25f343b527123e887135b01921ebb6206e40cfa2eb636? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 2. [Knut Sparhell](https://profiles.wordpress.org/knutsp/) 4:05 am _on_ April 25, 2019 3. “Adminadmin (and super admin) Bar” should be Admin Toolbar or just Toolbar. See [https://wordpress.org/support/article/toolbar/](https://wordpress.org/support/article/toolbar/) Comments are closed. # Post navigation [← Editor chat summary: April 24th](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/04/24/editor-chat-summary-april-24th/) [Miscellaneous Developer Updates in 5.2 →](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/04/24/miscellaneous-developer-updates-in-5-2/)