The release of WCAG 2.2 introduced two new level A success criteria and four new level AA success criteria. In this post, I provide a summary of Success Criteria 2.5.7 Dragging Movements (Level AA).
The aim of this Success Criterion is to eliminate the need for precise dexterity when dragging dynamic elements on a web page. The reality is that not all users can accurately press, hold, and reposition a pointer simultaneously. Users must be able to carry out tasks without having to use a dragging movement. I.e., they can do the same thing just by pointing.
Those individuals who find such precise pointer movements problematic should get the same result as their dexterous colleagues, using just a single pointer. Individuals helped by this success criteria include website visitors using input devices like trackballs, head pointers, eye-gaze systems, or speech-controlled mouse emulators.
The WCAG 2.2 2.5.7 Success Criteria states:
This criterion excludes scrolling enabled by the user-agent (i.e., browser, screen reader, media players, mobile devices, and assistive technologies), and techniques like CSS overflow to create scrollable content sections. The CSS overflow property creates a scrollable content section with a webpage.
Alternatives for Dragging Movements on the Same Page
If an equivalent option allows single-pointer access without dragging, this Success Criterion is met. It doesn’t have to be the same component, as long as the functionality is equivalent. For instance, a colour wheel with a dragging indicator can be complemented by text fields for numerical input.
What is not included
The checkpoint does not include any scrollbars on the browser itself or draggle functionality that is native to the browser interface. It only applies to draggle content created by the website author.
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