Schools and Colleges | Academics | Chapman University

Student Life | Chapman University

Our Faculty | Chapman University

Connect With Us | Chapman University

Chapman University | A Top Private University in California

Visit Chapman | About | Chapman University

Campus Services | Chapman University

Alumni Engagement | Chapman University

Campus Life at Chapman University | Chapman University

When selecting a user interface component with the keyboard, the focus indicator must 
not be completely obscured by anything in front of it.

## Why this matters

When using a keyboard, it is important that the user can see where they are on the page.
If the focus indicator is obscured, the user may not know where they are, and may not
be able to interact with the page.

## Examples

Most common examples include:

* Banners at the top or bottom of the page, such as cookie banners
* Fixed navigation bars
* Fixed footers
* Popup modals, such as cookie consent modals

## How to fix

With elements that cover part of the screen, such as cookie banners, ensure
that the user can scroll to see any content behind the banner, without having to close
the banner.

With popup modals, it should usually be impossible to focus anything behind the modal.
Most common modal frameworks will automatically trap focus within the modal, so that
this is impossible. Example: [Bootstrap Modal](https://getbootstrap.com/docs/5.2/components/modal/#live-demo).

## Further reading

This is part of the draft WCAG 2.2 specification and is subject to change.

* [WCAG 2.4.12](https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG22/Understanding/focus-not-obscured.html)

ensure-focus-is-not-obscured-minimum

February 2025

January 2025

Chapman University

Title / URL	Issues
Schools and Colleges \| Academics \| Chapman Universitywww.chapman.edu/academics/schools-colleges.aspx	6
Student Life \| Chapman Universitywww.chapman.edu/students/life/index.aspx	4
Our Faculty \| Chapman Universitywww.chapman.edu/our-faculty/index	4
Connect With Us \| Chapman Universitywww.chapman.edu/about/connect/index.aspx	2
Chapman University \| A Top Private University in Californiawww.chapman.edu/index.aspx	2
Visit Chapman \| About \| Chapman Universitywww.chapman.edu/about/visit/index.aspx	2
Chapman University \| A Top Private University in Californiawww.chapman.edu/	2
Campus Services \| Chapman Universitywww.chapman.edu/campus-services/index.aspx	2
Alumni Engagement \| Chapman Universitywww.chapman.edu/alumni/index.aspx	1
Campus Life at Chapman University \| Chapman Universitywww.chapman.edu/campus-life/index.aspx	1

Ensure focus is not fully obscured

Chapman University

Where this issue has occurred