Graduate & Professional Studies | Fairfield University

Online Programs | Fairfield University

Apply | Fairfield University

404 | Fairfield University

Events | Fairfield University

Fairfield University | Fairfield University

Mission, Values and History | Fairfield University

Intersessions & Continuing Studies | Fairfield University

Schools and Faculty | Fairfield University

Plan Your Visit | Fairfield University

To comply with WCAG 2.1, fields must identify what their purpose is _programmatically_. If done correctly,
this allows browsers to help users fill in forms with known information, such as their name and email address.

This is accomplished via the `autocomplete` attribute, which should be set to a 
[supported value](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Attributes/autocomplete) wherever
appropriate, e.g. 

```html
<label for="name">
  First Name
</label>
<input id="name" type="text" autocomplete="given-name">
```

For fields where `autocomplete` is not appropriate, e.g. due to security, or the field not matching the
specification, the specific field should be ignored.

## Methodology

* All fields which could support `autocomplete` (e.g. text fields)
  are checked. Other fields - like dropdown menus - are ignored.
* The [accessible name](https://www.w3.org/TR/accname-1.2/) of each field is considered. In most cases this
  will be the `<label>` for the field.
* If the name matches a known pattern the field 
  must have an appropriate `autocomplete` value specified.
  For example, an `<input>` with type `text` with a label of 
  "First Name" would be expected to have an autocomplete value 
  of `given-name` or similar.

Note that using `autocomplete="on"` is not sufficient to pass this check, a
specific named autocomplete value must be used. See the
[supported values](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML/Attributes/autocomplete).

## Troubleshooting

If a field is a false positive, check whether the field has an 
appropriate accessible name (i.e. a `<label>` or `aria-label`).

If the label is incorrect, Silktide may assume that the field 
requires `autocomplete` where it does not. You should fix the 
label to avoid this.

Otherwise, you can simply ignore the specific field.

## More information

* [How to use HTML 5.2 attributes](https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Techniques/html/H98)

identify-input-purpose

January 2025

December 2024

Fairfield University

Title / URL	Issues
Graduate & Professional Studies \| Fairfield Universityfairfield.edu/graduate-and-professional-studies/index.html	7
Online Programs \| Fairfield Universityfairfield.edu/online-programs/index.html	7
Apply \| Fairfield Universitywww.fairfield.edu/apply/	5
404 \| Fairfield Universityfairfield.edu/invented-url-for-404-page	5
Events \| Fairfield Universityfairfield.edu/events/	5
Fairfield University \| Fairfield Universitywww.fairfield.edu/	5
Mission, Values and History \| Fairfield Universityfairfield.edu/about/mission-values-history/index.html	5
Intersessions & Continuing Studies \| Fairfield Universityfairfield.edu/intersessions-and-continuing-studies/index.html	5
Schools and Faculty \| Fairfield Universityfairfield.edu/about/schools-and-faculty/index.html	5
Plan Your Visit \| Fairfield Universitywww.fairfield.edu/plan-your-visit/	5

Identify the purpose of fields programmatically

Fairfield University

Where this issue has occurred