Tamira Snell

Nicklas Larsen

Martin Kruse

Carsten Beck

Simon Fuglsang Østergaard

Sofie Hvitved

Bugge Holm Hansen

Thomas Geuken

Our Projects

Dasha Krivonos

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

September 2025

August 2025

Institut for Fremtidsforskning

Title / URL	Issues
Tamira Snellcifs.dk/talks/tsn/	9
Nicklas Larsencifs.dk/talks/nil/	9
Martin Krusecifs.dk/talks/mkr/	9
Carsten Beckcifs.dk/talks/cab/	9
Simon Fuglsang Østergaardcifs.dk/talks/sio/	9
Sofie Hvitvedcifs.dk/talks/sh/	9
Bugge Holm Hansencifs.dk/talks/bhh/	9
Thomas Geukencifs.dk/talks/tg/	9
Our Projectscifs.dk/our-projects/	9
Dasha Krivonoscifs.dk/talks/dka/	9

Identify the purpose of fields programmatically

Institut for Fremtidsforskning

Where this issue has occurred