Michigan Tech Giving

J. Robert Van Pelt and John and Ruanne Opie Library | Michigan Technological University

Majors, Degrees, and Programs | Michigan Technological University

Industry and Corporate Relations | Michigan Tech

Michigan Tech Website Settings | Michigan Tech

Arts and Entertainment | Michigan Tech

Career Services | Michigan Technological University

The Enterprise Program | Michigan Technological University

Fitness and Recreation | Michigan Tech

Pavlis Honors College | Michigan Tech

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

August 2025

July 2025

Michigan Technological University

Title / URL	Issues
Michigan Tech Givingwww.mtu.edu/giving/	18
J. Robert Van Pelt and John and Ruanne Opie Library \| Michigan Technological Universitywww.mtu.edu/library/	18
Majors, Degrees, and Programs \| Michigan Technological Universitywww.mtu.edu/majors/	18
Industry and Corporate Relations \| Michigan Techwww.mtu.edu/industry/	17
Michigan Tech Website Settings \| Michigan Techwww.mtu.edu/site-settings/	16
Arts and Entertainment \| Michigan Techwww.mtu.edu/arts/	14
Career Services \| Michigan Technological Universitywww.mtu.edu/career/	14
The Enterprise Program \| Michigan Technological Universitywww.mtu.edu/enterprise/	14
Fitness and Recreation \| Michigan Techwww.mtu.edu/recreation/	14
Pavlis Honors College \| Michigan Techwww.mtu.edu/honors/	14

Ensure focus is not fully obscured

Michigan Technological University

Where this issue has occurred