Set aria-controls on opening button if dialog is not a direct sibling

[MarcoHengstenberg]

If the modal dialog is not a direct sibling of the opening button, this button needs an aria-controls attribute with a value matching the ID of the dialog.

Currently I'd set this manually but maybe it's possible to do this programmatically.

[KittyGiraudel]

Good morning Marco!

Could I ask you to provide the reference in the specifications for this maybe? I would like to read a little bit about it before implementing it. Thank you! :)

[MarcoHengstenberg]

The first time I read about aria-controls was in Leonie Watson's blog: https://tink.uk/using-the-aria-controls-attribute/

Here's the spec part: https://www.w3.org/WAI/PF/aria-1.1/states_and_properties#aria-controls

There is a wonderful article by Heydon Pickering on why NOT to use it: http://www.heydonworks.com/article/aria-controls-is-poop
and the counter argument is to be found in the thread of this issue: w3c/aria#716

Especially the thread on the Github issue is the point where I think it makes sense to add the attribute with a matching value of the ID on the dialog. Using aria-expanded you'd let the user know whether the dialog is visible or not and with aria-controls you give a hint on "it's not a direct sibling to the trigger/button/link pointing at the dialog.

Makes sense?

[KittyGiraudel]

I’m coming back on this and am a little on the fence.

I don’t know whether a button opening a dialog should have the aria-controls and aria-expanded attributes. I haven’t seen them used in the context of dialogs, only toggles.

[KittyGiraudel]

I’m going to close this as I’m struggling to find relevant documentation illustrating the usage of aria-controls for a dialog. Feel free to reopen if you feel strongly about it and we can discuss the way forward. :)