Bug 41810 – AX: TextArea should return AXSelectedTextRange of 0,0 if the cursor is not in the text area

• Component: Accessibility
• Status: RESOLVED FIXED

[chris fleizach]

A text area in a webpage will return a null value for AXSelectedTextRange if the cursor is not in the text range. It should return a text range of 0,0 instead

Here's webkit
   AXSelectedText (W):  ""
   AXSelectedTextRange (W):  "(null)"

here's TextEdit
   AXSelectedText (W):  ""
   AXSelectedTextRange (W):  "pos=0 len=0"

[chris fleizach]

Created attachment 60799 [details]
Patch

[Darin Adler]

Comment on attachment 60799 [details]
Patch

Is this better? It returns the same value it would if the insertion point was at the start of the text area. It seems to me that a blinking insertion point is different from not having selection at all.

r=me

[chris fleizach]

(In reply to comment #2)
> (From update of attachment 60799 [details])
> Is this better? It returns the same value it would if the insertion point was at the start of the text area. It seems to me that a blinking insertion point is different from not having selection at all.
> 
> r=me

This matches TextEdit and Cocoa behavior. I had come across a VoiceOver bug a while ago that was relying on this value not being nil. When nil is returned, that usually propagates back a AX error. I think we should match Cocoa behavior in this case.

[chris fleizach]

http://trac.webkit.org/changeset/62735