1.4.12 Text Spacing [Level AA]

• Description
• Sufficient techniques
• Advisory techniques
• Failures
• Notes

Description

In content implemented using markup languages that support the following text style properties, no loss of content or functionality occurs by setting all of the following and by changing no other style property:

• Line height (line spacing) to at least 1.5 times the font size;
• Spacing following paragraphs to at least 2 times the font size;
• Letter spacing (tracking) to at least 0.12 times the font size;
• Word spacing to at least 0.16 times the font size.

Exception: Human languages and scripts that do not make use of one or more of these text style properties in written text can conform using only the properties that exist for that combination of language and script.

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Sufficent Techniques

• C36: Allowing for text spacing override
• C35: Allowing for text spacing without wrapping

Advisory Techniques

• C8: Using CSS letter-spacing to control spacing within a word
• C21: Specifying line spacing in CSS
• C28: Specifying the size of text containers using em units

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Failures

• Failure of Success Criterion 1.4.12 due to not allowing for spacing override. (Future technique)

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Notes

How to test

Steve Faulkner created a browser bookmarklet to test this. Read the blog post.

To use: activate the bookmarklet; this applies the required styles (increased letter and word spacing etc). Then visually scan through page content identify any issues such as clipping or overlaying of content.

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