WAI-ARIA: aria-selected (State)

Description

Indicates the current “selected” state of various widgets. See related aria-checked and aria-pressed.

This attribute is used with single-selection and multiple-selection widgets:

Single-selection containers where the currently focused item is not selected. The selection normally follows the focus, and is managed by the user agent.

Multiple-selection containers. Authors SHOULD ensure that any selectable descendant of a container in which the aria-multiselectable attribute is true specifies a value of either true or false for the aria-selected attribute.

Any explicit assignment of aria-selected takes precedence over the implicit selection based on focus. If no DOM element in the widget is explicitly marked as selected, assistive technologies MAY convey implicit selection which follows the keyboard focus of the managed focus widget. If any DOM element in the widget is explicitly marked as selected, the user agent MUST NOT convey implicit selection for the widget.

Browser Compatibility

Screen Reader Support

aria-selected Example

<div class="tab-interface">
  <div role="tablist" aria-label="Sample Tabs">
    <span
      role="tab"
      aria-selected="true"
      aria-controls="panel-1"
      id="tab-1"
      tabindex="0">
      First Tab
    </span>
    <span
      role="tab"
      aria-selected="false"
      aria-controls="panel-2"
      id="tab-2"
      tabindex="-1">
      Second Tab
    </span>
    <span
      role="tab"
      aria-selected="false"
      aria-controls="panel-3"
      id="tab-3"
      tabindex="-1">
      Third Tab
    </span>
  </div>
  <div id="panel-1" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0" aria-labelledby="tab-1">
    <p>Content for the first panel</p>
  </div>
  <div id="panel-2" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0" aria-labelledby="tab-2" hidden>
    <p>Content for the second panel</p>
  </div>
  <div id="panel-3" role="tabpanel" tabindex="0" aria-labelledby="tab-3" hidden>
    <p>Content for the third panel</p>
  </div>
</div>

Characteristics

Used in Roles

• gridcell
• option
• row
• tab

Inherits into Roles

• columnheader
• rowheader
• treeitem

Value

• true/false/undefined:
  Value representing true, false, or not applicable. For example, an element with aria-expanded set to false is not currently expanded; an element with aria-expanded set to undefined is not expandable. The default value for this value type is undefined unless otherwise specified.
• false
  • The selectable element is not selected.
• true
  • The selectable element is selected.
• undefined (default)
  • The element is not selectable.

Semantic HTML

Use the HTML “selected” attribute.

<select>
<option value="volvo">Volvo</option>
<option value="saab">Saab</option>
<option value="vw">VW</option>
<option value="audi" selected>Audi</option>
</select>

Reference

• WAI-ARIA 1.2 Specification
  Refer to the notes from the WAI-ARIA 1.2 specification for more information on aria-selected.
• A11Y Support
  The screenreader compatibility for each of the ARIA attributes is taken from the A11Y Support. Please refer to the original source if screenreader compatibility is updated for aria-selected.
• MDN Web Docs
  The browser compatibility for each of the ARIA attributes is taken from the MDN Web Docs. Please refer to the original source if browser compatibility is updated for aria-selected.