Accessibility

Editu builds on Tiptap and ProseMirror, which provide a solid foundation for accessible rich text editing. This guide covers keyboard navigation, screen reader support, and best practices for building accessible applications with Editu.

Note

Editu has not undergone a formal accessibility audit. The information below describes built-in capabilities and recommended practices but does not constitute a WCAG conformance claim.

Text Formatting

Shortcut	Action
`Mod-b`	Bold
`Mod-i`	Italic
`Mod-u`	Underline
`Mod-Shift-s`	Strikethrough
`Mod-e`	Inline code

TIP

Mod refers to Ctrl on Windows/Linux and Cmd on macOS.

Block Elements

Shortcut	Action
`Mod-Alt-1` through `Mod-Alt-3`	Heading levels 1–3
`Mod-Shift-b`	Blockquote
`Tab` / `Shift-Tab`	Indent / outdent list items
`Enter`	New paragraph or continue list
`Shift-Enter` / `Mod-Enter`	Hard line break
`---` + `Enter`	Horizontal rule

History

Shortcut	Action
`Mod-z`	Undo
`Mod-Shift-z`	Redo
`Mod-y`	Redo (Windows alternative)

Find & Replace

Shortcut	Action
`Mod-f`	Open Find
`Mod-Shift-h`	Open Find & Replace
`Enter`	Next match (when Find panel is open)
`Shift-Enter`	Previous match
`Escape`	Close Find panel

Block Reordering (Drag Handle)

Shortcut	Action
`Alt-ArrowUp`	Move block up
`Alt-ArrowDown`	Move block down

Shortcut	Action
`Tab`	Next cell
`Shift-Tab`	Previous cell
Arrow keys	Navigate between cells

Shortcut	Action
`/`	Open slash command menu
`ArrowUp` / `ArrowDown`	Navigate menu items
`Enter`	Select item
`Escape`	Close menu
Type to filter	Filter menu items

Shortcut	Action
`ArrowUp` / `ArrowDown`	Move between blocks
`Home` / `End`	Start / end of line
`Mod-Home` / `Mod-End`	Start / end of document
`Mod-a`	Select all

ARIA Attributes

Editu's editor element uses the contenteditable attribute, which modern screen readers recognize as an editable region. To improve screen reader support, set ARIA attributes via editorProps:

typescript

const editor = useEdituEditor({
  // Set ARIA attributes on the editor element
  editorProps: {
    attributes: {
      role: 'textbox',
      'aria-multiline': 'true',
      'aria-label': 'Document editor',
    },
  },
});

Recommended ARIA attributes:

role="textbox" — Identifies the editor as a text input region
aria-multiline="true" — Indicates that the editor supports multi-line editing
aria-label — Provides an accessible name for the editor

Live Regions

For dynamic content like save indicators and slash menu results, use ARIA live regions:

tsx

// Save indicator with live region
<div aria-live="polite" aria-atomic="true">
  {status === 'saved' && 'Content saved'}
  {status === 'saving' && 'Saving...'}
  {status === 'error' && 'Save failed'}
</div>

Announcing Content Changes

When you programmatically update content, announce changes to screen readers:

typescript

function announceChange(message: string) {
  const el = document.createElement('div');
  el.setAttribute('role', 'status');
  el.setAttribute('aria-live', 'polite');
  el.className = 'sr-only';
  el.textContent = message;
  document.body.appendChild(el);
  setTimeout(() => el.remove(), 1000);
}

// Usage
editor.commands.setContent(newContent);
announceChange('Document content updated');

Focus Management

Editor Focus

You can focus the editor programmatically:

typescript

// Focus at the end of the document
editor.commands.focus('end');

// Focus at the start
editor.commands.focus('start');

// Focus at a specific position
editor.commands.focus(42);

You can add a skip link before the editor for keyboard users:

html

<a href="#editor-content" class="sr-only focus:not-sr-only">
  Skip to editor
</a>

<!-- Other toolbar/navigation content -->

<div id="editor-content">
  <EdituEditor editor={editor} />
</div>

Focus Trap Considerations

Editu does not trap focus. You can Tab out of the editor to reach other page elements. If your application wraps the editor in a modal or dialog, implement focus trapping at the dialog level, not the editor level.

High Contrast Mode

CSS Custom Properties

Editu uses CSS custom properties for all colors, which makes it compatible with high contrast modes. You can override these variables to adjust contrast:

css

/* High contrast overrides */
@media (prefers-contrast: more) {
  :root {
    --editu-border: #000000;
    --editu-foreground: #000000;
    --editu-background: #ffffff;
    --editu-primary: #0000ff;
    --editu-ring: #0000ff;
    --editu-border-focus: #0000ff;
  }
}

Focus Indicators

Editu provides default focus styles, but you can enhance them to ensure visible focus indicators:

css

/* Enhanced focus indicators */
.editu-editor:focus-within {
  outline: 3px solid var(--editu-ring, #3b82f6);
  outline-offset: 2px;
}

/* Ensure bubble menu buttons show focus */
.editu-bubble-menu button:focus-visible {
  outline: 2px solid var(--editu-ring, #3b82f6);
  outline-offset: 1px;
}

Dark Mode

Editu supports dark mode through CSS custom properties. See Theming for configuration details.

Custom Component Guidelines

When you build custom components that interact with Editu, follow these accessibility guidelines.

tsx

<button
  type="button"
  role="button"
  aria-pressed={editor.isActive('bold')}
  aria-label="Bold"
  title="Bold (Ctrl+B)"
  onClick={() => editor.chain().focus().toggleBold().run()}
>
  <BoldIcon aria-hidden="true" />
</button>

Key attributes:

aria-pressed — Reflects the toggle state for formatting buttons
aria-label — Provides an accessible name when the button contains only an icon
title — Shows the keyboard shortcut on hover

tsx

<div role="listbox" aria-label="Text formatting options">
  {items.map((item, index) => (
    <div
      key={item.id}
      role="option"
      aria-selected={index === selectedIndex}
      tabIndex={index === selectedIndex ? 0 : -1}
    >
      {item.label}
    </div>
  ))}
</div>

Color Pickers

tsx

<div role="radiogroup" aria-label="Text color">
  {colors.map((color) => (
    <button
      key={color.value}
      role="radio"
      aria-checked={currentColor === color.value}
      aria-label={color.name}
      style={{ backgroundColor: color.value }}
    />
  ))}
</div>

Testing Accessibility

Manual Testing Checklist

[ ] Keyboard only — Navigate, edit, and format content using only the keyboard
[ ] Screen reader — Test with VoiceOver (macOS), NVDA (Windows), or Orca (Linux)
[ ] Zoom — Verify the editor is usable at 200% zoom
[ ] High contrast — Test with the OS high-contrast mode enabled
[ ] Reduced motion — Verify that animations respect prefers-reduced-motion
[ ] Color contrast — Confirm that text and interactive elements meet 4.5:1 contrast ratio

Reduced Motion

Respect the user's reduced motion preference:

css

@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
  .editu-editor *,
  .editu-bubble-menu,
  .editu-slash-menu {
    animation-duration: 0.01ms !important;
    transition-duration: 0.01ms !important;
  }
}

Automated Tools

You can use automated accessibility testing tools alongside manual testing:

axe-core — Automated accessibility testing engine
Lighthouse — Chrome DevTools accessibility audit
WAVE — Web accessibility evaluation tool

bash

# Example: Run axe-core in Playwright tests
npm install @axe-core/playwright

# In your test file
import AxeBuilder from '@axe-core/playwright';

test('editor has no accessibility violations', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('/editor');
  const results = await new AxeBuilder({ page }).analyze();
  expect(results.violations).toEqual([]);
});

Next Steps

Theming - Customize colors and visual styles
Configuration - Editor options reference
Troubleshooting - Common issues and solutions

Accessibility

Keyboard Navigation

Text Formatting

Block Elements

History

Find & Replace

Block Reordering (Drag Handle)

Table Navigation

Slash Menu

General Navigation

ARIA Attributes

Live Regions

Announcing Content Changes

Focus Management

Editor Focus

Skip Navigation

Focus Trap Considerations

High Contrast Mode

CSS Custom Properties

Focus Indicators

Dark Mode

Custom Component Guidelines

Color Pickers

Testing Accessibility

Manual Testing Checklist

Reduced Motion

Automated Tools

Next Steps

Accessibility ​

Keyboard Navigation ​

Text Formatting ​

Block Elements ​

History ​

Find & Replace ​

Block Reordering (Drag Handle) ​

Table Navigation ​

Slash Menu ​

General Navigation ​

Screen Reader Support ​

ARIA Attributes ​

Live Regions ​

Announcing Content Changes ​

Focus Management ​

Editor Focus ​

Skip Navigation ​

Focus Trap Considerations ​

High Contrast Mode ​

CSS Custom Properties ​

Focus Indicators ​

Dark Mode ​

Custom Component Guidelines ​

Toolbar Buttons ​

Dropdown Menus ​

Color Pickers ​

Testing Accessibility ​

Manual Testing Checklist ​

Reduced Motion ​

Automated Tools ​

Next Steps ​

Accessibility

Keyboard Navigation

Text Formatting

Block Elements

History

Find & Replace

Block Reordering (Drag Handle)

Table Navigation

Slash Menu

General Navigation

Screen Reader Support

ARIA Attributes

Live Regions

Announcing Content Changes

Focus Management

Editor Focus

Skip Navigation

Focus Trap Considerations

High Contrast Mode

CSS Custom Properties

Focus Indicators

Dark Mode

Custom Component Guidelines

Toolbar Buttons

Dropdown Menus

Color Pickers

Testing Accessibility

Manual Testing Checklist

Reduced Motion

Automated Tools

Next Steps