Table of contents
For steps in a process, such as registering or completing a form, information that the user has already entered must be made available to them. This helps users by not making them enter information more than once unless it’s necessary.
What you need to know
- Making previously entered information available can take two forms—information can auto-populate, or it can be made available for the user to select.
- This success criterion can benefit people with cognitive disabilities or memory problems, and it saves all users time and reduces the risk of error.
- There are exceptions to this requirement, for example, if the same information must be input again for security reasons.
What you need to do
- Making information that’s already been entered available can be accomplished in more than one way. Allow the user to select and populate a field:
- From a dropdown
- By copying and pasting text, or
- By marking a checkbox to populate inputs with the same values as previously entered.
- If the previously entered information is no longer valid, for example, if a form was begun on a date that has now passed, ask the user to enter that information again.
Reference
Read the full explanation of success criterion 3.3.9 on W3.org.
