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ARIA: aria-current attribute

files/en-us/web/accessibility/aria/reference/attributes/aria-current/index.md

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A non-null aria-current state on an element indicates that this element represents the current item within a container or set of related elements.

Description

When you have a group of related elements, such as several links in a breadcrumb or steps in a multi-step flow, with one element in the group styled differently from the others to indicate to the sighted user that this is the current element within its group, the aria-current should be used to inform the assistive technology user what has been indicated via styling.

In a breadcrumb list, when a link within a set of pagination links is styled to indicate the user is currently on that page, aria-current="page" should be set on that link. In a multi step based process with a step indicator such as a multi-page survey or a multi step checkout or registration process, when the current step icon is visually different to represent that it is the current step, that icon's container should have aria-current="step" for assistive technology users who may not be able to "see" the visual difference.

The aria-current attribute indicates the element on which it is set, to a value other than false, represents the current item within a container or set of related elements. Only mark one element in a set of elements as current with aria-current.

The aria-current attribute accepts a limited list of values including page, step, location, date, time, true, and false. Any non-null string value not included in this list of enumerated values is treated as if aria-current="true" were set, not the default false value. If the attribute is not present, is an empty string, is present with no value, or is set to aria-current="false" it is not exposed to the user.

When something is selected rather than current, such as a tab in a tablist, use aria-selected to indicate the currently-displayed tabpanel.

[!NOTE] Don't use aria-current as a substitute for aria-selected in gridcell, option, row or tab.

Example

The breadcrumb for the "current page" should have aria-current="page" set on it.

html
<nav aria-label="Breadcrumb" class="breadcrumb">
  <ol>
    <li>
      <a href="../../../../../">Web technology for developers</a>
    </li>
    <li>
      <a href="../../../../">Accessibility</a>
    </li>
    <li>
      <a href="../../../">ARIA</a>
    </li>
    <li>
      <a href="../../">ARIA States and Properties</a>
    </li>
    <li>
      <a href="./" aria-current="page">ARIA: `aria-current` attribute</a>
    </li>
  </ol>
</nav>

If the element representing the current page in the breadcrumb was not a link, the aria-current is optional.

Values

  • page
    • : Represents the current page within a set of pages such as the link to the current document in a breadcrumb.
  • step
    • : Represents the current step within a process such as the current step in an enumerated multi step checkout flow.
  • location
    • : Represents the current location within an environment or context such as the image that is visually highlighted as the current component of a flow chart.
  • date
    • : Represents the current date within a collection of dates such as the current date within a calendar.
  • time
    • : Represents the current time within a set of times such as the current time within a timetable.
  • true
    • : Represents the current item within a set.
  • false (default)
    • : Does not represent the current item within a set.

Associated interfaces

  • {{domxref("Element.ariaCurrent")}}
    • : The ariaCurrent property, part of the {{domxref("Element")}} interface, reflects the value of the aria-current attribute.
  • {{domxref("ElementInternals.ariaCurrent")}}
    • : The ariaCurrent property of the {{domxref("ElementInternals")}} interface reflects the value of the aria-current attribute.

Associated roles

Usable in all roles; except for elements with the role of gridcell, option, row and tab where aria-selected should be used

Specifications

{{Specifications}}

See also