Fix accessibility issues with placeholder text in submission forms

config/config.example.yml

@@ -234,6 +234,11 @@ submission:
         - value: default
           style: text-muted
           icon: fa-circle-xmark
+  # If set to true avoid setting placeholder for simple fields, where the placeholder would be the same as the label.
+  # The default is set to true as placeholders that do not provide additional information to the field are to be avoided as they could cause accessibility issue.
+  # More info on the topic can be found at https://www.deque.com/blog/accessible-forms-the-problem-with-placeholders/
+  omitSimpleFieldPlaceholders:
+
 
 #  Default Language in which the UI will be rendered if the user's browser language is not an active language
 defaultLanguage: en

src/app/shared/form/builder/ds-dynamic-form-ui/ds-dynamic-form-control-container.component.html

@@ -1,14 +1,14 @@
 <div [class.mb-2]="hasLabel || model.type === 'DATE' || (model.type !== 'GROUP' && asBootstrapFormGroup) || getClass('element', 'container').includes('mb-2')"
      [class.d-none]="model.hidden"
-  [formGroup]="group"
-  [ngClass]="[getClass('element', 'container'), getClass('grid', 'container')]">
-  @if (!isCheckbox && hasLabel) {
+     [formGroup]="group"
+     [ngClass]="[getClass('element', 'container'), getClass('grid', 'container')]">
+  @if (!isCheckbox && hasLabel && !isDateField) {
     <label
       [id]="'label_' + model.id"
       [for]="id"
       class="form-label"
       [innerHTML]="(model.required && model.label) ? (model.label | translate) + ' *' : (model.label | translate)"
-    [ngClass]="[getClass('element', 'label'), getClass('grid', 'label')]"></label>
+      [ngClass]="[getClass('element', 'label'), getClass('grid', 'label')]"></label>
   }
   <ng-container *ngTemplateOutlet="startTemplate?.templateRef; context: { $implicit: model };"></ng-container>
   <!--    Should be *ngIf instead of class d-none, but that breaks the #componentViewContainer reference-->
@@ -20,8 +20,7 @@
       </div>
 
       @if (hasHint && (formBuilderService.hasArrayGroupValue(model) || (!model.repeatable && (isRelationship === false || value?.value === null)) || (model.repeatable === true && context?.index === context?.context?.groups?.length - 1)) && (!showErrorMessages || errorMessages.length === 0)) {
-<small
-             class="text-muted ds-hint" [innerHTML]="model.hint | translate" [ngClass]="getClass('element', 'hint')"></small>
+        <small class="text-muted ds-hint" [innerHTML]="model.hint | translate" [ngClass]="getClass('element', 'hint')"></small>
       }
       <!-- In case of repeatable fields show empty space for all elements except the first -->
       @if (context?.parent?.groups?.length > 1 && (!showErrorMessages || errorMessages.length === 0)) {

src/app/shared/form/builder/ds-dynamic-form-ui/ds-dynamic-form-control-container.component.spec.ts

@@ -206,6 +206,8 @@ describe('DsDynamicFormControlContainerComponent test suite', () => {
   const testItem: Item = new Item();
   const testWSI: WorkspaceItem = new WorkspaceItem();
   testWSI.item = of(createSuccessfulRemoteDataObject(testItem));
+  const renderer = jasmine.createSpyObj('Renderer2', ['setAttribute']);
+
   beforeEach(waitForAsync(() => {
 
     TestBed.configureTestingModule({
@@ -268,6 +270,7 @@ describe('DsDynamicFormControlContainerComponent test suite', () => {
     });
 
     fixture.detectChanges();
+    renderer.setAttribute.calls.reset();
     testElement = debugElement.query(By.css(`input[id='${testModel.id}']`));
   }));
 
@@ -380,4 +383,43 @@ describe('DsDynamicFormControlContainerComponent test suite', () => {
     expect(testFn(formModel[25])).toEqual(DsDynamicFormGroupComponent);
   });
 
+  it('should not show a label if is a checkbox or a date field', () => {
+    const checkboxLabel =  fixture.debugElement.query(By.css('#label_' + formModel[0].id));
+    const dsDatePickerLabel =  fixture.debugElement.query(By.css('#label_' + formModel[22].id));
+
+    expect(checkboxLabel).toBeNull();
+    expect(dsDatePickerLabel).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it('should not call handleAriaLabelForLibraryComponents if is SSR', () => {
+    (component as any).platformId = 'server';
+    (component as any).componentRef = {
+      instance: new DynamicNGBootstrapInputComponent(null, null),
+      location: { nativeElement: document.createElement('div') },
+    } as any;
+    fixture.detectChanges();
+
+    (component as any).handleAriaLabelForLibraryComponents();
+
+    expect(renderer.setAttribute).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it('should set aria-label when valid input and additional property ariaLabel exist and is on browser', () => {
+    (component as any).platformId = 'browser';
+    const inputEl = document.createElement('input');
+    const hostEl = {
+      querySelector: jasmine.createSpy('querySelector').and.returnValue(inputEl),
+    };
+
+    (component as any).componentRef = {
+      instance: new DynamicNGBootstrapInputComponent(null, null),
+      location: { nativeElement: hostEl },
+    } as any;
+    (component as any).renderer = renderer;
+    component.model = { additional: { ariaLabel: 'Accessible Label' } } as any;
+    fixture.detectChanges();
+    (component as any).handleAriaLabelForLibraryComponents();
+    expect(renderer.setAttribute).toHaveBeenCalledWith(inputEl, 'aria-label', 'Accessible Label');
+  });
+
 });

src/app/shared/form/builder/ds-dynamic-form-ui/ds-dynamic-form-control-container.component.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import {
   AsyncPipe,
+  isPlatformBrowser,
   NgClass,
   NgTemplateOutlet,
 } from '@angular/common';
@@ -18,7 +19,9 @@ import {
   OnDestroy,
   OnInit,
   Output,
+  PLATFORM_ID,
   QueryList,
+  Renderer2,
   SimpleChanges,
   Type,
   ViewChild,
@@ -77,10 +80,12 @@ import {
 import {
   DYNAMIC_FORM_CONTROL_MAP_FN,
   DYNAMIC_FORM_CONTROL_TYPE_CHECKBOX,
+  DynamicFormArrayComponent,
   DynamicFormArrayGroupModel,
   DynamicFormArrayModel,
   DynamicFormComponentService,
   DynamicFormControl,
+  DynamicFormControlComponent,
   DynamicFormControlContainerComponent,
   DynamicFormControlEvent,
   DynamicFormControlEventType,
@@ -120,6 +125,7 @@ import { DsDynamicTypeBindRelationService } from './ds-dynamic-type-bind-relatio
 import { ExistingMetadataListElementComponent } from './existing-metadata-list-element/existing-metadata-list-element.component';
 import { ExistingRelationListElementComponent } from './existing-relation-list-element/existing-relation-list-element.component';
 import { DYNAMIC_FORM_CONTROL_TYPE_CUSTOM_SWITCH } from './models/custom-switch/custom-switch.model';
+import { DYNAMIC_FORM_CONTROL_TYPE_DSDATEPICKER } from './models/date-picker/date-picker.model';
 import { DsDynamicLookupRelationModalComponent } from './relation-lookup-modal/dynamic-lookup-relation-modal.component';
 import { NameVariantService } from './relation-lookup-modal/name-variant.service';
 
@@ -211,6 +217,8 @@ export class DsDynamicFormControlContainerComponent extends DynamicFormControlCo
     protected metadataService: MetadataService,
     @Inject(APP_CONFIG) protected appConfig: AppConfig,
     @Inject(DYNAMIC_FORM_CONTROL_MAP_FN) protected dynamicFormControlFn: DynamicFormControlMapFn,
+    protected renderer: Renderer2,
+    @Inject(PLATFORM_ID) protected platformId: string,
   ) {
     super(ref, componentFactoryResolver, layoutService, validationService, dynamicFormComponentService, relationService);
     this.fetchThumbnail = this.appConfig.browseBy.showThumbnails;
@@ -300,6 +308,11 @@ export class DsDynamicFormControlContainerComponent extends DynamicFormControlCo
     return this.model.type === DYNAMIC_FORM_CONTROL_TYPE_CHECKBOX || this.model.type === DYNAMIC_FORM_CONTROL_TYPE_CUSTOM_SWITCH;
   }
 
+
+  get isDateField(): boolean {
+    return this.model.type === DYNAMIC_FORM_CONTROL_TYPE_DSDATEPICKER;
+  }
+
   ngOnChanges(changes: SimpleChanges) {
     if (changes && !this.isRelationship && hasValue(this.group.get(this.model.id))) {
       super.ngOnChanges(changes);
@@ -321,6 +334,7 @@ export class DsDynamicFormControlContainerComponent extends DynamicFormControlCo
 
   ngAfterViewInit() {
     this.showErrorMessagesPreviousStage = this.showErrorMessages;
+    this.handleAriaLabelForLibraryComponents();
   }
 
   protected createFormControlComponent(): void {
@@ -462,4 +476,22 @@ export class DsDynamicFormControlContainerComponent extends DynamicFormControlCo
     this.subs.push(collection$.subscribe((collection) => this.collection = collection));
 
   }
+
+  private handleAriaLabelForLibraryComponents(): void {
+    if (!isPlatformBrowser(this.platformId)) {
+      return;
+    }
+
+    if ((this.componentRef.instance instanceof DynamicFormControlComponent) &&
+      !(this.componentRef.instance instanceof DynamicFormArrayComponent) &&
+      this.componentRef.location.nativeElement) {
+      const inputEl: HTMLElement | null =
+        this.componentRef.location.nativeElement.querySelector('input,textarea,select,[role="textbox"]');
+
+
+      if (inputEl &&  this.model?.additional?.ariaLabel) {
+        this.renderer.setAttribute(inputEl, 'aria-label', this.model.additional.ariaLabel);
+      }
+    }
+  }
 }

src/app/shared/form/builder/ds-dynamic-form-ui/models/date-picker/date-picker.component.html

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
   <fieldset class="d-flex">
     @if (!model.repeatable) {
       <legend [id]="'legend_' + model.id" [ngClass]="[getClass('element', 'label'), getClass('grid', 'label')]">
-        {{model.placeholder}} @if (model.required) {
+        {{model.label}} @if (model.required) {
         <span>*</span>
       }
     </legend>

src/app/shared/form/builder/ds-dynamic-form-ui/models/onebox/dynamic-onebox.component.html

@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@
            class="form-control"
            [attr.aria-labelledby]="'label_' + model.id"
            [attr.autoComplete]="model.autoComplete"
-           [attr.aria-label]="model.label | translate"
+           [attr.aria-label]="(model.label || model?.additional?.ariaLabel) | translate"
            [class.is-invalid]="showErrorMessages"
            [id]="model.id"
            [inputFormatter]="formatter"

src/app/shared/form/builder/ds-dynamic-form-ui/models/scrollable-dropdown/dynamic-scrollable-dropdown.component.html

@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
     }
     <input class="form-control"
       [attr.aria-controls]="'combobox_' + id + '_listbox'"
-      [attr.aria-label]="model.placeholder"
+      [attr.aria-label]="model.label"
       [attr.autoComplete]="model.autoComplete"
       [class.is-invalid]="showErrorMessages"
       [class.scrollable-dropdown-input]="!model.readOnly"
@@ -32,11 +32,11 @@
 
   <div #dropdownMenu ngbDropdownMenu
     class="dropdown-menu scrollable-dropdown-menu w-100"
-    [attr.aria-label]="model.placeholder | translate">
+    [attr.aria-label]="model.label | translate">
     <div class="scrollable-menu"
       role="listbox"
       [id]="'combobox_' + id + '_listbox'"
-      [attr.aria-label]="model.placeholder | translate"
+      [attr.aria-label]="model.label | translate"
       infiniteScroll
       [infiniteScrollDistance]="2"
       [infiniteScrollThrottle]="50"

src/app/shared/form/builder/parsers/date-field-parser.spec.ts

@@ -67,4 +67,12 @@ describe('DateFieldParser test suite', () => {
 
     expect(fieldModel.value).toEqual(expectedValue);
   });
+
+  it('should skip setting the placeholder when ignore omitSimpleFieldPlaceholders is true', () => {
+    const parser = new DateFieldParser(submissionId, field, initFormValues, parserOptions, translateService);
+    parser.omitSimpleFieldPlaceholders = true;
+    const fieldModel = parser.parse();
+
+    expect(fieldModel.placeholder).toBeNull();
+  });
 });

src/app/shared/form/builder/parsers/date-field-parser.ts

@@ -12,8 +12,8 @@ export class DateFieldParser extends FieldParser {
 
   public modelFactory(fieldValue?: FormFieldMetadataValueObject, label?: boolean): any {
     let malformedDate = false;
-    const inputDateModelConfig: DynamicDsDateControlModelConfig = this.initModel(null, false, true);
-    inputDateModelConfig.legend = this.configData.label;
+    const inputDateModelConfig: DynamicDsDateControlModelConfig = this.initModel(null, label, true);
+    inputDateModelConfig.legend = this.configData.repeatable ? null : this.configData.label;
     inputDateModelConfig.disabled = inputDateModelConfig.readOnly;
     inputDateModelConfig.toggleIcon = 'fas fa-calendar';
     this.setValues(inputDateModelConfig as any, fieldValue);

src/app/shared/form/builder/parsers/field-parser.ts

@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ import {
 import { DynamicFormControlLayout } from '@ng-dynamic-forms/core';
 import { TranslateService } from '@ngx-translate/core';
 import uniqueId from 'lodash/uniqueId';
+import { environment } from 'src/environments/environment';
 
 import {
   DsDynamicInputModel,
@@ -53,13 +54,16 @@ export abstract class FieldParser {
    */
   protected typeField: string;
 
+  omitSimpleFieldPlaceholders: boolean;
+
   constructor(
     @Inject(SUBMISSION_ID) protected submissionId: string,
     @Inject(CONFIG_DATA) protected configData: FormFieldModel,
     @Inject(INIT_FORM_VALUES) protected initFormValues: any,
     @Inject(PARSER_OPTIONS) protected parserOptions: ParserOptions,
     protected translate: TranslateService,
   ) {
+    this.omitSimpleFieldPlaceholders = environment.submission.omitSimpleFieldPlaceholders;
   }
 
   public abstract modelFactory(fieldValue?: FormFieldMetadataValueObject, label?: boolean): any;
@@ -306,7 +310,11 @@ export abstract class FieldParser {
     if (hint) {
       controlModel.hint = this.configData.hints || ' ';
     }
-    controlModel.placeholder = this.configData.label;
+    if (!this.omitSimpleFieldPlaceholders) {
+      controlModel.placeholder = this.configData.label;
+    } else {
+      controlModel.additional = { ...controlModel.additional, ariaLabel: this.configData.label };
+    }
 
     if (this.configData.mandatory && setErrors) {
       this.markAsRequired(controlModel);

src/config/default-app-config.ts

@@ -253,6 +253,7 @@ export class DefaultAppConfig implements AppConfig {
         ],
       },
     },
+    omitSimpleFieldPlaceholders: true,
   };
 
   // Default Language in which the UI will be rendered if the user's browser language is not an active language

src/config/submission-config.interface.ts

@@ -36,4 +36,5 @@ export interface SubmissionConfig extends Config {
   duplicateDetection: DuplicateDetectionConfig;
   typeBind: TypeBindConfig;
   icons: IconsConfig;
+  omitSimpleFieldPlaceholders?: boolean;
 }

src/environments/environment.test.ts

@@ -194,6 +194,7 @@ export const environment: BuildConfig = {
         ],
       },
     },
+    omitSimpleFieldPlaceholders: false,
   },
 
   // NOTE: will log all redux actions and transfers in console