spec checked
WAI-ARIA APG: Alert and Message Dialogs Pattern
Defines alert dialogs as modal interruptions for important messages that require a response, including role, modality, labelling, description, and keyboard dependency on modal dialog behavior.
Pattern Decisions This Source Supports
| Pattern | Supported decision | Required contract | Claim note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alert dialog | Choose an alert dialog when an important message interrupts the current workflow and requires an immediate user response. | The alert dialog appears only for a condition that genuinely requires a response before continuation. | APG defines alert dialogs as modal interruptions for important messages that require a user response. |
| Ambiguous destructive action copy | Flag this anti-pattern when the destructive or safe action label does not name what will happen. | Every destructive control label must answer what action will happen and what object or scope it affects. | APG alertdialog guidance supports accessible naming and description for important modal decisions. |
| Confirmation dialog | Choose confirmation when the action has a clear reason not to proceed and the user may change their mind after seeing the consequence. | The confirmation appears only after a user-initiated action, not as surprise interruption unrelated to the current command. | APG defines alert dialogs as modal interruptions for important messages that require a response. |
| Confirmation fatigue | Flag this anti-pattern when low-risk, reversible, or high-frequency actions repeatedly open modal confirmations. | Each confirmation must have a documented risk, consequence, and reason it is better than undo, prevention, warning text, review, or clearer command placement. | APG alertdialog semantics support reserving modal interruptions for important decisions that require a response. |
| Destructive action confirmation | Choose destructive action confirmation when a destructive command needs a final commit review before permanent or externally visible loss. | The confirmation appears only after a user-initiated destructive command. | APG supplies alertdialog semantics for important modal decisions requiring a response. |
| Typed confirmation | Choose typed confirmation when exact target reproduction materially lowers the risk of deleting or resetting the wrong object. | The required phrase is visible in the same confirmation surface as the input field. | APG supplies alertdialog semantics for important modal decisions requiring a user response. |
| Unsaved changes prompt | Choose unsaved changes prompt when a user action inside the product would abandon or replace dirty local edits before they are saved. | Opening the prompt never clears the dirty values. | APG alertdialog guidance covers modal interruptions that require a response. |
Evidence Role
This source is treated as spec evidence. Use it to validate the decision rules above, not as a visual style reference.
Publisher: W3C Web Accessibility Initiative. Last checked: .