These are the preliminary release notes for the February 2026 release of webReader.
Release window: 2026-05-11 – 2026-05-15
This release focuses on accessibility improvements.
New Features and Changes
Enhanced Dialog Move and Resize Interactions (Multi-Input Support)
Dialog Move and Resize controls now support three interaction modes:
- Keyboard (activate via Enter/Space and adjust with Arrow keys)
- Click-to-toggle mode (dialog follows cursor until confirmed or cancelled)
- Click-and-drag
This ensures consistent, flexible usage across input methods and accessibility needs (WCAG 2.5.7). #12263
Improved Menu Closing Behavior
The menu now closes consistently when tabbing out in both directions (forward and backward). #12104
Correct Modal Behavior for Full-Screen Dialogs
Full-screen modals now use proper <dialog> semantics, preventing background interaction and ensuring correct focus and tab order handling. #12216
Reduced Auto-scroll Jitter when Reading Tables
Adjusted scrolling logic to eliminate small jumps when navigating between table cells, resulting in a smoother reading experience. #12204
Notable Corrections
Removed Redundant Screen Reader Labels
Legacy hidden text labels (.rsbtn_btnlabel) have been removed where aria-label is already present, eliminating duplicate announcements in assistive technologies. #12183
Enhanced Menu Button Accessibility Semantics
Added aria-haspopup="menu" and aria-controls to the main menu button, improving clarity of relationships and behavior for assistive technologies (WCAG 4.1.2). #12139
Corrected Semantics for Dialog-Triggering Menu Items
Menu items that open dialogs (e.g. Settings, Help) now expose correct roles and states, with proper dialog semantics and focus management (WCAG 4.1.2). #12138
Improved Responsive Layout for Keyboard Shortcuts
Shortcut rows in Settings now reflow correctly at small viewport widths (320px), ensuring full visibility and usability without horizontal scrolling (WCAG 1.4.10). #12137
Updated Help Content for Better Accessibility
Help texts no longer rely on visual-only instructions (e.g. position, color), and instead reference controls by name and function (WCAG 1.3.3). #12136
Expanded Language Support and Improved Translation Handling
Added missing language labels and introduced a lang-* key structure to prevent naming collisions, ensuring correct display for all supported translation languages. #11216
Fixed Missing Audio Regeneration in HTML5 Adapter
Implemented missing regenerate() handling to ensure correct audio refresh when changing reading speed. #12591
Improved Handling of Custom Elements During Content Processing
Cleanup logic now preserves custom elements and their structure, preventing content loss or DOM corruption during playback preparation. #12432