microsoft / microsoft/axe-windows

[Feature Request] Allow for scanning of single child elements

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feature request status: new
Dominant language
C#
Stars
159
Forks
62
PR merge metrics
No merged PRs in 30d

Description

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.

We would like to use this tool in our desktop app automation tests, but we get many duplicates issues since we can only scan the entire app with the HWND. Our components do not have a specific HWND for each element.

Describe the solution you'd like

Instead of just taking the window handler, I would also like to be able to specify the child element I would want scanned by the automation ID or name.

Describe alternatives you've considered

We have considered scanning the entire page each time the automated test presses a button or moves to another part of the app, but this led to many duplicate issues. We also considered trying to add a HWND to each element.

Additional context

Example element to be scanned. This is selectable in Accessibility Insights for Windows and can be scanned by itself, however, doing this through the code is not possible.
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Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by locating the existing scanning entry point that accepts an HWND and review how the tool identifies elements within that window. Determine how a child element could be selected by automation ID or name, then verify that scanning only that element avoids duplicate issues compared with scanning the entire app.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
csharp
Domain
accessibility, testing
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
45/100

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