{Freeway Bug} [Windows Terminal - Defaults - Appearance]: Screen reader does not announce associated section names (Text, Cursor, Background Image, Text Formatting, Transparency, Window, etc.) when navigating controls within sections.

[Saurabh220304]

Windows Terminal version

1.25.1912.0

Windows build number

28120.2760

Other Software

Test Environment:
OS: Windows 11 Version Dev (OS Build 28120.2760)
App: Windows Terminal Preview
Screen Reader: Narrator

Steps to reproduce

Repro steps:

1. Open the 'windows terminal' application.
2. Navigate to 'Settings' control and activate it.
3. 'Settings' page will open.
4. Now navigate to 'Profiles' section.
5. Navigate to 'Defaults' control and activate it.
6. Now navigate to 'Appearance' button and activate it.
7. Turn on Narrator by pressing 'Ctrl + Windows + Enter' keys.
8. Use Tab to navigate forward through controls under sections such as: 'Text', 'Cursor', 'Background Image', 'Text Formatting', 'Transparency', 'Window' etc.
9. Observe the screen reader announcement on the first control of each section.
10. Now use Shift + Tab to navigate backward through the controls.
11. Observe the announcement when focus reaches the last control of a section before moving to the previous section.
12. Observe the issue here.

User experience:
Screen reader users rely on contextual information to understand the structure and organization of settings pages. Without section announcements, users may become disoriented and may not know which category of settings they are modifying, increasing cognitive effort and reducing navigation efficiency.

Reproducibility:
Same issue repro throughout for similar types of sections.

Attachment:
https://onedrive.cloud.microsoft/:u:/a@pz6xd287/S/IQC8ND7-HjYcRpQ_sJEdklYvAfGvHQ1GaO97e4LHmQwfOAo?e=hePwoz

Expected Behavior

• Screen reader should announce the associated section name along with the focused control to provide proper context.
• At a minimum, When focus lands on the first control of a section during forward navigation (Tab), the screen reader should announce the section name before or along with the control information and When focus lands on the last control of a section during backward navigation (Shift + Tab), the screen reader should announce the corresponding section information.
• Users should be able to easily identify when they enter or leave a section and understand the relationship between controls and their groupings.

Actual Behavior

• Screen reader announces the focused control but does not provide the associated section context (e.g., "Text", "Cursor", "Background Image", "Text Formatting", "Transparency", "Window").
• While tabbing forward, users are not informed when they enter a new section.
• While navigating backward using Shift + Tab, users are not informed of the section to which the currently focused control belongs.
• As a result, screen reader users lose contextual information and may struggle to understand the grouping and relationship between controls.