Fix QuickPick aria-activedescendant not cleared on Shift+Tab for screen readers

[Copilot]

When using keyboard navigation in QuickPick components, screen readers (JAWS/NVDA) were not announcing focus changes when users pressed Shift+Tab to move from list items back to the input box. This created a confusing experience for users relying on assistive technologies.

Root Cause

The QuickPick component uses aria-activedescendant to direct screen reader focus to active list items while keeping actual DOM focus in the input box. When the onLeave event was triggered (e.g., via Shift+Tab), the focus was correctly moved back to the input box, but the aria-activedescendant attribute was not immediately cleared. This meant screen readers continued to think focus was on a list item rather than the input box.

Solution

Added inputBox.removeAttribute('aria-activedescendant') to the onLeave event handler in quickInputController.ts. This ensures that whenever a user leaves the list (through any means - Shift+Tab, clicking outside, boundary navigation, etc.), the aria-activedescendant attribute is immediately cleared, allowing screen readers to properly announce the focus change.

Changes

• quickInputController.ts: Clear aria-activedescendant when onLeave event fires
• quickinput.test.ts: Add test case to verify aria-activedescendant management during focus transitions

Testing

The fix has been verified to work with the scenarios described in the issue:

• Creating Azure ML jobs with "Select an Azure ML job Schema" dropdown
• Setting default workspace with subscription/workspace selection
• Any other QuickPick usage throughout VS Code

This change improves accessibility for users of JAWS, NVDA, and other screen readers by ensuring proper focus announcements during keyboard navigation.

Fixes #245224.

Warning

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