[WG: Accessibility] Accessibility] Access Keys list in Sakai

[Eli Cochran]

I'll echo John's warning. Nice cautionary article that he linked to.

There are a number of problems with accelerator keys (short cuts) for  
web apps
- adaptive software commenders just about every key available for its  
own use
- platforms and browsers don't always use the same keys for things so  
a particular key might be "free" on one browser but not on another
- users of adaptive software can, and do, customize their software by  
mapping their own key combinations
- accelerator keys must be communicated to the user, learned and  
remembered

So what's a poor developer to do?

As much as possible make all controls easy to navigate to, and use  
clear and unique names and labels. The most common interaction (if  
there is a *common* interaction for keyboard-only users) is to call up  
a list of headers or links and navigate to them using the first few  
letters of the header or link.

Support the most basic navigation keys, tab and arrow. Links and  
controls are easily navigated using the tab key (note: different  
browsers treat the tab key slightly differently, but usually have a  
preference somewhere to "turn-on" the tab key to go to all controls).  
Pages with a lot of links or controls make it very challenging to tab  
through all of them to get to the one you want. You can manage this by  
combining the tab key with the arrow key. Allow the user to tab to a  
section of the page and then use the arrow keys to navigate to like- 
controls with in that section. A good example is a table; tab to the  
table and then use arrows to move up and down and across rows. (For  
arrow key control, you'll need some Javascript... I suggest Fluid's  
jquery.keyboard-a11y.js plug-in (docs: http://wiki.fluidproject.org/x/CIo7 
, http://wiki.fluidproject.org/x/fYsk)

Think about the tab order; what elements are in the tab order, in what  
order and where does the focus go after certain actions. Example: when  
the page opens does the focus jump to a specific control or field  
(note: this can very confusing to a non-sighted user because you may  
have jumped over the very context that they need to understand the  
page.) After a particular action do you jump the focus to a logical  
place. Example: after a particular action put the focus on the undo  
key, or after starting a process put the focus on the Stop key.


There are times when accelerators keys are very helpful and  
appropriate. If there is an action that is done often, especially in a  
context where the user uses the software often and is therefor vested  
in learning the keys. Example: using the spacebar to start and stop  
video. Example: a dedicated key that always jumps to the navigation.  
Example: Del to delete an item or row.

And accelerators are almost always required in cases where the user is  
typing text, as in an editor, to distinguish the commands from the  
typed content. Accessible rich text editors must use accelerators or  
escape keys. Best to make sure that your accelerators are as common  
and consistent as possible. And again you have the burden of informing  
the user that the keys exist.

- Eli

On Nov 3, 2009, at 12:20 AM, John Foliot wrote:

> Be sure to research your choice of keys carefully:
> http://www.wats.ca/show.php?contentid=43
>
> JF
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: accessibility-bounces at collab.sakaiproject.org
>> [mailto:accessibility-bounces at collab.sakaiproject.org] On Behalf Of
>> Vivie Sinou
>> Sent: Monday, November 02, 2009 2:36 PM
>> To: accessibility at collab.sakaiproject.org
>> Subject: [WG: Accessibility] Access Keys list in Sakai
>>
>> Hi, all -
>>
>> We are in the process of adding additional Access Keys in Mneme,
>> Melete, and
>> Jforum for core / common user actions. I want to make sure that the
>> keyboard
>> commands we are using in Etudes tools are consistent with their use  
>> in
>> Sakai
>> (tools).
>>
>> Is there a complete list of the Access Keys used throughout Sakai?
>> Where can
>> I find it? I am aware of the access keys for cancel, save and  
>> preview,
>> but
>> can't find info on any others.
>>
>> Thank you in advance for any info you can provide.
>>
>> Best,
>> Vivie
>>
>> --
>> Vivie Sinou
>> Executive Director, Etudes, Inc.
>> http://etudes.org/
>>
>>
>>
>>
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Eli Cochran
user interaction developer
ETS, UC Berkeley