Re: Navigation/performaing an action within a grid

One advantage of this proposal by Hadi is that users who are not very skilled will navigate all focusable elements by default.  

An additional navigation function is that the TAB key would move you to the next focusable element after the grid (document order).

Jon


---- Original message ----
>Date: Wed, 20 Aug 2008 11:43:02 -0500
>From: "Hadi Rangin" <hadi@uiuc.edu>  
>Subject: Navigation/performaing an action within a grid  
>To: <wai-xtech@w3.org>
>
>
>Hello,
>
>
>
>As a follow-up to our discussion yesterday during the teleconference, I 
>suggest the following Navigation/Action modes when dealing with grids.
>
>It is probably not a perfect solution and I am sure there are a lot of 
>details that need to be clarified but I think it is a good compromise.
>
>
>
>Thanks,
>
>Hadi
>
>
>
>There will be two major mode when dealing with grids:
>
>1. Navigation mode (Escape)
>
>2. Action mode (F2; Default mode)
>
>
>
>Entering and leaving a grid:
>
>* Tab key moves the focus to the table container as a whole; not to a cell 
>or anything else.
>
>* Once the focus is on the grid, then user can choose to either stay in the 
>Default mode (Action mode) or switch to Navigation mode
>
>
>
>Action mode:
>
>* Next tab moves the focus to the next focusable element (links, radio 
>boxes, check boxes, buttons, conbo boxes, input, text area or whatever 
>focusable elements)
>
>* If a cell contains one or multiple focusable elements, the tab key stops 
>at each element depending on their document orders before going to another 
>focusable element in a different cell.
>
>* When the last focusable element has been reached or there is no focusable 
>element at all, the next tab moves the focus out of the grid.
>
>* In the case of radio and select boxes, the selection can be done using up 
>and down arrow keys once the focus is on such elements.
>
>* in the case of check box element, the checking/unchecking can be done 
>using the Space or Enter keys.
>
>* in the case of buttons or links, Space and Enter keys can trigger them.
>
>* in the case of Input and Text area, these fields are editable as soon as 
>the focus is on these elements.
>
>* When the focus is on Input or Text area elements, main navigation keys 
>work like any typical editing environment. Note that we are in Action mode.
>
>* At any time user can press Escape key to switch to Navigation mode and 
>bypass all focusable elements in the grid and move out of the grid.
>
>
>
>Navigation mode:
>
>* Once the focus is on the grid itself, any left, right, up, or down key 
>takes the navigation focus to the position 1,1 in the grid regardless it is 
>a simple or complex, unified or non-unified grid.
>
>* From this starting position, the main navigation keys moves the focus (if 
>applicable) to logical direction (right arrow to the next cell on the right, 
>left arrow to the previous cell on the left, up arrow to the cell above, and 
>down arrow to the cell below the current cell.
>
>* No wrapping is permitted.
>
>* No cell including cells with no content is skipped.
>
>* If the focus is on an actionable items, user can press F2 to enter the 
>Action mode, tab to the desired item, and perform the desired action, e.g. 
>check a check box, modify a select box, or edit or modify an input field.
>
>* It is the job of assistive technologies to provide information about the 
>nature of the elements within a cell. For example, "Editable text box". So 
>assistive technology users (e.g. screen reader users) know that the current 
>cell contain editable text box.
>
>* If the elements in a cell contain applicable action items, some styling 
>effect should provide this information to the user. Can browser's status bar 
>used for conveying such information?
>
>
>
>
>
Jon Gunderson, Ph.D.
Coordinator Information Technology Accessibility
Disability Resources and Educational Services

Rehabilitation Education Center
Room 86
1207 S. Oak Street
Champaign, Illinois 61821

Voice: (217) 244-5870

WWW: http://www.cita.uiuc.edu/
WWW: https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/jongund/www/

Received on Thursday, 21 August 2008 13:46:51 UTC