Re: Possible problem in HTML 4.0 specification for access keys.

Bill,

Your point is very timely. We're examining this issue
in our User Agent Accessibility Guidelines, where we should
recommend that user agents allow users to turn off author-specified
keyboard configurations, notably where they interfere with
system conventions or accessibility.

I'm not sure whether the HTML 4.0 spec should be modified as 
well, for example adding a statement to the effect that
user agents should allow users to turn off access key support

Thank you for the comments,

 - Ian


WILLIAM ZAUMEN wrote:
> 
> The HTML 4.0 specification contains the following text:
> 
>         In this example, we assign an access key to a link defined by
>         the A element. Typing this access key takes the user to another
>         document, in this case, a table of contents.
> 
>         <P><A accesskey="C"
>                 rel="contents"
>                 href="http://someplace.com/specification/contents.html">
>         Table of Contents</A>
> 
>         The invocation of access keys depends on the underlying system.                 For
> instance, on machines running MS Windows, one generally
>         has to press the "alt" key in addition to the access key.
>         On Apple systems, one generally has to press the "cmd" key
>         in addition to the access key.
> 
> The problem with this statement is that, if "C" is defined as an
> access key as in the example, there is a conflict with what a
> browser would normally do: "cmd C" on Apple systems is used by all
> applications to mean "copy".  Netscape and Internet Explorer
> follow this convention.  If the browser's default takes precedence,
> then the accesskey won't work if activated by the "cmd" key as
> described in the HTML specification.  If the ACCESSKEY specification
> overrides the browswer, then the browser does not comform to the
> user interface guidelines for MacIntosh programs.
> 
> I'm not sure if the description in the HTML 4.0 specification needs
> a minor change or if there is a problem in general: one would not
> want to have to produce different versions of an HTML 4.0 file,
> depending on the browser.  Picking accesskeys so as not to
> collide with keyboard shortcuts used by various products is
> awkward given multiple operating systems, windowing systems,
> and browsers, each with different conventions.
> 
> Bill

-- 
Ian Jacobs (jacobs@w3.org)   http://www.w3.org/People/Jacobs
Tel/Fax:                     +1 212 684-1814

Received on Wednesday, 23 June 1999 17:49:33 UTC