Re: Why is "navigation" confused with "input"

On Thu, May 3, 2012 at 4:39 PM, <noreply@w3.org> wrote:

> Name: Duff Johnson
> Email: djohnson@commonlook.com
> Affiliation: NetCentric Technologies
> Document: W2
> Item Number: Success Criterion 2.4.3
> Part of Item:
> Comment Type: question
> Summary of Issue: Why is "navigation" confused with "input"
> Comment (Including rationale for any proposed change):
> I understand that it's called "focus order", but this SC refers to
> “navigation”, as does the Guideline. I get how tabbing between links /
> fields might seem like "navigation", but that seems very
> HTML/Flash-specific and it's not even fair to those formats (frankly)
> either, since that's hardly the only (or primary) means of "navigation" in
> HTML, at least.
>
> SC 2.4.3 is the _only_ Level A criterion that mentions "navigation", and
> yet judging by the Techniques (HTML and PDF) it's understood to be only
> applicable to content that includes focusable (read "input") elements. I
> don't understand this at all, and I did not find the "Understanding" text
> enlightening. Indeed, that text is suggestive in appearing to support (in
> part) my understanding of SC 2.4.3 that the SC's intent is more general
> than the traditional elements than "receive focus".
>
> Since the SC appears to pertain to navigation, and if "focus" reasonably
> also includes structure elements, I would expect PDF9 to apply to this SC.
>
> Proposed Change:
> Add PDF9 to this SC. Also, I suggest considering that "navigation" goes
> beyond input elements - that's certainly the case in PDF, for example, and
> I would suspect, in other formats as well.
>
> ================================
Response from the Working Group
================================
All SC in Guideline 2.4 are about navigation, even if this term only
appears explicitly in SC 2.4.3. The focus in SC 2.4.3 is on the *navigation
sequence* and focusable elements (e.g., when filling out a form),
especially when accessing content using a keyboard, and misunderstandings
that can arise if the order of focusable elements (the navigation sequence)
is not meaningful.

PDF9 is concerned with marking up headings so that the resulting mark-up
hierarchy reflects the content hierarchy. This is an aid to navigation -
but does not help ensuring that focusable elements are scanned in the right
order.

Loretta Guarino Reid, WCAG WG Co-Chair
Gregg Vanderheiden, WCAG WG Co-Chair
Michael Cooper, WCAG WG Staff Contact


On behalf of the WCAG Working Group