[Bug 13591] New: Keyboard-only drag and drop must be fully supported

http://www.w3.org/Bugs/Public/show_bug.cgi?id=13591

           Summary: Keyboard-only drag and drop must be fully supported
           Product: HTML WG
           Version: unspecified
          Platform: All
        OS/Version: All
            Status: NEW
          Keywords: a11y, a11ytf
          Severity: normal
          Priority: P2
         Component: HTML5 spec (editor: Ian Hickson)
        AssignedTo: ian@hixie.ch
        ReportedBy: gcl-0039@access-research.org
         QAContact: public-html-bugzilla@w3.org
                CC: mike@w3.org, public-html-wg-issue-tracking@w3.org,
                    public-html@w3.org, public-html-a11y@w3.org


HTML5 must fully support drag and drop operations with input devices other than
a mouse, particularly using only a keyboard or keyboard emulator. While it is
discussed, it is not clear whether all the required aspects are covered.

Note that letting the user move a mouse pointer and buttons using the keyboard
("MouseKeys") is NOT sufficient; instead the user must be able to carry out the
drag and drop operations using keyboard commands in conjunction with keyboard
navigation techniques. The goal is that the functionality should be as
fully-featured and as close as possible to being as convenient and efficient
for keyboard users as it is for mouse users.

Note that drag and drop is in some cases better than cut/copy and paste. For
example: (a) cut and paste is a risky way to move information because if the
sequence is interrupted the information can be lost. In this sense drag and
drop is equivalent to the "select and copy/move" interaction model. (b) Drag
and drop can allow a target to limit the operation to either copying or moving,
whereas with cut/copy and paste the user has to choose an option at the
beginning that may not be supported by the target. (c) Drag and drop allows
copying or moving things without affecting the existing state and contents of
the clipboard. (d) Users can modify drag and drop operations in ways that are
rarely supported with cut/copy and paste, such as dragging with a modifier key
to drop in a non-default format. All of these advantages should be as available
to keyboard users as they are to mouse users.

Use case: June is using interacting with Web page that uses HTML5's drag and
drop facilities. For users like June who can't use a mouse, the web browser
provides a keyboard mechanism that lets her carry out all the drag and drop
operations using only the keyboard, including not only the normal drag and drop
but also the behavior of drag and drop modified by various modifier keys. June
presses the tab key until the focus is on the element she wants to drag (and
she may have had to turn on a special mode to add drag sources to the tab
order), and from its shortcut menu chooses the "Drag and drop" submenu, then
"Select for Shift + drag and drop". She then presses the tab or an access key
to move the focus to the drag target, and from its shortcut menu chooses the
"Drag and drop" submenu, then "Drop". The browser sends the proper commands to
the page's script to simulate all stages of the process, including triggering
dragstart, ondrag, ondragenter, ondrop, etc. events.

-- 
Configure bugmail: http://www.w3.org/Bugs/Public/userprefs.cgi?tab=email
------- You are receiving this mail because: -------
You are the QA contact for the bug.

Received on Wednesday, 3 August 2011 06:21:34 UTC