RE: About accesskey

Are there standards for Access Key. By that I mean are there universally
accepted letters for actions...

		-----Original Message-----
		From:	Ricardo Sanchez [mailto:rsv@retemail.es]
		Sent:	Wednesday, December 15, 1999 12:31 AM
		To:	Alan Cantor; w3c-wai-ig@w3.org
		Subject:	RE: About accesskey

		Thank you for your response. I am waiting for other readers 
		on this list tell us about complications with assistive
		technologies.

		Regards
		Ricardo

		>| I would like what criterion you use for the choice the
accesskey.
		>|
		>| Is it important to avoid the accesskey coincide with the
browser's
		>accesskeys?
		>
		>Yes, it is important to avoid conflicts with the browser's
shortcut
		>keys. If there are conflicts, anybody who uses keyboard
only
		>techniques to access menus -- including people who are
blind, have low
		>vision, or certain mobility impairments -- will get very
frustrated!
		>In general, you can choose as accesskeys any letter or
number that is
		>NOT used by any of the major graphic-based browsers. For
example, you
		>should avoid Alt +F, E, H because these keystroke
combinations are
		>almost universally used for File, Edit, and Help
respectively. If you
		>check all of the recent versions of all of the major
browsers, you may
		>find that the set of available accesskeys is quite small.
		>
		>There may be an additional complication that can arise from
using
		>accesskeys. However, this is pure speculation; I don't know
for
		>certain. Certain access applications may use Alt key
combinations that
		>could conflict with accesskeys. I can't think of any such
programs off
		>the top of my head, but perhaps other readers on this list
may know of
		>screen readers or text enhancers or other assistive
technologies that
		>appropriate unusual Alt key combinations to perform
particular tasks.
		>(My guess is that a few Windows-based assistive
technologies would use
		>the Alt key as a modifier.)
		>
		>Alan
		>
		>Alan Cantor
		>Cantor + Associates
		>Workplace Accommodation Consultants
		>acantor@interlog.com
		>www.interlog.com/~acantor
		>

Received on Saturday, 19 February 2000 13:49:28 UTC