Re: default cursor focus

On Thu, 20 Feb 2003, Kerstin Goldsmith wrote:

> I seem to recall hearing/seeing something about the idea of defaulting
> the cursor focus into the first form field on a page as an ease-of-use
> recommendation

It's actually the other way around. Setting the focus may _disturb_ and
confuse users. Since setting the focus is a Javascript operation, it is
performed (if ever) after the page has loaded and has been at least
preliminary rendered. As usual, unexpected delays are to be expected
on the Internet; something might intervene and cause even several
seconds' delay before the focusing takes place.

Thus, in common use on screen, it may well happen that the user starts
filling out a form and, as he has proceeded to, say, the fourth field,
something happens and he is taken back to the first field. People with
cognitive disabilities, and even people without them, can get very
confused then.

-- 
Jukka "Yucca" Korpela, http://www.cs.tut.fi/~jkorpela/

Received on Friday, 21 February 2003 02:13:41 UTC