RE: <Form><input type="file" value !="browse" />?

At 06:14 AM 2003-03-12, Jon Hanna wrote:

> > Could someone advise me is it possible to change the default
> > value for a button of input type="file" in a <form>
> >
> > the default seems to be " browse" and that is not appropriate.
>
>The only context in which I can see a justification for using any word other
>than that normally used by the shell is if the site in question would be the
>only experience the user would ever have of using a computer with that shell
>(or with a similar shell).

Yes, Jon's clients fit this pattern.  If he doesn't adapt the look-and-feel
from the native shell, the computer just doesn't work for them and so they
have no other experience of [successfully] using the computer without the
adaptations.

>Otherwise your just creating another piece of jargon. In fact it's worse;
>you're creating an ideolect.

As required to adapt the web for use by this community.

Yes, under most circumstances a Web User Agent should inherit and follow the
conventions of the client OS shell.  This is clearly set out in the UAAG.
On the other hand, where this must be adapted to rescue the availability of
any service at all from the [Web browsing] application, it must be adapted.

For better or for worse, the need of the cognitively disabled individual for
us to fit our dialog into their existing ideolect (the language that they
control) and not expect them to adapt to the shell designer's trumps the
conventions of the native shell of the OS in use.  They need an adapted
shell with an appropriate look-and-feel (a real shell and not just a
browser, if they are going to do any computer use other than browsing web
stuff).

If we can get there, we must go there.

The experience is that some of these users only can use Web sited cooked to
honor such rules, at present.

Or to put it another way:
-- a screen reader supplants the erstwhile 'shell in use.'
-- an AAC device likewise takes over and is the 'shell in use.'
-- SLD individuals absolutely need a look-and-feel that is much narrower
  than the default behavior of the common GUI shells.  Much more like
  the waiter's order-entry touch-screen look-and-feel.

   http://www.learningdisabilities.org.uk/html/content/webdesign.cfm

Jonathan, I think your icon is a filing cabinet with one drawer pulled
out.  Signifying "look in the files."

If you can get into XForms I believe you will find it much more friendly
to everything that you need to do.

I will see what I can do to get the U.S. Federal Government XForms pilots to
generate working examples that would work for your clients.

The PF group is working on an issues and strategies page that will go
public soon in this area of natural language usage.  Stretching 'natural
language' enough to subsume synthetic, but then mnemonic, icon systems.

Al

Received on Wednesday, 12 March 2003 08:06:18 UTC