Re: drop down lists

Jon,

Thanks so much for this information!  It has already helped me out a lot.  I
tried this on the drop down lists on the Washington Mutual and a few other
sites with this functionality and I could reach the information without
difficulty.

This seems to be an undocumented feature.  I am using Internet Explorer 6,
service pack one and the online help in the program makes no mention of this
in its discussion of keyboard commands or accessibility from my reading of
the help files.  If I missed it please correct me.

If my assessment of a lack of documentation in the IE help system is indeed
accurate, then how would an end user without access to an outstanding
resource such as yourself or this list have the capacity to accomplish the
task?

How does everyone feel about undocumented access solutions?  Should they be
viewed differently from fully documented ones in the online help system?

Kelly


----- Original Message -----
From: "Jon Gunderson" <jongund@uiuc.edu>
To: "Kelly Pierce" <kpierce2000@earthlink.net>
Cc: <w3c-wai-ig@w3.org>
Sent: Friday, March 12, 2004 9:06 AM
Subject: Re: drop down lists


> IE has a command to pull down the menu using the keyboard.  It is not an
obvious command, but it was Microsofts response to this problem.
>
> 1. When the select box gets focus the user can type ALT+Down Arrow.  This
opens the list box options.
>
> 2. Release the ALT key and use the up and down arrow keys to move the
selection to the option you want.
>
> 3. Use the Enter (Return) key to select the option you want.
>
> Jon
>
>
>
>
> ---- Original message ----
> >Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2004 07:44:01 -0600
> >From: "Kelly Pierce" <kpierce2000@earthlink.net>
> >Subject: drop down lists
> >To: <w3c-wai-ig@w3.org>
> >
> >
> >
> >Hello,
> >
> >Using JAWS 5.0, I have noticed on various websites the use of drop down
> >lists that have no go button.  Instead, the non-disabled user would click
on
> >the list, hold down a mouse button, and pull down the list until the
desired
> >item is reached, and then letting go of the button with the desired page
> >popping up.  With JAWS, I noticed that when in forms mode, each item that
is
> >highlighted activates the auto redirect feature.  An example of this is
on
> >the web page of Washington Mutual at:
> >
> >http://www.wamu.com
> >
> >The first item that would be recognized as a form field by JAWS is one of
> >these kinds of pull down boxes.
> >
> >What is the remedy for this kind of problem?  Does the end user with a
> >screen reader need to adjust his computer or should the element be
designed
> >differently to avoid auto activation of list elements when they are
pulled
> >down?  If both are possible, how could each be accomplished?
> >
> >Kelly
> >
> >
> >
> Jon Gunderson, Ph.D., ATP
> Coordinator of Assistive Communication and Information Technology
> Division of Rehabilitation - Education Services
> MC-574
> College of Applied Life Studies
> University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign
> 1207 S. Oak Street, Champaign, IL  61820
>
> Voice: (217) 244-5870
> Fax: (217) 333-0248
>
> E-mail: jongund@uiuc.edu
>
> WWW: http://cita.rehab.uiuc.edu/
> WWW: http://www.staff.uiuc.edu/~jongund
>
>

Received on Friday, 12 March 2004 22:05:04 UTC