RE: Use of pre-compilated text-fields in forms

Patrick wrote:
> It works, but can have usability issues...users need to first
> clear the
> placeholder value before entering their own text;
>this is easier by
> keyboard (which, when tabbing into the field, already preselects the
> entire existing value, allowing the user just to start typing and
> overwrite the placeholder)

In observing a screen reader (JAWS) user interacting with inputs
containing default text I have found that the default text can actually
hinder. The keyboard behaviour you describe "when tabbing into the
field, already preselects the entire existing value" did not occur when
the user tabbed to the input (may have something to do with the various
JAWS cursors/modes) so the user ended up filling in the field with the
default text at the end of the users input.

with regards

Steven Faulkner
Web Accessibility Consultant
vision australia - information & library service
454 Glenferrie Road
Kooyong Victoria 3144
Phone: (613) 9864 9281
Fax: (613) 9864 9210
Email: steven.faulkner@nils.org.au
www.accessibleinfo.org.au | www.wat-c.org

Download the Web Accessibility Toolbar
[http://www.visionaustralia.org.au/ais/toolbar/]

Vision Australia was formed through the merger of the Royal Blind
Society
NSW, the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind, Vision Australia
Foundation and the National Information & Library Service.
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> -----Original Message-----
> From: w3c-wai-ig-request@w3.org [mailto:w3c-wai-ig-request@w3.org]On
> Behalf Of Patrick H. Lauke
> Sent: Tuesday, 9 May 2006 7:32 AM
> To: w3c-wai-ig@w3.org
> Subject: Re: Use of pre-compilated text-fields in forms
>
>
>
> Bailey, Bruce wrote:
>
> > And suggests:
> > <input name="textfield" type="text" value="word">
> >
> > Does this example actually work?  I thought default place
> holder text was much harder than that?
>
> It works, but can have usability issues...users need to first
> clear the
> placeholder value before entering their own text; this is easier by
> keyboard (which, when tabbing into the field, already preselects the
> entire existing value, allowing the user just to start typing and
> overwrite the placeholder) than mouse (where clicking on the input
> usually sets the cursor/caret, rather than selecting the
> current value).
> Of course, many people then use javascript to clear the input
> on focus
> (unless it contains anything other than the default value)...but it's
> not elegant.
>
> > Is there anything wrong with *WCAG* requiring *optional* attributes?
>
> Not per se. WCAG requires quite a few things that are optional (think
> for instance the lang attribute on the HTML root element itself to
> identify the primary language of the document). However,
> adding them can
> make it easier for certain user agents / users to understand
> the content
> and treat it appropriately.
>
> > Does the above actually result in *invalid* code?  (I think
> that was one of Laboo's concerns.)
>
> It doesn't result in invalid code, no. Note, however, that the
> placeholder checkpoint is one of the "Until user agents..."
> ones. Older
> versions of certain browsers/AT (as well as, apparently, a
> few of even
> the current braillers) simply ignore(d) inputs without any
> placeholding
> text. This is obviously a bug/shortcoming in those user agents, which
> this checkpoint tried to aknowledge and compensate for. Apart
> from those
> braillers, though, current browsers/AT don't have a problem at all
> dealing with inputs lacking default values, so the checkpoint
> itself is
> pretty much irrelevant now (and in the current draft of WCAG
> 2.0, this
> type of requirement has gone, as mentioned in the last point of the
> table at the start of Appendix D: Comparison of WCAG 1.0
> checkpoints to
> WCAG 2.0).
>
> P
> --
>
> Patrick H. Lauke
> __________________________________________________________
> re·dux (adj.): brought back; returned. used postpositively
> [latin : re-, re- + dux, leader; see duke.]
> www.splintered.co.uk | www.photographia.co.uk
> http://redux.deviantart.com
> __________________________________________________________
> Web Standards Project (WaSP) Accessibility Task Force
> http://webstandards.org/
> __________________________________________________________


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Received on Monday, 8 May 2006 23:20:05 UTC