RE: Table linearization (was: A table navigation technique)

I'd say that the guidelines should specify a way to retrieve information one
cell at a time, and to provide for navigation between cells that maintains
the context of the cell.  That might be in terms of row/column headers, or
it might be some other method not yet defined.

Retrieving information a cell at a time is needed for low/no vision, as well
as those with visual perception limitations.

However, table serialization is a technique, and is not necessarily the best
or only way to provide cell retrieval and context information.

Denis Anson, MS, OTR
Assistant Professor
College Misericordia
301 Lake Street
Dallas, PA 18612

Member since 1989 of:
RESNA
The International Association of Assistive Technology Professionals

-----Original Message-----
From: w3c-wai-ua-request@w3.org [mailto:w3c-wai-ua-request@w3.org]On Behalf
Of Jon Gunderson
Sent: Wednesday, November 18, 1998 10:19 AM
To: Paul Adelson
Cc: w3c-wai-ua@w3.org
Subject: Re: Table linearization (was: A table navigation technique)

Probably over 90% of all table markup on the WWW is for layout and not
data.  So one of the primary uses of linearization would be to reduce
visual complexity.  For data tables the linearization needs to be more
complex to allow header information to be a part of the cell rendering.
Most of the discussion on the list and in the telecons have focused on the
blind and I think other types of disabilities should be included in the
discussion.  We have also been lacking any significant discussion of how
this may be implemented in browser other than it can be done through third
party assistive technology manipulating the DOM.
Jon


At 04:02 PM 11/17/98 -0600, Paul Adelson wrote:
>Following up Jon Gunderson's comment:
>
>> <snip>
>
>> In a study we did here at UIUC with low vision students.  We found the
most
>> difficult task we asked them to perform was to find some information in a
>> simple data table (3 out of 4 visually impaired students could not
complete
>> the task).
>>
>> So how do we address the needs of these disabilities related to table
>> linearization?
>
>A question from a naive bystander: is table linearization the best way to
help
>low-vision users, or are there other good options?
>
>I ask partly because I sometimes deal with scrolled-off (and therefore
>invisible) column headers on spreadsheets by getting the cursor onto a
column
>of interest and then cursoring down to find the row I'm interested in. This
>allows me to quickly look at the data in the column I'm interested in,
without
>having to deal with all the other columns. I don't think this would be as
easy
>to do in a linearized table.
>
>The other option I use (if I'm feeling less lazy) is to lock the cells that
>contain the column and/or row headers so that they are always in view. The
>equivalent for general browsing would be to have the option of readily
>viewing/hearing/feeling the related headers for any cell that is currently
>being rendered. This might be done with or without linearization.
>
>So, here's the important piece of info that I don't know: Would low-vision,
>learning-disabled, or even blind users be readily able to navigate a 2-D
table
>if they always had easy access to the current column/row header info, in
which
>case the guidelines might do well to allow developers flexibility in how
they
>implement a solution? Or is linearization a) known to work reliably and b)
the
>only option that is known to work reliably, in which case the guidelines
might
>do better to specify this more precise solution?
>
>--
>  -- Paul Adelson
>------
>* The views expressed are those of the
>* author and do not necessarily reflect the
>* position of Citibank or its affiliates.
>
Jon Gunderson, Ph.D., ATP
Coordinator of Assistive Communication and Information Technology
Division of Rehabilitation - Education Services
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://www.staff.uiuc.edu/~jongund
        http://www.als.uiuc.edu/InfoTechAccess

Received on Wednesday, 18 November 1998 11:07:09 UTC