Re: Guideline for Keyboard accessibility

Denis,
Do you think this is important enough of a guideline to be aded to the
current draft.  
Jon

P.S. Hope you will be with us next week.


At 07:52 PM 6/17/00 -0400, Denis Anson wrote:
>Ian,
>
>Sorry I missed the meeting.  We were cut off from the world at the college,
>as far as electronics, so I couldn't see the new guidelines to talk about
>them.  Some comments are scattered about below...
>
>----------
>>From: Ian Jacobs <ij@w3.org>
>>To: w3c-wai-ua@w3.org
>>Subject: Guideline for Keyboard accessibility
>>Date: Thu, Jun 17, 1999, 2:29 PM
>>
>
>>Reference document:
>>   http://www.w3.org/WAI/UA/WAI-USERAGENT-19990611
>>
>>At the 16 June WG teleconf [1], the WG expressed a
>>desire to create a guideline specific to keyboard
>>accessibility. The idea is that keyboard accessibility
>>is important for ensuring compatibility between desktop
>>browsers and dependent user agents. 
>>
>>The 11 June draft of the guidelines distributes keyboard-related
>>checkpoints to guidelines about device-independence, documentation,
>>configurability, and following system conventions. In this proposal,
>>those checkpoints would be regrouped under a single guideline,
>>with cross references back and forth from other guidelines.
>>
>>GUIDELINE: Ensure accessible keyboard access to user agent
>>functionalities
>>
>>RATIONALE: Some text here about keyboard access
>>           being important to ensure compatibility.
>>
>>CHECKPOINTS:
>>
>> - By default and without additional customization, ensure that
>>all                   functionalities offered by the user agent are
>>accessible using the 
>>   keyboard. [Priority 1]  Cross-ref to device-independence guideline.
>>
>> - Allow the user to configure the keystrokes used to activate 
>>   user agent functionalities. Wherever possible,
>>   allow single key activation of functions. [Priority 2] 
>>   Cross-ref to configuration guideline.
>>
>> - Indicate the keyboard access method to activate a user agent 
>>   function using platform conventions. [Priority 2] Cross-ref
>>   to guideline about system conventions. E.g., underlined letters
>>   in menu entries.
>>
>> - Provide documentation on default keyboard commands and 
>>   include with user agent documentation and/or user help 
>>   system. [Priority 2] Cross-ref to guideline on documentation
>>
>I'm not sure these two are not priority 1.  It doesn't do any good at all to
>provide a keyboard access method unless you also let the user know what it
>is.  That may be by having keyboard equivalents in the menus, underlined
>letters, etc.  But the information *must* be there or accessibility is not
>provided.
>
>> - Provide information to the user about the current keyboard 
>>   configuration. [Priority 2] Cross-ref to guideline about
>>documentation.
>>
>Again, unless I know what the current keyboard settings are, the program is
>not accessible.  Considering the number of keyboard options that we are
>talking about, it would be virtually impossible to "discover" the keyboard
>settings by trial and error.  Unless the settings are made available, they
>might as well not be there.
>
>>PROPOSED ADDITIONAL CHECKPOINTS:
>>
>> - Provide default keyboard configuration for frequently performed
>>   operations [Pri 3]
>>
>> - Others?
>>
>>There are two checkpoints that should probably remain in other
>>guidelines since they are more general (and cross references
>>used):
>>
>>a) 11.6 Follow operating system conventions and accessibility 
>>        settings. In particular, follow conventions for user
>>        interface design, default keyboard configuration, 
>>        product installation, and documentation. [Priority 2] 
>>
>>b) PROPOSED: "Define default keyboard configurations consistently
>>             between software versions. Changes should not be
>>             made arbitrarily and should improve accessibility 
>>             or consistency with platform conventions." 
>>             Perhaps Priority 3?
>>
>>   This second checkpoint will appear in a separate proposal
>>   for a guideline about software consistency. If the Working
>>   Group elects to include a single checkpoint about keyboard
>>   configuration consistency, that checkpoint would naturally
>>   fall under the keyboard accessibility guideline.
>>
>>I do not think we need to have checkpoints specifically for
>>keyboard navigation and activation of active elements. They
>>can be listed in prose or as examples to emphasize their
>>importance, but are covered by the first checkpoint.
>>
>>- Ian
>>
>>[1] http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/w3c-wai-ua/1999AprJun/0205.html
>>-- 
>>Ian Jacobs (jacobs@w3.org)   http://www.w3.org/People/Jacobs
>>Tel/Fax:                     +1 212 684-1814
>>
> 
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 Friday, 18 June 1999 11:00:36 UTC