an attempt to refine the "active element" definition which was tied to "focus"

>   18.MN: Propose a new definition of active element, based on keyboard
>navigation discussion at F2F meeting


===== proposed=======

Focus

The user focus designates which element in a document is active. The
element with focus is therefore referred to as the active element.  Which
elements can take focus and thus be active depends on the document language,
and whether those features are supported by the user agent. In HTML4.0
documents, for example, elements which can take focus and are thus
capable of being active elements include links, image maps, form
controls, elements with a value for the "longdesc" attribute, and
elements with associated scripts (event handlers) explicitly associated
with them (e.g., through the various "on" attributes).  In the
near future, it is expected that any element defined in the HTML document
language, for example, will be able to accept the focus and thus could be
defined as an active element.

Once an element has the user focus, it may be activated through any number of
mechanisms, including the mouse, keyboard, an API, etc. The effect
of activation again depends on the element and also whether the user agent
supports that element being active.   For instance, when a link is
activated, the user agent generally retrieves the linked resource.
When a form control is activated, it may change state (e.g., check boxes)
or may take user input (e.g., a text field). Activating an element with a
script assigned for that particular activation mechanism (e.g., mouse
down event, key press event, etc.) causes the script to be executed.

A viewport has at most one focus. When several viewports co-exist,
each may have a focus, but only one is active, called the current
focus. The current focus is generally presented (e.g., highlighted)
in a way that makes it stand out.





==== original====

The user focus designates an active element in a document. Which
elements are active depends on the document language and whether
the features are supported by the user agent. In HTML documents,
for example, active elements include links, image maps, form
controls, elements with a value for the "longdesc" attribute, and
elements with associated scripts (event handlers) explicitly associated
with them (e.g., through the various "on" attributes). An element
with the focus may be activated through any number of mechanisms,
including the mouse, keyboard, an API, etc. The effect of activation
depends on the element. For instance, when a link is activated, the
user agent generally retrieves the linked resource. When a form
control is activated, it may change state (e.g., check boxes) or may
take user input (e.g., a text field). Activating an element with a script
assigned for that particular activation mechanism (e.g., mouse down
event, key press event, etc.) causes the script to be executed. A
viewport has at most one focus. When several viewports co-exist,
each may have a focus, but only one is active, called the current
focus. The current focus is generally presented (e.g., highlighted)
in a way that makes it stand out.

Received on Wednesday, 27 October 1999 13:32:08 UTC