RE: techniques for author-defined UI controls

The HTML 4.0 does not provide much guidance in implementing the ACCESSKEY 
feature.

Jon


At 11:42 AM 11/3/99 -0500, Denis Anson wrote:
>As far as activating elements via AccessKey in a well-documented and
>consistent manner, does this mean between agents, or within a single agent?
>As I understand it, HTML 4.0 does not specify the behavior of AccessKey,
>just the general concept of what it should do.
>
>Denis Anson, MS, OTR
>Assistant Professor
>College Misericordia
>301 Lake St.
>Dallas, PA 18612
>
>Member since 1989:
>RESNA: An International Association of Assistive Techology Professionals
>Website: http://www.resna.org
>RESNA ANNUAL CONFERENCE -- "RESNA 2000"
>ORLANDO, FL, JUNE 28 -- July 2, 2000
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: w3c-wai-ua-request@w3.org [mailto:w3c-wai-ua-request@w3.org]On Behalf
>Of Gregory J. Rosmaita
>Sent: Tuesday, November 02, 1999 5:35 PM
>To: Al Gilman
>Cc: User Agent Guidelines Emailing List
>Subject: Re: techniques for author-defined UI controls
>
>aloha, al!
>
>as regards the 4 points i made, quote
>
>but it is still the responsibility of the UA to (at least):
>
>a) recognize ACCESSKEY
>b) provide a well documented method for invoking ACCESSKEY
>c) activate elements invoked via an ACCESSKEY in a well-documented and
>consistent manner
>d) provide a well-documented and consistent mechanism whereby conflicting
>accelerator key combinations can either be passed through to the UA or
>remapped
>by the UA
>unquote
>
>you remarked,
>quote:
>Is this the bottom line?  If so, I agree.  I hope it didn't sound as though
>I
>don't agree...
>unquote
>
>yes, it is the bottom line, or at least, what i believe the bottom line to
>be...
>
>to answer your questions, when i wrote:quote pass conflicting key
>combinations
>through to the UA unquote i meant a mechanism such as that employed by
>screen
>readers which tells the application quote ignore next input unquote so that
>if
>a screen reader command blocks a system or application command from being
>executed, one can invoke the pass through keystroke so that the system or
>application, and not the screen reader, receives the keyboard command, or
>vice
>versa, depending upon the AT being used and the situation...
>
>you also asked,
>quote:
>Would it suffice to say "When accelerator keys collide, the UA shall provide
>a
>way for the user to activate either action"?
>unquote
>
>i'm not sure that that's much clearer...  this is the cascade issue
>addressed
>ad nauseam in my past posts -- the UA needs to know, upon activation of the
>accelerator, to what it should apply the action bound to that keystroke --
>itself? the document currently being rendered?  the operating system?
>
>and in what order...  perhaps the fourth point could be worded thus:
>
>Provide a well-documented and consistent mechanism whereby conflicting
>accelerator key combinations can either be:passed directly to the user agent
>for the activation of an application or OS control, or used to activate the
>element for which they have been defined in the document currently being
>rendered.
>
>which may necessitate a fifth point:
>
>Provide a well-documented and consistent mechanism whereby conflicting
>accelerator key combinations can remapped by the UA. It is essential that
>the
>user be notified of any remappings.
>
>although that option could probably be appended to the fourth point,
>provided
>that the 3 options were listed in a bulleted or ordered list...  in any
>event,
>i'm sure that Ian can coalesce the idea far better than i...
>
>gregory
>--------------------------------------------------------
>He that lives on Hope, dies farting
>      -- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack, 1763
>--------------------------------------------------------
>Gregory J. Rosmaita <unagi69@concentric.net>
>    WebMaster and Minister of Propaganda, VICUG NYC
>         <http://www.hicom.net/~oedipus/vicug/index.html>
>--------------------------------------------------------

Jon Gunderson, Ph.D., ATP
Coordinator of Assistive Communication and Information Technology
Chair, W3C WAI User Agent Working Group
Division of Rehabilitation - Education Services
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://www.staff.uiuc.edu/~jongund
WWW: http://www.w3.org/wai/ua

Received on Wednesday, 3 November 1999 14:22:42 UTC