Proposed rewording of checkpoints 4.15 and 4.16

Hello,

Per my action item from the 19 April teleconf [1], please
consider these versions of checkpoints 4.15 and 4.16. As
we discussed in the teleconference, the goal of these edits is
to identify two problems:

1) Focus changes not requested by the user, which may
   disorient users who are blind or with CD.

2) Too much information from too many open viewports, which
   may disorient users with CD.

Another goal of this proposal is to identify the minimal requirement
for satisfying each checkpoint. Refer also to previous proposal [2]
for checkpoint 4.15.

<OLD>
4.15 Allow the user to configure how the focus changes. [Priority 2] 
     For instance, allow the user to require that user interface 
     focus not move automatically to a newly opened viewport. 

4.16 For those viewports, prompts, and windows that open without 
     an explicit request from the user, allow the user to configure 
     how they open. [Priority 2] 
</OLD>

<NEW>
4.15  Allow the user to configure whether the current focus 
      moves automatically to a viewport that opens without 
      an explicit request from the user. [Priority 2] 
</NEW>

The minimal requirement for satisfying this checkpoint is to allow
the user to configure the following:

a) The focus must not move unless the user does so manually
b) The focus may move automatically (refer also to checkpoint 5.7).

I don't think that prompting the user to confirm as a
third choice makes sense since it would require a focus change 
to prompt the user.

Note that we have a definition of "current focus" in the glossary
and we should use it.

<NEW>
4.16 Allow the user to configure the user agent to
     limit the number of open viewports.
     [Priority 2] 
</NEW>

The minimal requirement for satisfying this checkpoint is
to allow the user to configure the following:

a) At most one viewport may be open at a given time.
b) Any number of viewports may be open.

Other techniques that would satisfy this checkpoint
(beyond the minimal requirement) would be to allow the
user to specify the maximum number of open viewports.

NOTES:

- If the user agent allows the user to configure that only
  one viewport be open, then that would satisfy 4.15 at the
  same time since the focus would not have any place to move.

- While the rationale behind 4.16 seems important, I'm not sure
  how effective 4.16 will be in the context of a multiprocess
  environment that itself doesn't allow the user to limit
  (by configuration!) the number of open windows. (Also, to meet the
  needs of users with CD, if it is sufficient that the user be able
  to close open windows, then I think that 4.16 can be deleted. But,
  as Gregory has pointed out, configuration might be important to this
  checkpoint.)

- As for the concern that viewport properties be inherited when
  a viewport is open, I don't believe we need to add anything
  to the document since the requirement is to apply user preferences.
  If the user can specify preferences at all, the presumption is that
  they will be applied, not selectively ignored. The last sentence
  of the definition of "configure" addresses persistence:
  
    "Users should be able to save their configurations 
     across user agent sessions (e.g., in a profile)."

- Gregory has also expressed a requirement that for a 
  viewport V with focus F, that any viewport V' based on V have
  focus F when opened. There are several cases to consider:

    1) Opening a new, empty viewport is not part of this
       requirement.
 
    2) A viewport that is synchronized with another is
       not part of this requirement since, by definition,
       the two are synchronized and therefore the focuses
       will follow each other.

    3) The case that seems to matter is when a viewport
       is duplicated: the focus in the new viewport
       should initially be the same as the one in the
       original viewport. 

       The only problem here is if the new viewport
       does not display the same content (e.g., it's
       an outline view) as the original viewport. 

       Still, we could add a Note after 4.15 to capture 
       the third item:

        Note: When a viewport is duplicated, the focus 
        in the new viewport should initially be the same as
        the focus in the original viewport.


 - Ian

[1] http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/w3c-wai-ua/2000AprJun/0163.html
[2] http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/w3c-wai-ua/2000AprJun/0106.html
--
Ian Jacobs (jacobs@w3.org)   http://www.w3.org/People/Jacobs
Tel:                         +1 831 457-2842
Cell:                        +1 917 450-8783

Received on Wednesday, 19 April 2000 21:08:01 UTC