Re: highlighting the focus

Loretta,
The situation you describe would mean the user agent would not comply to 
UAAG.  There are also additional checkpoints that relate to styling and 
behavior of focus.

4.17 Allow the user to configure how the content focus is highlighted 
(e.g., foreground and background color, voice pitch, etc.). For graphical 
viewports, offer at least three rendering options, including colors and 
fonts. For graphical viewports, allow the user to select from among the 
range of system colors and fonts. The default focus highlight mechanism 
must be different from the default selection highlight mechanism. [Priority 1]
Note: For information for control of speech output and using those 
parameters for highlighting, refer to checkpoint 4.14.

4.18 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]

4.19 Ensure that when a viewport's selection or content focus changes, it 
is in the viewport
after the change. [Priority 2]
Note: For example, if users navigating links move to a portion of the 
document outside a graphical viewport, the viewport should scroll to 
include the new location of the focus. Or, for users of audio viewports, 
allow configuration to render the selection or focus
immediately after the change.

Jon


At 05:06 PM 12/6/2000 -0800, Loretta Guarino Reid wrote:
>Do the User Agent Guidelines indicate whether the element with the current 
>focus must always be highlighted?
>
>My impression is that focus elements are highlighted when I move focus to 
>them via keyboard commands, but if, for instance, I just open an 
>application, the focus element may not be highlighted.
>
>As an example, if I open a web page in Internet Explorer, there is no 
>indication of the focus element. However, if I start tabbing, each new 
>focus element is highlighted.
>
>                 Loretta Guarino Reid
>
>
>The relevent guidelines and definitions seem to be
>
>8.6 Implement selection, content focus, and user interface focus 
>mechanisms. Implement them according to system conventions (per checkpoint 
>5.8). [Priority 1]
>8.7 Provide a mechanism for highlighting the current viewport, selection, 
>and content focus. [Priority 1]
>
>Focus, content focus, user interface focus, current focus
>The notion of focus refers to two identifying mechanisms of user agents:
>         1.The "content focus" designates an active element in a document. 
> A viewport has at most one content focus.
>         2.The "user interface focus" designates a control of the user 
> interface that will respond to user input (e.g., a radio button, text 
> box, menu, etc.).
>In this document, the term "focus" by itself encompasses both types of 
>focus. Where one is meant specifically in this document, it is identified.
>
>When several viewports coexist, each may have a content and user interface 
>focus. At all times, only one content focus or one user interface focus is 
>active, called the current focus. The current focus responds to user input 
>and may be toggled between content focus and user interface focus through 
>the keyboard, pointing device, etc. Both the content and user interface 
>focus may be highlighted. Refer also to the definition of point of regard.

Jon Gunderson, Ph.D., ATP
Coordinator of Assistive Communication and Information Technology
Division of Rehabilitation - Education Services
MC-574
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 Thursday, 7 December 2000 09:30:17 UTC