Re: ACTION-198 - Create 4.5.6 restore to default settings accessibility.

Hi Jim,

This looks pretty good, but I have three suggestions. Here are my proposals, followed by explanations and discussion:

a. Add "NOTE: Allowing the user to reset groups of related preference settings to their default values (e.g. reset keyboard shortcuts, reset colors and sizes of rendered content, etc.) is more valuable than merely providing the ability to reset all preference settings together, because some users will be unable to use the product without a few specific custom settings."

b. Add "NOTE: The user must not be required to know or enter the default value."

c. Add "4.5.x Restore defaults outside the UI: The user can adjust preference settings from outside the user agent user interface. NOTE: This allows the user to configure a product that would be inaccessible in its default state. EXAMPLE 1: A user agent ships with a separate utility for resetting or loading user preference settings. EXAMPLE 2: Holding down a modifier keys or specifying a command-line switch when starting the user agent could force it to use the default settings, or previously used and known-good settings, or a specified user profile."


Discussion and explanation:


1. Add note about resetting groups of settings

Imagine a user agent provides an option to reset *all* preference settings to their default values, and of course allows the user to change individual preference settings to values they enter, but does not provide commands to reset specific groups of related settings (e.g. reset keyboard shortcuts, or reset colors and sizes of rendered content). Would this be acceptable? It would meet the current wording. Unfortunately, if some default preference settings make the software inaccessible to the current user, then this feature would be off limits to them.

I recommend adding a note along the lines of "NOTE: Allowing the user to reset groups of related preference settings to their default values (e.g. reset keyboard shortcuts, reset colors and sizes of rendered content, etc.) is more valuable than merely providing the ability to reset all preference settings together, because some users will be unable to use the product without a few specific custom settings."


2. Currently it requires nothing

As currently worded, all user agents would automatically comply because the user can manually set any preference setting to its original value. Therefore the requirement really says nothing. 

I recommend adding a note along the lines of "NOTE: The user must not be required to know or enter the default value." (If this is made lower than Level A, then the word "must" should be replaced by "should".)

Alternatively, we could fold that clause into the SC wording itself, as in "4.5.6 Restore to default. The user can restore preference settings to their
default values without knowing or entering those default values. (Level A)", but that would make the SC longer and more cumbersome.


3. What about restoring outside the UI?

Your proposal addresses my original comment #81 (Add ability to restore default settings) but not my comment #82 (Add ability to restore preference settings without using the UI), which was:

#82. (Re 4.5.1) Add ability to restore preference settings without using the UI: If the user changes a user agent preference setting that makes the user agent inaccessible to them (e.g. a blind user turning of a setting required for screen reader compatibility), they would ideally have a way to restore their choice of either the defaults values or a previously save group of values, in a way which allows them to bypass the user agent's current (inaccessible) settings. For example, (a) a user agent could ship with a separate utility for resetting or loading user preference settings, or (b) holding down a modifier keys or specifying a command-line switch when starting the user agent could force it to use the default settings, or previously used and known-good settings, or a specified set of settings. This could be Level AA. (Priority: 3 Low) (Type: Expand)

I recommend adding a new success criteria along the lines of: "4.5.x Restore defaults outside the UI: The user can adjust preference settings from outside the user agent user interface. NOTE: This allows the user to configure a product that would be inaccessible in its default state. EXAMPLE 1: A user agent ships with a separate utility for resetting or loading user preference settings. EXAMPLE 2: Holding down a modifier keys or specifying a command-line switch when starting the user agent could force it to use the default settings, or previously used and known-good settings, or a specified user profile."

I finally realized that this is probably what was meant during earlier discussions of an SC to "change the defaults", but that wording completely misled me and I think it would be likely to confuse other readers.

	Thanks,
	Greg


-------- Original Message  --------
Subject: ACTION-198 - Create 4.5.6 restore to default settings accessibility.
From: Jim Allan <jimallan@tsbvi.edu>
To: w3c-wai-ua@w3.org
Date: thu, 11 jun 2009 15:14:10 -0500

ACTION-198 [1]
Create 4.5.6 restore to default settings accessibility.

No current wording.

<new>
4.5.6 Restore to default. The user can restore preference settings to their
default values. (Level A) 
1. http://www.w3.org/WAI/UA/tracker/actions/196

Jim Allan, Accessibility Coordinator & Webmaster
Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
1100 W. 45th St., Austin, Texas 78756
voice 512.206.9315    fax: 512.206.9264  http://www.tsbvi.edu/
"We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us." McLuhan, 1964

Received on Thursday, 18 June 2009 17:00:16 UTC