Re: DHTML Keyboard Meeting: discussion about grid navigation

Number keys for some screen readers are used for header navigation in HTML documents.  I am not sure this is a problem with the keyboard model you describe, it maybe that screen reader users would nee to use the "pass key" feature of the screen reader to activate the edit mode using number keys.  Screen reader users can always use the F2 key to get into edit mode, so it is probably not really an issue. 

Jon


---- Original message ----
>Date: Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:02:56 +0200
>From: "Schnabel, Stefan" <stefan.schnabel@sap.com>  
>Subject: DHTML Keyboard Meeting: discussion about grid navigation  
>To: <wai-xtech@w3.org>, <donald.evans@corp.aol.com>
>Cc: "Keim, Oliver" <oliver.keim@sap.com>, "Schaus, Martin" <martin.schaus@sap.com>
>
>   Hi all,
>
>   This is what I understood from Tuesdays discussion
>   what makes sense for "SAP and Oracle type grids"
>   having one potentially editable item per cell:
>
>   Begin Edit Mode:
>
>   - Enter or F2 on editable cell
>
>   - Alphanumeric key on editable cell
>
>   End Edit Mode:
>
>   - Enter to confirm last changes
>
>   - ESC to undo last changes
>
>   TAB in Display-Only Mode:
>
>   - Leaves Grid
>
>   TAB in Edit Mode:
>
>   - Confirms last changes, moves to the next editable
>   cell and activates its edit mode
>
>   - If next cell is not editable, simply focuses next
>   cell and restores Display-Only mode
>
>   If we allow for grids with MORE than one item per
>   grid cell (Jon Gunderson idea of grids) we need to
>   change the TAB meaning entirely. Here, TAB here is
>   not any more used to leave and re-enter the grid.
>
>   Therefore, we need an additional skipping key to
>   leave anytime the grid and focus the next element
>   after the grid and an inverse key combination to
>   restore the focus on the last position in the grid.
>   We have already proposed (and implemented, it
>   works!):
>
>   ->  CTRL+TAB / SHIFT+CTRL+TAB (or F6 / SHIFT+F6) for
>   that
>
>   The idea is as follows:
>
>   0) Navigation between grid cells with multiple items
>   is done with arrow keys as usual
>
>   1) TAB shall be used to *enter* a grid cell having
>   multiple items
>
>   2) TAB shall be used for navigation within the
>   different cell items of a grid cell
>
>   3) TAB will *exit* this cell also again and focus
>   the next cell
>
>   4) Navigation with arrow keys will be re-activated
>   (if next cell contains also multiple items, it is
>   necessary to press TAB again to enter)
>
>   Note that this approach requires that there 
>   *should* be a (custom) property of a grid cell that
>   it contains multiple items and the JS/User Agent
>   keyboard handler will adjust TAB key behavior
>   accordingly (on single content, TAB will simply go
>   to next cell like arrow right)
>
>   Of course, the skipping approach with CTRL+TAB
>   instead of TAB can be also been applied to ordinary
>   "SAP grids" as we actually already do.
>
>   Best Regards
>
>   Stefan
>
>   Dr. Stefan Schnabel
>   Accessibility Expert
>   User Experience - Accessibility
>
>   SAP AG
>   Dietmar-Hopp-Allee 16,
>
>   69190 Walldorf, Germany
>
>   T: +49 (6227) 7-65652
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>
>   mailto:stefan.schnabel@sap.com
>
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Received on Thursday, 21 August 2008 13:42:10 UTC