Re: Reserved keystrokes for browsers and operating system functions

Rich,

The use of accesskey is fine for moving focus to an element or widget or following a link.  But how can the XHTML Access Module support defining keyboard bindings in a javascript keyboard event handler to move focus with in a widget?

The XHTML Access Module would need to be some other type of reference to activate a javascript function.  This would be complicated since many javascript event handlers require knowledge of event node and any object specific data passed in by an event handler.

Jon


---- Original message ----
>Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2008 05:04:47 -0600
>From: Richard Schwerdtfeger <schwer@us.ibm.com>  
>Subject: Re: Reserved keystrokes for browsers and operating  system functions  
>To: "Charles McCathieNevile" <chaals@opera.com>
>Cc: "John Foliot" <foliot@wats.ca>, "'W3C WAI-XTECH'" <wai-xtech@w3.org>, wai-xtech-request@w3.org
>
>   Rich Schwerdtfeger
>   Distinguished Engineer, SWG Accessibility
>   Architect/Strategist
>   Chair, IBM Accessibility Architecture Review Board
>   blog:
>   http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/page/schwer
>
>   wai-xtech-request@w3.org wrote on 02/09/2008
>   02:18:33 AM:
>
>   >
>   > On Wed, 19 Dec 2007 02:18:05 +0530, John Foliot
>   <foliot@wats.ca> wrote:
>   >
>   > > Jon Gunderson wrote:
>   > >> Aaron,
>   > >> Is there a list of key combinations that ARIA
>   (Web 2.0) applications
>   > >> should never use?
>   > >>
>   > >> There are already some conflicts in the best
>   practices, in that case
>   > >> the best practices says the Widget should win.
>   >
>   > I'm not sure that the widget should win, actually.
>   Changing the user  
>   > interface locally is not exactly kind to the user,
>   because of its  
>   > unpredictability, poor discoverability, and
>   difficulty to learn.
>   >
>   > >> Are these combinations going to be OS and
>   browser specific?
>   >
>   > The reason why I suggest using the actual
>   accesskey mechanism in HTML  
>   > rather than directly trapping key events is that
>   accesskey *can* be  
>   > implemented not to clash.
>   >
>   This only helps if you are doing alt+xxx. If you
>   want to trap the arrow key
>   to expand/collapse arrows access keys do not cut it.
>   So, I believe author needs control over the
>   browser.
>
>   I would also prefer that the access element approach
>   be used from the XHTML 2 working
>   group to replace access key. It also provides a
>   description of the key and allows
>   the author to let the browser assign the key and to
>   identify the target event.
>
>   http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/WD-xhtml-access-20080107/
>
>   > My proposal to the HTML WG to improve the
>   specification of accesskey would  
>   > make it clearer that accesskeys can be remapped by
>   the client, according  
>   > to what is available. Thus you get (at least) the
>   ability to re-use  
>   > existing techniques - and while there are known
>   hassles with gobbling  
>   > accesskeys out of the UI in Internet Explorer,
>   Opera doesn't have the  
>   > problem already, Firefox is changing.
>   >
>   > > Not sure if this helps any, but my list of
>   reserved keystrokes, while now
>   > > over 5 years old, is still pretty-much
>   up-to-date.  Note that this list  
>   > > was directly in relationship with Accesskey
>   (ALT+___ in Windows
>   > > environment), but might serve as a useful start
>   (?).  See:
>   > > http://www.wats.ca/show.php?contentid=43 (There
>   is some i18n data there  
>   > > too
>   >
>   > John, there are no conflicts between Opera's
>   accesskeys and alt - since  
>   > you don't use alt to enable accesskeys in teh
>   first place, but a single  
>   > configurable command (default is shift-esc, but
>   you can set it to anything  
>   > you like).
>   >
>   > > I also have a list of keystroke combinations
>   directly related to JAWS
>   > > [http://www.wats.ca/show.php?contentid=48], that
>   also features other
>   > > activator keys (for example "Prior Link" = SHIFT
>   + TAB) if that is of any
>   > > use.
>   >
>   > cheers
>   >
>   > Chaals
>   >
>   >
>   > --
>   > Charles McCathieNevile  Opera Software, Standards
>   Group
>   >      je parle français -- hablo español -- jeg
>   lærer norsk
>   > http://my.opera.com/chaals   Try Opera 9.5:
>   http://snapshot.opera.com
>   >
Jon Gunderson, Ph.D.
Coordinator Information Technology Accessibility
Disability Resources and Educational Services

Rehabilitation Education Center
Room 86
1207 S. Oak Street
Champaign, Illinois 61821

Voice: (217) 244-5870

WWW: http://www.cita.uiuc.edu/
WWW: https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/jongund/www/

Received on Tuesday, 19 February 2008 15:52:50 UTC