Re: Style guide issue -- key to open combobox

Ok, space could apply only to readonly combos.

I also think down arrow should open them, even though the standard on 
Windows for down arrow is to select the next item without opening.
But really, is that as useful as having a discoverable key to open the 
thing?

How many users actually know about Alt+down? I bet 1%.

- Aaron



From:
Joseph Scheuhammer <clown@utoronto.ca>
To:
Aaron M Leventhal/Cambridge/IBM@IBMUS
Cc:
"wai-xtech@w3.org" <wai-xtech@w3.org>
Date:
01/07/2009 06:55 PM
Subject:
Re: Style guide issue -- key to open combobox




Aaron,

You wrote:
> For http://dev.aol.com/dhtml_style_guide#combobox 
> <http://dev.aol.com/dhtml_style_guide#combobox>
>
> Recently I learned that OS X users expect to be able to open a combo 
> box with a space bar. This seems reasonable.  Mac users are not likely 
> to know about Alt+Down arrow. Space bar is also a little bit "less 
> geeky" than Alt+down. Can we support both the space bar as well as 
> Alt+down?


I think supporting Mac gestures is a good idea, but I think there is a 
practical issue here.  A combobox is sometimes editable, and, in this 
case, space bar is intended as a space character in the text field. 
Compare with the OS X version of FF, specifically the location bar.  If 
it has focus, space bar does not open the list, unless the text field is 
empty.

I tried other keystrokes for Mac comboboxes, and if is not open then 
down-arrow opens it.  Similarly the location bar in FF, but only if it's 
empty.  If there is text, one has to do an alt+down arrow to open it, if 
it is not open.

-- 
;;;;joseph

'This is not war -- this is pest control!'
      - "Doomsday", Dalek Leader -