Comments on Guidelines 1 and 2 of User Agent Accessibility
Guidelines 1.0
- Reference document:
- http://www.w3.org/WAI/UA/WAI-USERAGENT-19991005
- Editor: Marja Koivunen
- 1.1 Ensure that all
functionalities offered through the user interface may be operated through
standard input device APIs supported by the operating system. [Priority 1]
- Techniques
for checkpoint 1.1
- !!The API requirement already here. No need to have again in
2.!!
!!Some of the examples related to this GL are already in the Guideline
1 text.!!
Ensuring access to user agent functionality through the system's standard
keyboard API (where available) is important to accessibility since keyboard
access is available to many users and is widely supported. Keyboard
access here means direct mapping from keystrokes to UA functions. (Keyboard
keys may be used also for emulating pointing and using the gui for mapping to
UA functionalities, but that is not enough to provide accessibility.)
Even when a user doesn't use a physical keyboard, it is still possible to
simulate keyboard events with software. This guideline is important for
ensuring compatibility between graphical desktop browsers and dependent user agents.
When using a physical keyboard, some users require single-key access,
others require that keys activated in combination be physically close
together, while others require that they be spaced physically far apart. When
allowing users to configure keyboard access to functionalities, user agents
must consider system conventions, author-specified shortcuts, and user
preferences. The user agent's default configuration should include shortcuts
for frequently performed actions and should respect system conventions.
The more apparent the keyboard commands are to all users, the more likely
it is that new users with disabilities will find them and use them. Refer also to checkpoint
9.12.
Checkpoints in this section do not apply to user agents (e.g., kiosks) that
do not natively support keyboard input.
!!What does this mean? Provide keyboard access only when you provide
it?!!
- 2.1 By default and without additional
customization, ensure that all functionalities offered by the user agent
can be activated by dedicated keystrokes
may be operated
through the standard keyboard API supported by the operating
system.
!!The idea is that it must be an unambiguous keystroke, not one that
changes according to the cursor position. This prevents mouse emulation to
count.!!
- [Priority 1]
- Note. Functionalities include being able to show,
hide, resize and move graphical viewports created by the user
agent.
- Techniques
for checkpoint 2.1
- 2.1b Ensure that all functionalities offered by the user agent
can be activated by pointing through the standard mouse API .
[Priority 3]
- 2.? Provide user memory aids of the available user agent
functionalities. E.g. visually in graphical ui, shortcut keys, a key command
or a menu window to list all commands (visual, audio, tactile).
- !!Related to 2.2. but from functionality viewpoint.!!
- 2.2 Provide documentation on
default keyboard commands and include with user agent documentation and/or
user help system. [Priority 1]
- Refer
also to guideline 12.
- Techniques
for checkpoint 2.2
- 2.3 Provide information to the
user about the current keyboard configuration. [Priority 1]
- Note. For example, users should be
able to find information about complex key combinations. Refer also to guideline
12.
- Techniques
for checkpoint 2.3
- !!Information about mapping of the keys to the
functions?!!
- 2.4 Allow the user to configure the keystrokes used to
activate user agent functionalities. Users should be able to configure
single key activation of functionalities. [Priority 2]
- Techniques
for checkpoint 2.4
- !!Also allow the dependent UA to provide a mapping and change the
mapping temporarily so that e.g. a speech command activating a certain
function through keyboard API would activate the same function even though
the user has configured the keyboard commands differently. Or how does this
work?!!
- 2.5 Allow the user to turn on and
off author-specified keyboard configurations. [Priority 2]
- For example, in HTML, the author may specify tabbing order with the
"tabindex" attribute and keyboard bindings with the "accesskey"
attribute.
- Techniques
for checkpoint 2.5
- 2.6 Use platform conventions to
indicate which keys activate which user agent functionalities. [Priority 2]
- For example, on some platforms, if a functionality is available from a
menu, the letter of the key that will activate that functionality is
underlined.
- Techniques
for checkpoint 2.6
- 2.7 Avoid default keyboard
configurations that interfere with system conventions. [Priority 2]
- For example, the default configuration should not
include "Alt-F4" or "Control-Alt-Delete" on systems where that
combination has special meaning to the operating system. In particular,
default configurations should not interfere with the mobility access
keyboard modifiers reserved for the operating system. Refer also to guideline
6.
- Techniques
for checkpoint 2.7
- 2.8 Provide a default
keyboard configuration for frequently performed operations. [Priority 3]
- Techniques
for checkpoint 2.8
- 2.? Use the same mappings of keys to UA functionalities as the
other UAs whenever there are conventions available.