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Number of posts in this thread: 10 (In chronological order)

From: LSnider
Date: Sat, Jan 14 2012 2:15PM
Subject: Keyboard Users and What They Use
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Hi Everyone,

For those who use keyboard only navigation, the tab key is most used from
what I have read. Do you use arrow keys a lot? If so, when do you use them?

When you tab to a link you want to go to, for example a hidden skip to
navigation link, do you press enter or some other key? I just wanted to
confirm that this is the only way to activate this link...

I am a mouse user, so I only play with keyboard navigation and wondered if
I was missing some tricks of the trade!

Cheers

Lisa

From: Rakesh
Date: Sun, Jan 15 2012 1:09AM
Subject: Re: Keyboard Users and What They Use
← Previous message | Next message →

Hi Lisa,

On 15-01-2012 02:44, LSnider wrote:
> Hi Everyone,
>
> For those who use keyboard only navigation, the tab key is most used from
> what I have read. Do you use arrow keys a lot? If so, when do you use them?
> I am a screen reader user so I use only keyboard. Generally I don't use tab key. I use arrow keys espicially down arrow key (In any given web page I press "cntrl + home to go to the top of the page and press down arrow to move to various elements of the page). To activate any link or form element i use space bar.
> When you tab to a link you want to go to, for example a hidden skip to
> navigation link, do you press enter or some other key? I just wanted to
> confirm that this is the only way to activate this link...
>
> I am a mouse user, so I only play with keyboard navigation and wondered if
> I was missing some tricks of the trade!
>
> Cheers
>
> Lisa
HTH
Regards
Rakesh

>

From: Birkir R. Gunnarsson
Date: Sun, Jan 15 2012 1:51AM
Subject: Re: Keyboard Users and What They Use
← Previous message | Next message →

Lisa

To activate links a user may use space bar or the enter key (listen
for both, 13 and 32 I believe the ascii values are).
tab or arrow keys are used, arrow keys are popular, but there are
different options as well (it always strikes me as odd when a link
appears in tab order, but not when using arrow keys, ideally a page
should b coded to make both catch all links),
many users bring up a list of all the links on the page (jaws key f7,
same in nvda), , other explore by headings, a popular Jaws navigation
method is the "n" key, which moves focus to the first instance of a
different element (I find myself using it a lot,out of habit I
suppose).
If I am expecting a form I use "f" for next form field, "e" for next
edit field or similar.
Once you get to know the page you may insert custom bookmarks or look
for specific signs, in GMail basic interface I know to use "x" to jump
to first check box (next to first message) that way one key gets me
straight to my messages.
I am in favor of AccessKeys, if there is a link users are likely to
use frequently, but is not accessible with other elements such as
headings, say the "log in" link is in the middle of a list of links
(though it begs the question whether the page layout could not be more
eficient).
I tell people to keep the most commonly used material towards the top
of the page, novice users ere towards just using the arrow key to
navigate, and if the main content is 80 lines down, they may give up
before finding it.
Similarly, avoid overly large tables. Many users navigate tables with
the arrow down key, reading columngs left to right top to bottom, many
users are not aware of keys like shift-dot (less than) in Jaws, that
jumps to the end of current element, or table navigation modes that
make exploring tables faster.

There are many factors however, and we must put a certain faith in the
user being able to learn basic navigation features of his/her
assistive technology.


On 1/15/12, Rakesh < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> Hi Lisa,
>
> On 15-01-2012 02:44, LSnider wrote:
>> Hi Everyone,
>>
>> For those who use keyboard only navigation, the tab key is most used from
>> what I have read. Do you use arrow keys a lot? If so, when do you use
>> them?
>> I am a screen reader user so I use only keyboard. Generally I don't use
>> tab key. I use arrow keys espicially down arrow key (In any given web page
>> I press "cntrl + home to go to the top of the page and press down arrow to
>> move to various elements of the page). To activate any link or form
>> element i use space bar.
>> When you tab to a link you want to go to, for example a hidden skip to
>> navigation link, do you press enter or some other key? I just wanted to
>> confirm that this is the only way to activate this link...
>>
>> I am a mouse user, so I only play with keyboard navigation and wondered if
>> I was missing some tricks of the trade!
>>
>> Cheers
>>
>> Lisa
> HTH
> Regards
> Rakesh
>
>>

From: Steve Faulkner
Date: Sun, Jan 15 2012 6:39AM
Subject: Re: Keyboard Users and What They Use
← Previous message | Next message →

hi Birkir,

>To activate links a user may use space bar or the enter key

I know that for form controls it is a common interaction pattern to
activate a control with either the enter or space key

I am not aware of any browsers that support link activation using the
space key. Do you have any data?


regards

stevef

On 15 January 2012 08:52, Birkir R. Gunnarsson
< = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> Lisa
>
> To activate links a user may use space bar or the enter key (listen
> for both, 13 and 32 I believe the ascii values are).
> tab or arrow keys are used, arrow keys are popular, but there are
> different options as well (it always strikes me as odd when a link
> appears in tab order, but not when using arrow keys, ideally a page
> should b coded to make both catch all links),
> many users bring up a list of all the links on the page (jaws key f7,
> same in nvda), , other explore by headings, a popular Jaws navigation
> method is the "n" key, which moves focus to the first instance of a
> different element (I find myself using it a lot,out of habit I
> suppose).
> If I am expecting a form I use "f" for next form field, "e" for next
> edit field or similar.
> Once you get to know the page you may insert custom bookmarks or look
> for specific signs, in GMail basic interface I know to use "x" to jump
> to first check box (next to first message) that way one key gets me
> straight to my messages.
> I am in favor of AccessKeys, if there is a link users are likely to
> use frequently, but is not accessible with other elements such as
> headings, say the "log in" link is in the middle of a list of links
> (though it begs the question whether the page layout could not be more
> eficient).
> I tell people to keep the most commonly used material towards the top
> of the page, novice users ere towards just using the arrow key to
> navigate, and if the main content is 80 lines down, they may give up
> before finding it.
> Similarly, avoid overly large tables. Many users navigate tables with
> the arrow down key, reading columngs left to right top to bottom, many
> users are not aware of keys like shift-dot  (less than) in Jaws, that
> jumps to the end of current element, or table navigation modes that
> make exploring tables faster.
>
> There are many factors however, and we must put a certain faith in the
> user being able to learn basic navigation features of his/her
> assistive technology.
>
>
> On 1/15/12, Rakesh < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
>> Hi Lisa,
>>
>> On 15-01-2012 02:44, LSnider wrote:
>>> Hi Everyone,
>>>
>>> For those who use keyboard only navigation, the tab key is most used from
>>> what I have read. Do you use arrow keys a lot? If so, when do you use
>>> them?
>>> I am a screen reader user so I use only keyboard. Generally I don't use
>>> tab key. I use arrow keys espicially down arrow key (In any given web page
>>> I press "cntrl + home to go to the top of the page and press down arrow to
>>> move to various elements of the page). To activate any link or form
>>> element i use space bar.
>>> When you tab to a link you want to go to, for example a hidden skip to
>>> navigation link, do you press enter or some other key? I just wanted to
>>> confirm that this is the only way to activate this link...
>>>
>>> I am a mouse user, so I only play with keyboard navigation and wondered if
>>> I was missing some tricks of the trade!
>>>
>>> Cheers
>>>
>>> Lisa
>> HTH
>> Regards
>> Rakesh
>>
>>>

From: Birkir R. Gunnarsson
Date: Sun, Jan 15 2012 7:30AM
Subject: Re: Keyboard Users and What They Use
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Hi guys

Sorry, emails in the middle of the night are not a good idea, even
less so when the (insert a very dirty word) alarm in our local club
house has gone off every 15 minutes since midnight.
I meant that in my observation (of about 10 to 20 users, mostly Jaws),
people tend to stick to trying to activate links and buttons either
with enter ror space bar. Jaws allows spacebar activation of links
with IE at least.
This may be specific to screen readers, and the browsers themselves
probably do not allow this.
I always recommend trying to use enter to activate links, use space
bar to check check boxes and select radio buttons.


On 1/15/12, Steve Faulkner < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> hi Birkir,
>
>>To activate links a user may use space bar or the enter key
>
> I know that for form controls it is a common interaction pattern to
> activate a control with either the enter or space key
>
> I am not aware of any browsers that support link activation using the
> space key. Do you have any data?
>
>
> regards
>
> stevef
>
> On 15 January 2012 08:52, Birkir R. Gunnarsson
> < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
>> Lisa
>>
>> To activate links a user may use space bar or the enter key (listen
>> for both, 13 and 32 I believe the ascii values are).
>> tab or arrow keys are used, arrow keys are popular, but there are
>> different options as well (it always strikes me as odd when a link
>> appears in tab order, but not when using arrow keys, ideally a page
>> should b coded to make both catch all links),
>> many users bring up a list of all the links on the page (jaws key f7,
>> same in nvda), , other explore by headings, a popular Jaws navigation
>> method is the "n" key, which moves focus to the first instance of a
>> different element (I find myself using it a lot,out of habit I
>> suppose).
>> If I am expecting a form I use "f" for next form field, "e" for next
>> edit field or similar.
>> Once you get to know the page you may insert custom bookmarks or look
>> for specific signs, in GMail basic interface I know to use "x" to jump
>> to first check box (next to first message) that way one key gets me
>> straight to my messages.
>> I am in favor of AccessKeys, if there is a link users are likely to
>> use frequently, but is not accessible with other elements such as
>> headings, say the "log in" link is in the middle of a list of links
>> (though it begs the question whether the page layout could not be more
>> eficient).
>> I tell people to keep the most commonly used material towards the top
>> of the page, novice users ere towards just using the arrow key to
>> navigate, and if the main content is 80 lines down, they may give up
>> before finding it.
>> Similarly, avoid overly large tables. Many users navigate tables with
>> the arrow down key, reading columngs left to right top to bottom, many
>> users are not aware of keys like shift-dot  (less than) in Jaws, that
>> jumps to the end of current element, or table navigation modes that
>> make exploring tables faster.
>>
>> There are many factors however, and we must put a certain faith in the
>> user being able to learn basic navigation features of his/her
>> assistive technology.
>>
>>
>> On 1/15/12, Rakesh < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
>>> Hi Lisa,
>>>
>>> On 15-01-2012 02:44, LSnider wrote:
>>>> Hi Everyone,
>>>>
>>>> For those who use keyboard only navigation, the tab key is most used
>>>> from
>>>> what I have read. Do you use arrow keys a lot? If so, when do you use
>>>> them?
>>>> I am a screen reader user so I use only keyboard. Generally I don't use
>>>> tab key. I use arrow keys espicially down arrow key (In any given web
>>>> page
>>>> I press "cntrl + home to go to the top of the page and press down arrow
>>>> to
>>>> move to various elements of the page). To activate any link or form
>>>> element i use space bar.
>>>> When you tab to a link you want to go to, for example a hidden skip to
>>>> navigation link, do you press enter or some other key? I just wanted to
>>>> confirm that this is the only way to activate this link...
>>>>
>>>> I am a mouse user, so I only play with keyboard navigation and wondered
>>>> if
>>>> I was missing some tricks of the trade!
>>>>
>>>> Cheers
>>>>
>>>> Lisa
>>> HTH
>>> Regards
>>> Rakesh
>>>
>>>>

From: Benjamin Hawkes-Lewis
Date: Sun, Jan 15 2012 7:51AM
Subject: Re: Keyboard Users and What They Use
← Previous message | Next message →

On Sat, Jan 14, 2012 at 9:14 PM, LSnider < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> For those who use keyboard only navigation, the tab key is most used from
> what I have read. Do you use arrow keys a lot? If so, when do you use them?
>
> When you tab to a link you want to go to, for example a hidden skip to
> navigation link, do you press enter or some other key? I just wanted to
> confirm that this is the only way to activate this link...
>
> I am a mouse user, so I only play with keyboard navigation and wondered if I was missing some tricks of the trade!

Even if we limit ourselves to ordinary keyboards and ordinary
hyperlink controls, different setups provide many different ways to
locate and activate links. Examples include:

* Tab navigation through controls in "tab order" (using tab key,
perhaps with a modifier, in popular desktop browsers).
* Spatial navigation - moving in arbitrary directions through
controls as laid out on screen (e.g. Opera using arrow keys with a
modifier)
* Caret browsing through lines and characters (e.g. Internet
Explorer, Firefox).
* Find as you type where you start typing the first letters of a
link to select it then activate it (e.g. Firefox:
http://www.mozilla.org/access/type-ahead/ ).
* Links numbering - giving every link a short reference (e.g. "6"
or "ak") that the user can type in to activate the link (e.g. Lynx,
Vimium).
* Picking a link to activate from a list of links on the page in a
dialog (e.g. JAWS).
* Special behaviors for special link types such as "next" and
"prev" (e.g. Vimium has special key sequences for these).
* Access keys suggested by the web author.
* Mouse keys to simulate use of the mouse.

My guess is the most widely used mechanisms are tab key and find as
you type among general users, while dedicated keyboard only users are
especially likely to use links numbering if they can see and links
lists if they can't.

--
Benjamin Hawkes-Lewis

From: Andrews, David B (DEED)
Date: Tue, Jan 17 2012 2:18PM
Subject: Re: Keyboard Users and What They Use
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I am a blind computer user, and primarily use JAWS. I use the arrow keys a lot to explore new web pages. This way I can see what is on the page, how it is constructed and laid out etc.

At least with JAWS, the space bar will activate some kinds of controls, while the enter key works best for others.

Dave

From: Ryan Hemphill
Date: Wed, Jan 18 2012 6:45AM
Subject: Re: Keyboard Users and What They Use
← Previous message | Next message →

I have been trying to normalize behavior for different readers so I try to
maintain space bar as doing the same as the enter key for all users.

As far as navigation, I assume "lowest common denominator" browsing. Arrow
keys, tabbing and heading navigation only.

It's hard to insure that other key behavior will not have conflicts, so I
always try to stay away from trickier nav behaviors, like specific key
events. Unless you are doing a really heavy duty online app, they can be
done with more typical methods.
On Jan 17, 2012 4:17 PM, "Andrews, David B (DEED)" <
= EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:

> I am a blind computer user, and primarily use JAWS. I use the arrow keys
> a lot to explore new web pages. This way I can see what is on the page,
> how it is constructed and laid out etc.
>
> At least with JAWS, the space bar will activate some kinds of controls,
> while the enter key works best for others.
>
> Dave
>
>
>
>

From: Bourne, Sarah (ITD)
Date: Wed, Jan 18 2012 7:54AM
Subject: Re: Keyboard Users and What They Use
← Previous message | Next message →

Lisa,

For people who don't use a mouse, but also don't use a screen reader or other AT, the keyboard commands differ by the OS and programs you are using.

For web browsing in Firefox and IE, tab takes you through links and form fields. Space or Page Down scrolls through (but doesn't change focus.) Up/Down arrows scroll one line at a time. Firefox has an option that lets you use arrow keys to navigate within the pages. Opera uses slightly different keyboard shortcuts. For instance, tab only works on form fields.

Keyboard-only users rely on the program's documentation for more advanced features. For instance, here is Firefox's: http://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/Keyboard%20shortcuts and Opera's: http://help.opera.com/Windows/11.60/en/keyboard.html

sb

Sarah E. Bourne
Director of Assistive Technology &
Mass.Gov Chief Technology Strategist
Information Technology Division
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
1 Ashburton Pl. rm 1601 Boston MA 02108
617-626-4502
= EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
http://www.mass.gov/itd

From: LSnider
Date: Thu, Jan 19 2012 1:27PM
Subject: Keyboard Users and What They Use-Thanks!
← Previous message | No next message

Hi Everyone,

Thanks so much for all your great information and links. I know it is hard
to say 'most people do this', so it is good to hear about the variation!

Thanks again.

Lisa



On Wed, Jan 18, 2012 at 6:56 AM, Bourne, Sarah (ITD) <
= EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:

> Lisa,
>
> For people who don't use a mouse, but also don't use a screen reader or
> other AT, the keyboard commands differ by the OS and programs you are using.
>
> For web browsing in Firefox and IE, tab takes you through links and form
> fields. Space or Page Down scrolls through (but doesn't change focus.)
> Up/Down arrows scroll one line at a time. Firefox has an option that lets
> you use arrow keys to navigate within the pages. Opera uses slightly
> different keyboard shortcuts. For instance, tab only works on form fields.
>
> Keyboard-only users rely on the program's documentation for more advanced
> features. For instance, here is Firefox's:
> http://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/Keyboard%20shortcuts and Opera's:
> http://help.opera.com/Windows/11.60/en/keyboard.html
>
> sb
>
> Sarah E. Bourne
> Director of Assistive Technology &
> Mass.Gov Chief Technology Strategist
> Information Technology Division
> Commonwealth of Massachusetts
> 1 Ashburton Pl. rm 1601 Boston MA 02108
> 617-626-4502
> = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED =
> http://www.mass.gov/itd
>
>
>