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Re: avoiding tabbing through drop downs

for

From: Jared Smith
Date: Mar 5, 2010 8:48PM


On Fri, Mar 5, 2010 at 7:26 PM, Geof Collis < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:
> Then put the ramp at the front of the building so we all have equal
> access, Debbie has the right idea.
>
> You say its just one click but if you have 20 sub menus then that is
> 20 clicks, not 1.

I'm not saying that Deborah's approach is wrong or that it can't also
be implemented. Providing redundant access to the menu items ensures
accessibility and usability if any other approach fails. It's not an
either/or. Make the navigation menu accessible without javascript,
ARIA, or anything else the user might need. Then supplement that basic
accessibility with a fancy flyout menu and javascript and ARIA and
whatever if you'd like.

I've yet to see a complex drop-down menu that is friendly, intuitive
for all users, and also fully accessible. If anybody knows of one that
just plain works, I'd love to see it. Perhaps there is one - I've just
yet to see it. In the meantime, why not provide a mechanism that is
known to work wonderfully for everyone?

Jared