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Re: Accessible table filtering options

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From: Terrill Bennett
Date: Nov 6, 2010 9:12AM

Y'all,

Sorry, I do NOT program in JQuery... but then, things like that have
never stopped me from making a fool of myself, before. So I thought
I'd see what I could do with this PicNet filter-thingy and ARIA-Live.

To the original PicNet demo, I:

1. I added proper labels to the check boxes in the demo.

2. I took the obfuscated JQuery source code, and started looking.
Found a place that looked hopeful.

3. Copied the ARIA-Live demo from:

http://accessibleajax.clcworld.net/simple/controls.htm

4. Merged the demo code from PicNet with the demo above.

5. Researched a wee bit on "How to" do some JQuery stuff on Google.

6. Hard-coded (kludged) an example. (It's easy to find in the .js -
it's the part with statements on separate lines).

Results:

http://bennett1.org/temp_stuff/filterTest.htm

In my recording of NVDA, I tabbed through the form starting at the
top. I allowed SOME of the instructions to be read, but didn't wait
for it to complete - I moved on by tabbing until I eventually reached
Text Column 1. You will (sometimes) hear NVDA say things like "tab" as I move:

1. When I reach the Quick Find, I press Tab and move to the Clear Filters link.

2. I press Tab again to reach the Text Column 1, I pause. I press
Ctrl (not heard) to stop reading the instructions, and we hear "50
rows" from the ARIA-Live update.

3. In Text Column 1, I then type 9. We hear "10 rows" (more on this
count in a second - see NOTE below).

While I didn't record it, I did continue to the Select list, picked
Item 1, hit Enter, and the rows reduced count, and NVDA announced the
new row count. You'll have to trust me!

NOTE: I seem to have found a slight bug, uh, I mean "undocumented
feature" in the filter. If you go to the ORIGINAL demo from Picnet,
type 9 in Text Column 1, you'll get some number of rows (I think at
first I got 12?). Clear the filters using the link, back to Text
Column 1, type 9, get a different count. Reload the page, repeat, you
will probably get a different count, again. Weird.

Anyway, I seem to have made SOME progress. Perhaps someone who
actually knows JQuery can make it better. Links to the ZIPped files
(htm, modified .js and MP3) are at the bottom of the page.

Enjoy!

-- Terrill --

"Man who says it cannot be done, should not interrupt man who is doing it."
-- Ancient Chinese Proverb