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Re: Alt key to reveal keyboard shortcuts?

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From: JP Jamous
Date: Jul 13, 2017 2:08PM

Rachel,

I have a big NO about that particular key. Even if you get it to work with some JavaScript, the Alt key is by default the menu key for all Windows applications including browsers. That is why I highly discourage you, because you created a blocker on your site for me to access my browser menus.

You can try another key or a combination such as CTRL + 1 or Alt + 1. This way, you are not tampering with Windows default shortcut keys.

I also like to add numbers rather than letters, because CTRL + p is a browser shortcut to print the page. CTRL + c is to copy. So to avoid any conflicts, Alt + 0 or 9 or 7 would be best as browsers and most Windows applications do not use numbers along with the Alt or CTRL keys.

-----Original Message-----
From: WebAIM-Forum [mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> ] On Behalf Of R Sengers
Sent: Thursday, July 13, 2017 2:44 PM
To: <EMAIL REMOVED>
Subject: [WebAIM] Alt key to reveal keyboard shortcuts?

We want to implement keyboard shortcuts on a web app for users who are using keyboard instead of mouse to move around to different parts of the page. We'd like to let users know what keyboard shortcuts are available on the page.

We're considering doing this: when user hits ALT key, the web page reveals all the keyboard shortcuts that are available on the page. When user releases the ALT key, they disappear.

Do you foresee any issues with this plan? Do you know if the Alt key (by itself) already in use for other purposes by any common browsers, OS's, or assistive technologies?

Thanks!
Rachel Sengers


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