WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

E-mail List Archives

Re: Tabindex and initial focus

for

From: Shane Anderson
Date: Feb 8, 2018 8:53PM

I'm not sure if I would dismiss this design pattern. Sure, it doesn't work
on general web pages someone visits occasionally, but when dealing with
repeated data entry tasks it can be useful. Needing to navigate to the
first form field with a mouse or tab key could be a big frustration and
waste of time.

The use case should determine if it is used appropriately or not. If it's
meant for repeated daily use (e.g. office staff inputing data 20 times a
day), removing it could hurt the overall experience more than it helps.

Regards
Shane Anderson


On Sat, Feb 3, 2018 at 11:04 AM, Birkir R. Gunnarsson <
<EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:

> My instructions to my team are never to put focus inside the page if
> the page is a landing page or if there are important instructions at
> the top of the form.
> I strongly recommend putting focus directly on a form ield if the page
> is a log in page or if this is a form with errors.
> Any other situation we treat on a case by case basis.
> It's a fact that a screen reader user can get to the top of the page
> withone key strok, a keyboard only user may have to tab many times to
> get to the first form field (well, unless the page has a skip link).
>
>
>
> On 2/3/18, Ryan E. Benson < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:
> > This same question came up in another forum I'm in. There was an
> > overwhelming support of dropping people to the first field. I am torn on
> > the issue because if you do that, you may miss instructions, or if it is
> a
> > basic form, would it have that many instructions? We have PeopleSoft too,
> > but not many people use it. So if you have a disability, putting focus on
> > the first element saves you a few seconds, and the screens don't change.
> >
> > Ryan E. Benson
> >
> > On Feb 2, 2018 22:17, "Birkir R. Gunnarsson" <
> <EMAIL REMOVED> >
> > wrote:
> >
> >> I like the solution, but I'm not sure it addresses the initial question.
> >> Setting a positive tabindex on an element by itself should not cause a
> >> screen reader to autofocus on the element.
> >> It only ensures that when the page loads and the user presses the tab
> >> key, that the element with the lowest positive tabindex receives ocus.
> >> MOst screen reader users do not use the tab key to inspect a page,
> >> they are much more likely to explore using the arrow keys, navigate by
> >> headings, landmarks or other semantic elements. Tabbing through the
> >> webpage is not a good exploration technique for a screen reader user,
> >> it is slow, cumbersome, and the user misses out on all the
> >> non-focusable content.
> >>
> >> So, if the focus is automatically placed on the first form field when
> >> the page loads, there's got to be something else going on, either a
> >> JavaScript focus() function or an autofocus attribute.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> On 2/1/18, Swift, Daniel P. < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:
> >> > Good call, Jonathan:
> >> >
> >> > $(document).ready(function() {
> >> > $('input').each(function(){
> >> > if ($(this).attr('tabindex') > 0)
> >> > $(this).attr('tabindex', 0);
> >> > });
> >> > });
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > Dan Swift
> >> > Senior Web Specialist
> >> > Enterprise Services
> >> > West Chester University
> >> > 610.738.0589
> >> >
> >> > -----Original Message-----
> >> > From: WebAIM-Forum [mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> ] On
> >> Behalf
> >> > Of Jonathan Avila
> >> > Sent: Thursday, February 01, 2018 1:26 PM
> >> > To: WebAIM Discussion List < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
> >> > Subject: Re: [WebAIM] Tabindex and initial focus
> >> >
> >> >> While far from pretty, you could use JS to reset the focus. In the
> off
> >> >> chance that you are using jQuery:
> >> $(this).removeAttr('tabindex');
> >> >
> >> > I would tighten that up to only remove positive indices as tabindex
> of 0
> >> or
> >> > -1 may be used for other good reasons. Furthermore, a safer approach
> >> might
> >> > be to change all the positive tabindex values to 0s in case there were
> >> > elements that needed to be added to the tab order.
> >> >
> >> > Jonathan
> >> >
> >> > Jonathan Avila
> >> > Chief Accessibility Officer
> >> > Level Access, inc. (formerly SSB BART Group, inc.)
> >> > <EMAIL REMOVED>
> >> > 703.637.8957 (Office)
> >> > Visit us online: Website | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Blog
> Looking
> >> to
> >> > boost your accessibility knowledge? Check out our free webinars!
> >> >
> >> > The information contained in this transmission may be attorney
> >> > privileged
> >> > and/or confidential information intended for the use of the individual
> >> > or
> >> > entity named above. If the reader of this message is not the intended
> >> > recipient, you are hereby notified that any use, dissemination,
> >> distribution
> >> > or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited.
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > -----Original Message-----
> >> > From: WebAIM-Forum [mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> ] On
> >> Behalf
> >> > Of Swift, Daniel P.
> >> > Sent: Thursday, February 01, 2018 1:23 PM
> >> > To: WebAIM Discussion List
> >> > Subject: Re: [WebAIM] Tabindex and initial focus
> >> >
> >> > While far from pretty, you could use JS to reset the focus. In the
> off
> >> > chance that you are using jQuery:
> >> >
> >> > $(document).ready(function() {
> >> > $('input').each(function(){
> >> > $(this).removeAttr('tabindex');
> >> > });
> >> > });
> >> >
> >> > Dan Swift
> >> > Senior Web Specialist
> >> > Enterprise Services
> >> > West Chester University
> >> > 610.738.0589
> >> >
> >> > -----Original Message-----
> >> > From: WebAIM-Forum [mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> ] On
> >> Behalf
> >> > Of Joseph Sherman
> >> > Sent: Thursday, February 01, 2018 1:08 PM
> >> > To: 'WebAIM Discussion List' < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
> >> > Subject: [WebAIM] Tabindex and initial focus
> >> >
> >> > Our PeopleSoft application uses positive tabindex on every interactive
> >> item
> >> > in forms. No, we cannot change this. Yes, it's very annoying. Assuming
> >> focus
> >> > is in the correct order, the problem is that initial focus for screen
> >> > readers starts on the first tabindex on the page, skipping any
> >> directions or
> >> > instructional material at the top of a page.
> >> >
> >> > Is this an inherent property of positive tabindexes, that they steal
> >> initial
> >> > page focus, or is this something we can change?
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > Joseph
> >> > > >> > > >> archives at
> >> > http://webaim.org/discussion/archives
> >> > > >> > > >> > > >> archives at
> >> > http://webaim.org/discussion/archives
> >> > > >> > > >> > > >> archives at
> >> > http://webaim.org/discussion/archives
> >> > > >> > > >> > > >> > > >> > > >> >
> >>
> >>
> >> --
> >> Work hard. Have fun. Make history.
> >> > >> > >> > >> > >>
> > > > > > > > > >
>
>
> --
> Work hard. Have fun. Make history.
> > > > >