E-mail List Archives
Thread: is the tab order logical and appropriate?
Number of posts in this thread: 4 (In chronological order)
From: Shrirang Sahasrabudhe
Date: Wed, Dec 20 2006 11:50PM
Subject: is the tab order logical and appropriate?
No previous message | Next message →
in my search application i have a scenario where user can search documents according to diff document types.
e.g. PDF, word doc, power point etc
i have following controls on the page
1. search query edit box
2. search button
3. PDF checkbox
4. ms word checkbox
5. ms powerpoint checkbox
currently the tab order i have is
search query-checkboxes-search button
is this according to accessibility requirements?
my logic behind putting search button at the end of the order is
"users may tend to click the search button whenever they find it so they may not realize the existence of checkboxes"
is it ok?
or some groups may have any concerns with the approach?
your views are appreciated
thanks
Shri
Warm Regards
Shrirang P. Sahasrabudhe
Software Engineer
Infosys Technologies Ltd
http://www.infosys.com/
The only way to avoid errors is to anticipate them
Source: Wings Of Fire
***********************************************************
If you try, you risk failure. If you don't, you ensure it....I try.
Shrirang Sahasrabudhe,
Pune, India.
Phone: 0091-020-4227558.
From: Egan, Bim
Date: Thu, Dec 21 2006 2:40AM
Subject: Re: is the tab order logical and appropriate?
← Previous message | Next message →
Hi Shri,
The tab order of:
search input box
format checkboxes
search button
is perfectly logical. You are right to believe that many people will believe that the search options end with the search button, so this shouldn't appear before the format option checkboxes.
It is best to ensure that this order applies by making it the code order of the elements. Avoid using TABINDEX to impose a different order, as this affects every element on the page, which may not be appropriate.
Kind regards,
Bim
From: Shrirang Sahasrabudhe
Date: Thu, Dec 21 2006 9:20PM
Subject: Re: is the tab order logical and appropriate?
← Previous message | Next message →
Hi,
You wrote:
<It is best to ensure that this order applies by making it the code
order of the elements. Avoid using TABINDEX to impose a different order,
as this affects every element on the page, which may not be appropriate.>
By code order you mean the controls should appear in logical way in html it self, right?
But by changing the code order the entire look of the page is getting modifiedL
Unfortunately it is not possible as per client UI specification.
I was planning to programmatically set value for tabindex of controls...
Is there any other work around for the same?
Thanks
Shri
"Egan, Bim" < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote: Hi Shri,
The tab order of:
search input box
format checkboxes
search button
is perfectly logical. You are right to believe that many people will believe that the search options end with the search button, so this shouldn't appear before the format option checkboxes.
It is best to ensure that this order applies by making it the code order of the elements. Avoid using TABINDEX to impose a different order, as this affects every element on the page, which may not be appropriate.
Kind regards,
Bim
From: Egan, Bim
Date: Fri, Dec 22 2006 2:40AM
Subject: Re: is the tab order logical and appropriate?
← Previous message | No next message
Hi,
Yes, you're right, the order that the controls appear in the HTML should follow the logical tab order.
It is possible to visually rearrange elements using CSS, but this may lead to confusion for all users, especially those using high magnification. The logical end of search options is the search button in most cases. But if the client wants it to look illogical, that's their choice of course.
Kind regards,
Bim