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Thread: Inappropriate navigation of buttons

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From: Vemaarapu Venkatesh
Date: Thu, Feb 23 2017 10:40PM
Subject: Inappropriate navigation of buttons
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Hi all, Greetings!

1. I have a group chat desktop application where there is a main navigation
side bar containing Activities, chats, contacts, settings etc as core
items. These items are buttons by design and the navigation is possible
with up/down arrow keys in sidebar once after focusing into side bar using
tab key. JAWS announces location for every button in side bar while
navigating through them. But I think it is deviating from the actual
standard that buttons should be navigable with tab key as they are
interactive elements. Though they are navigable with up/ down arrow keys
instead of tab key user is able to make out that there are few more buttons
in the sidebar listening to location "1of 7, 2 of 7 etc". Listening to
button role user always expect that they should be in tab order so I
suggested that side bar items should be navigable with tab key or change
the role to tab from button where tabs can be navigable with up/ down arrow
keys. Is it suggestable?
2. The app is completely accessible when user turns off virtual pc cursor
manually using Insert+Z which is not the actual way to access the
application. In default mode JAWS is not reading the elements in the app
while tabbing though they are focused. What might be the reason for this?
When we reported this client came up with the solution that they will add a
note in the help documentation of the app saying that "turn off virtual
cursor to use the app in accessible mode" something like that. But I think
this is not the apt solution. Is it recommendable?

Looking for your valuable comments on this and thank you for all the
expertise you people are sharing.

Thanks,
Venkatesh

From: JP Jamous
Date: Fri, Feb 24 2017 2:11AM
Subject: Re: Inappropriate navigation of buttons
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1. The standard Windows focus of buttons is tab keys. That is why you are experiencing issues with arrowing through them. Yes, JAWS allows you to arrow through them, but in this case, it doesn't seem like it is working. This could be due to many reasons. I would highly suggest you stick with the Windows and browser standards and use the tab key for those.

2. As far as the virtual cursor, remember that the PC cursor is again a part of the Windows environment. Personally, that was one approach I disliked when Freedom Scientific switched to in order to handle browsers and other Windows applications.

What you are dealing with is the fact that the PC mode is passing everything to the browser agent. Whereas the virtual PC is only passing what freedom scientific coded in their DLL files that handles DOMs. I strongly doubt that this is something you can overcome with coding. The manufacturer has to update their DOM module to allow JAWS to work with the particular browser.

Try using Firefox or Chrome and you may notice that the app mode works better with those.

From: Vemaarapu Venkatesh
Date: Fri, Feb 24 2017 3:50AM
Subject: Re: Inappropriate navigation of buttons
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Exactly JP, here with tab unable to navigate all buttons instead only up/
down arrow keys once after tabbing to side bar. We reported the same that
buttons should be navigable with tab key. Standards apart, the design is
not really destroying the user experience because user is notified that
sidebar as listbox and listening to that user surely use up/ down arrow
keys to navigate and no matter what kind of elements are there in it if I
am not wrong. As there is no immense impact on users, client is not so keen
to modify the design or to develop according to the standards which is
worrying.

Yes when it comes to web app the modes are working fine with firefox or
chrome. This is the desktop app which we are working with JAWS now.
Interestingly when I tab through the same app using NVDA it only announces
"Unknown". With these two sr's app is not at all accessible in their
default modes and didn't check with other sr's.

Thanks,
Venkatesh

On Fri, Feb 24, 2017 at 11:10 AM, Vemaarapu Venkatesh <
= EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:

> Hi all, Greetings!
>
> 1. I have a group chat desktop application where there is a main
> navigation side bar containing Activities, chats, contacts, settings etc as
> core items. These items are buttons by design and the navigation is
> possible with up/down arrow keys in sidebar once after focusing into side
> bar using tab key. JAWS announces location for every button in side bar
> while navigating through them. But I think it is deviating from the actual
> standard that buttons should be navigable with tab key as they are
> interactive elements. Though they are navigable with up/ down arrow keys
> instead of tab key user is able to make out that there are few more buttons
> in the sidebar listening to location "1of 7, 2 of 7 etc". Listening to
> button role user always expect that they should be in tab order so I
> suggested that side bar items should be navigable with tab key or change
> the role to tab from button where tabs can be navigable with up/ down arrow
> keys. Is it suggestable?
> 2. The app is completely accessible when user turns off virtual pc cursor
> manually using Insert+Z which is not the actual way to access the
> application. In default mode JAWS is not reading the elements in the app
> while tabbing though they are focused. What might be the reason for this?
> When we reported this client came up with the solution that they will add
> a note in the help documentation of the app saying that "turn off virtual
> cursor to use the app in accessible mode" something like that. But I think
> this is not the apt solution. Is it recommendable?
>
> Looking for your valuable comments on this and thank you for all the
> expertise you people are sharing.
>
> Thanks,
> Venkatesh
>