1. keyboard-only browsing
The computer mouse is now such a ubiquitous object that most people forget it is a relatively recent introduction into our lives. Like other such recent introductions - microwave ovens, mobile phones (especially them), DVD players etc. - we are now so used to their presence that the thought of doing without them seems rather inconceivable. Yet many computer users cannot or do not use a mouse. This is either because they do not have the use of their arms (permanently, or temporarily) or simply choose to do without one, preferring to give the computer instructions by means of the keyboard only or, sometimes, more sophisticated interfaces like touch-screens and voice input.
In order to make it possible to do without a mouse, a user has to have a means of focussing on particular parts of the screen. In applications, this is done by means of the menu bars. Pressing Alt+F in just about any application will open the File menu, for example. (Try it now.) But remember that your web page sits "inside" the application. Browsers therefore have programmed into them various means by which you can focus on parts of the page. These are noted in more detail on the handout. But you can try some easily now; press the Tab key and you will see the browser focus on each of this page's links in turn. Pressing Return will then cause it to follow whatever link it's currently focussing on.
Amongst other things, these possibilities require you to:
- use correct tags; e.g. use heading tags for headings, rather than faking a heading with a modified <p> tag
- and use meaningful text for links, or if this is not possible, include the title attribute (it's like alt for links)
.
You might also use the accesskey attribute in links. For more details, see the page on general accessibility techniques.
(More allowances for keyboard-only browsing need making with forms, but these do not come into this course unless you go on to the Advanced Web Techniques option.)
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