Re: [Pythoncard-users] clearing up tab order in resourceEditor

[Murray A. <m.a...@op...>]

Alex Tweedly wrote:
> bra...@om... wrote:
> 
> 
>>I'm still in favor of a separate data structure for tab order. It's 
>>important to be able to take some
>>focusable components out of the tab order, just as you can in 
>>FileMaker. This is normally done
>>with rarely used-fields which still need to be focusable by mouseClick.
> 
> I completely disagree. (Climbs on hobby-horse ......)
> 
> I think it's important to NEVER have focusable components that can't be 
> reached by TAB order. The idea of a field that needs to be reachable but 
> can be reached ONLY by mouse movement strikes me as being wrong.
> 
> In my own case, it's because I can type much better than I can use the 
> mouse; I like keeping my hands over the keyboard and just typing to get 
> what I want - but I'll admit that's personal preference.
> 
> But there are others who are disabled in various ways, for whom 
> requirements to use a mouse can be close to a show-stopper problem.  I 
> think it behooves us as developers to make our applications as 
> accessible to as wide range of people as possible - there should always 
> be an alternate, non-mouse mechanism, and it should be reasonably easy 
> if that is at all possible. (I accept that for some aspects of say a 
> drawing program there may be no alternative to a mouse other than 
> cursor-arrow-keys - but for reaching fields on an input form, that's not 
> necessary).
> 
> Try it some day - disconnect your mouse. You might be surprised by how 
> possible it is to do 95% of what you need, and how hard the other 5% 
> becomes. And how annoying it is that 4% out of those 5%  could have been 
> easy if someone had just thought about it a bit longer or more 
> sympathetically.
> 
> (Dismounts from hobby horse .....)

I don't think one has to climb on a hobby horse to suggest that
accessibility be a requirement for any project, nor do we need to
appeal to anyone's sense of fairness or ethics. If you're doing
business in the US or the EU, chances are you often have legal
requirements to provide accessible solutions. This applies to
whether you're doing business with government, industry, education,
etc., just as one finds requirements for entry ramps into both
public and private buildings.

Those who work with computers should always realize that they're
just one step away from needing accessibility features. Yes, it
can happen to YOU (if you're reading this, I mean YOU). It doesn't
even take some kind of accident. I know several people who simply
blew their hands out by too much typing or mousing, and are now
forced to use voice software in order to use a computer at all.
Yeah, it's a pain in the ass. They don't have any other option if
they want to use a computer. Any one of the people on this list
could be in this situation -- nobody is immune. [I also know a
fantastic acoustic bass player who retired this year after a long
battle with hand problems. In the end, it was just too painful
to continue. And he is a big guy, over six feet tall and strong
like an ox.]

As part of designing any software, Alex's suggestion is a very
good one: disconnect your mouse and see if you can still use
your software. If not, think about how those limited to keyboard
or voice will feel about your product. What if they happen to be
say, your client's purchasing agent, CTO or CEO?

It's good business practice to make one's software applications
accessible.

Murray

......................................................................
Murray Altheim                    http://kmi.open.ac.uk/people/murray/
Knowledge Media Institute
The Open University, Milton Keynes, Bucks, MK7 6AA, UK               .

        Ils ont l'orteil de Bouc, & d'un Chevreil l'oreille,
        La corne d'un Chamois, & la face vermeille
        Comme un rouge Croissant: & dancent toute nuict
        Dedans un carrefour, ou pres d'une eau qui bruict.