WebsightWhat it asks for, in plain English
If your page has a keyboard shortcut that is a single printable key on its own, such as pressing S to search, D to delete or a number to jump to a tab, with no Ctrl, Alt or similar modifier, then one of three things must be true: the person can turn it off, they can change it to include a modifier key, or it only works while a specific control has focus.
The problem is speech input. Someone dictating to their computer may say a word that gets typed as letters, and each letter fires a shortcut. Saying 'delete that' can delete three emails.
Shortcuts that already use a modifier, like Ctrl+S, are fine. So are shortcuts that are only active inside a focused text field or widget, like arrow keys in a slider.
This is an independent explanation. The binding wording is the W3C Recommendation, and the W3C's own Understanding 2.1.4 page has the full intent, techniques and definitions.
Who it affects
Someone with a motor impairment using speech recognition says a sentence near the page and watches it archive, star and delete things as the letters land.
A person with a tremor brushes a key and triggers an action they did not want, with no way to turn shortcuts off.
Anyone typing a note in a widget the page did not expect has keys stolen by the page's shortcuts.
How to check it
- Look for a keyboard shortcuts list in the help, settings or by pressing the question mark key, and list any that are a single letter, number or punctuation key.
- With nothing focused, press a few plain letter keys on the page and watch for anything happening.
- For each single-key shortcut, look for a setting to disable it or to require a modifier.
- If neither exists, check whether the shortcut only works while a specific control has focus.
What Websight checks for 2.1.4
Websight has no automated check for this criterion. It lists it in the manual checklist that comes with every report, so it is not forgotten.
Only a person can check this. A scanner cannot know which keys the page listens for, or whether a setting exists to change them.
Practical tips
- Use modifier combinations for shortcuts by default; reserve single keys for when a widget has focus.
- If you offer single-key shortcuts like Gmail does, add a one-click setting to turn them off and keep it switched off by default.
- Document shortcuts somewhere people can find them.
Other criteria in guideline 2.1, Keyboard Accessible
- 2.1.1 Keyboard (level A)
- 2.1.2 No Keyboard Trap (level A)