J.3.2 Navigation

There are numerous things a developer should consider with respect to navigation in order to create an accessible Office Open XML implementation. At a high level these include the following:

• 1.

It should be possible to do everything using only the keyboard. There should be no functions that are dependent on the input of a mouse or other similar device.

• 2.

• 3.

• 4.

It should also be efficient to do everything via the keyboard. For example, it is unreasonable to require keyboard users to press TAB to navigate through hundreds of controls, just to get to the control that interests them. It should be possible to do everything using only one hand. Shortcut key sequences should be reasonable to perform with one hand. Keyboard navigation should be consistent and reasonable. TAB should navigate from one control to another. ESC should cancel the current keyboard state. The most commonly used controls should be visited first in the TAB order. If there are numerous controls laid out in two dimensions, the arrow keys should also work for two-dimensional keyboard navigation.