Two questions about using the Tab key to navigate through web forms.
Is it possible to configure the web form so that after a new page displays, the first press of the Tab key (or DownArrow or RightArrow) highlights the first answer (multiple choice) or first entry field? Currently, the Tab key goes through a number of non-obvious places on the page (and without any visual indications), before getting to the page’s answer fields, The arrow keys don’t seem to do anything.
Is it possible to include the “Next” button in the Tab key navigation sequence? Currently it seem to be completely ignored by Tab key navigation.
I am asking on behalf of interviewers who, for the sake of convenience or due to physical limitation, use a keyboard instead of a mouse.
@dwight, I could move forward with the Tab key and then move backward with the Shift+Tab key. Additionally, I could also use the Up key & Down key to select the choices within a question.
Perhaps it’s the form style? I’m using “pages” (we need pages). Or the browser? I’m using Firefox. It happens in both Deployed and Draft surveys.
What’s most frustrating is that the “Next” button is never highlighted in the tabbing sequence, forcing the user to employ a mouse to go to the next page.
On a new page It takes 7 to 9 presses of the Tab key before anything highlights in the question-and-answer area. At that point Tab and Shift+Tab (and arrow keys) work as expected, but from a usability/accessibility standpoint it should take no more than two Tab presses to get there. Ideally one should be in the page content as soon as the page opens, so that the first press of the Tab key moves through answers.
The arrow keys work only once one is already tabbed into the page content.
Actually, now that we’re about to deploy a number of surveys, I’ve discovered the problem is worse than I thought.
Once you’re in the form itself, the Tab key indeed works as it should, with one important exception. When the last question on a page has been answered, a user with even moderate computer experience will want to hit Tab (to get to the “Next” button) and then Enter. The expectation is that the survey will go to the next question/group of the survey. Instead, it goes to https://enketo.org!
This is unexpected and disconcerting. Users should not be taken out of the survey when using a common keystroke combination. I will submit a bug report, but is there a workaround to avoid this?
Using Firefox (latest version), taking survey in “Online Only (Single Submission)” mode.
