Last modified: 2011-03-13 18:05:40 UTC
Add a "tabindex=1" attribute to the "Search" field of the Main Page. This will make it easier for users to search from the Main Page, since all it takes then is a single keystroke (Tab) to position the cursor in the "Search" field. Currently the default behavior in most (all?) browsers when viewing the Main Page is to give focus to the first link in the page. The "Search" field is many, many Tab keystrokes away, forcing the user to use the mouse instead of the keyboard. True, the "Search" field has an "accesskey=F" setting, but not many users know how to activate it. (I didn't find out until recently and by accident that FireFox uses Alt-Shift-F for this.) And generally speaking, hotkeys are not nearly as convenient to use as the Tab key. Using "tabindex" also has the benefit of not affecting any existing behavior, since there are no "tabindex" attributes used anywhere else on the Main Page, and its use does not force the focus to be set (until the user hits the Tab key). This also makes the Main Page easier to use for access-impaired users. See also: Bug #1864 Cursor should be placed in the search box (2005-04-10)
tabindex=1 would interfere with all other forms, by interjecting the sidebar search field into the middle of them. A larger number, which would always appear after foreground forms, might be more appropriate. However, this would require *all* other forms to have tabindexes added to their fields or, again, I believe it'll pop up before them in tab order.
(In reply to comment #1) > tabindex=1 would interfere with all other forms, by interjecting the sidebar > search field into the middle of them. > > A larger number, which would always appear after foreground forms, might be > more appropriate. However, this would require *all* other forms to have > tabindexes added to their fields or, again, I believe it'll pop up before them > in tab order. Excuse my ignorance, but I don't follow you. What other forms are there on the Main Page? Any <input> fields that do not have a tabindex attribute are assumed to have indexes greater than those that do, so that tabbing through them gives focus first to those with tabindexes (in relative numeric order), followed by those that don't (in the order that they appear in the HTML doc). So this means that if the Search field is the only <input> field with a tabindex, it will get focus first (when the user presses Tab), and subsequent Tabbing will then give focus to the other <input> fields in the order that they appear in the doc, i.e., in the order that they currently get focus today.
1) There might be any number of forms on a main page, depending on the extensions in use on that site. However it would be nonsense to set such a tabindex on a site's main page only, since the main page has the same ui as everything else on the wiki. 2) Right, that's my point above. Setting any tab index on that field alone would interfere with other forms which do not have explicit tabindexes, by coming before them in tab order despite not being a prominent UI element.
(In reply to comment #3) > 1) There might be any number of forms on a main page, depending on the > extensions in use on that site. However it would be nonsense to set such a > tabindex on a site's main page only, since the main page has the same ui as > everything else on the wiki. > > 2) Right, that's my point above. Setting any tab index on that field alone > would interfere with other forms which do not have explicit tabindexes, by > coming before them in tab order despite not being a prominent UI element. Okay, I see now. Like you say, adding a large tabindex=100 (for example) would do the trick, but only if all other forms also have (lower) tabindex settings. Which is probably too much to ask for, and might have unintended interaction consequences when multiple forms are presented on a page. So does that mean that there is no simple way to allow the user to Tab to the Search field without complicating all of the other elements/pages?
