[Accessibility_sig] question: are there any "safe" access keys?

[Jon Gibbins (dotjay)]

I believe we talking website development here? For software, as Ron 
points out, you want to make sure that you avoid causing conflicts with 
AT, such as JAWS. Access keys on websites need to be a character - I'm 
not certain, but I think the use of keys such as INS is not allowed for 
the accesskey attribute anyway.

With access keys *on websites*, your modifier keys (Ctrl, Shift, etc 
combinations) are dictated by the browser in use. For example, Firefox 2 
now uses Alt+Shift+ACCESSKEY.

In general, it's best to look at using numerical access keys on 
websites. More information here:
http://www.boxofchocolates.ca/archives/2003/12/06/accesskey-conflicts

If you want more on access keys for websites, take a search through the 
topics on Accessify Forum:
http://www.accessifyforum.com/

Hope that helps,
Jon


Amy Gelfand wrote:
> I am trying to make a photo gallery keyboard accessible. Tab index is 
> not a good solution for this problem, and the most convenient fix would 
> be to assign an access key. I know most keys are used by ATs for various 
> purposes and cannot be used as custom access keys--are there ANY keys 
> that are "safe" to use? Thanks!
> 
> 
> Amy Gelfand
> Web Developer
> National Instruments
> 512-683-8863

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