Page content section :
Accessibility : Website accessibility
Accesskeys,
keyboard and tab key navigation :
You can use the keyboard (instead of your mouse) to easily navigate this website using either access keys or the tab key or a combination of both.
See also : Navigating around this website - finding what you are looking for on this website.
UK Government accesskeys standard
The Adur District Council website uses the UK Government accesskeys standard (see below for details).
The accesskey attribute, introduced in HTML4.0, is intended to provide keyboard shortcuts in that they provide an alternative form of navigation.
Accesskeys allows users with limited physical capabilities to navigate the organisation's website more easily. There are some drawbacks, for example :
- functionality depends on the type of operating system you are using,
- the access key attribute is not supported by older browsers (eg MS Internet Explorer 4 and newer and by Netscape 6.x and newer),
- with Windows-based systems the user has to press the 'Alt key' and the accesskey, and
- with the Macintosh system the user has to press the 'Ctrl key' and the accesskey.
To use accesskeys in different browsers :
Internet
Explorer (4 or higher) :
- 'Alt + accesskey number' and then 'return' to go to page
- You
can find out about Internet Explorer on their website :
www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/ie/default.mspx
Opera
:
- 'Shift + Escape' then 'accesskey number' to go to page
- You can download
the Opera browser from their website : www.opera.com
Firefox
:
- 'Alt + accesskey number' to go to page
- You can
download the Firefox browser from their website :
www.mozilla.com/en-US/
Netscape
Navigator (6 or higher) :
- 'Alt + accesskey number' to go to page
- You can
download the Netscape browser from their website :
http://browser.netscape.com/
Safari
(Mac) :
- 'Ctrl + accesskey number' to go to page
- You
can find out about the Safari browser on their website :
www.apple.com/safari
Konqueror
(Linux) :
- 'Ctrl + accesskey number' or 'Alt + accesskey number' to go to page
- You can find
out about the Konqueror browser on their website :
www.konqueror.org
Mozilla
:
- You can find
out about the Mozilla browser on their website :
www.mozilla.org
- You can find
out about the Mozilla browser on their website :
www.mozilla.org
- Gnome (Unix and Linux)
- You can find
out about the Gnome browser on their website :
www.gnome.org
- You can find
out about the Gnome browser on their website :
www.gnome.org
When a user visits Adur's website for the first time they bring their collective experience gained from all other UK Government sites. It is, therefore, important that UK Government Websites adopt a constant accesskeys standard. Variations from this will make it more difficult for users as they have to learn new navigational skills each time.
Listed below is the recommended UK Government accesskeys standard as used on the Adur District Council website :
- S - Skip navigation
- 1 - Home page
- 2 - What's new
- 3 - Site map
- 4 - Search
- 5 - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- 6 - Help
- 7 - Complaints procedure
- 8 - Terms and conditions
- 9 - Feedback form
- 0 - Access key details
In the example above, the "What's new" page has an acceskey value of 2 given which is used consistently throughout the website.
See the Cabinet Office website for more details of the UK Government accesskeys standard (section 2.4.4 of Building in universal accessibility + checklist) : http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/e-government/resources/handbook/html/2-4.asp
Tab
key
Internet Explorer, FireFox or Netscape
If you are using Internet Explorer, FireFox or Netscape then you can use the tab key on your keyboard to scroll through all the links in turn on a web page (and also use 'shift tab' to return to the previous link). You will be able to tell what link you are on as its background colour will change to a light yellow colour. Once you get to the link you want then press the return or enter key to go to that page.
Using the tab key in Internet Explorer, FireFox or Netscape will present you with some hidden links that will allow you to jump down the page to the section you want to be in (eg Search and A to Z section or the main page content) and miss out the links (and page content) you don't need to wade through to get where you want to be on the page. These hidden links will appear over the Adur DC logo as the first links on the page when you press the tab key, you will then go back to the visible links on the page after scrolling though these hidden links.
Opera
If you are using Opera then the tab key won't work, but you can still navigate through the links on a webpage by using Shift+Left, Shift+Right, Shift+Up, and Shift+Down to select the next link or form input in that direction. You will be able to tell what link you are on as its background colour will change to a light yellow colour. Once you get to the link you want then press the return or enter key to go to that page.
Other Opera keyboard shortcuts include :
- Enter activates links or form inputs. Shift+Enter opens a link in a new tab.
- Z and Alt+Left go back in history. X and Alt+Right go forward.
- F5 and Ctrl+R reload the current page.
- F8 focuses the address field. F9 focuses the page.
- Ctrl+T opens a new tab.
- Ctrl+Tab cycles through the list of open tabs.
- Ctrl+W closes the current tab.
