You can visit the Digital Accessibility Services section of our website to find out more about how we help clients comply with the law and maximise the reach of digital content.Tune into our Facebook page to watch a member of our team grapple with the mouseless challenge.Why don't you have a go at navigating websites using just your keyboard and share the challenge with your friends and colleagues on GAAD? Just do it for 30 minutes and see how you do. Of course, all you web people out there have tested your websites using keyboard only, haven't you? If you haven't, you are making it harder for keyboard only users to come to your web site and buy your products or get information! That's a really unhelpful attitude - good website design benefits everyone! Being able to navigate around websites using your keyboard is so important because it means that people who can't really use pointing devices are still included. Some website designers might say 'I don't expect too many people who are blind will want to come and visit my website'. Not having any sight means that using the mouse becomes impossible, so you've got to do everything using a keyboard to be able to access your screen reader software. Trying to use a maps tool on a website.Ī reason why you might have to be a keyboard only user is that you don't have any sight whatsoever.Moving money from one bank account to another might be problematic if you are a keyboard only user.It's easy with a mouse but if you are using a keyboard it is a lot more problematic. Some websites require you to 'drag and drop'.How do you cope with pesky flash videos that tell you to 'click here' in the middle of the video?.If you are a keyboard user you might find it difficult to see where the focus is on a web page.Five scenarios that you might find difficult if you can't use a mouse Or if you have a really reduced level of movement you might find that taking your hands away from the keyboard to use the pointing device is just too difficult for you. If you are familiar with vimperator/pentadactyl/vim, you will feel right at home. It is intended to fill the needs of those contributing to it rather than appeal to as many users as possible. Or you might find using the mouse difficult because you have poor muscle control. It follows Arch Linux philosophy by being user-centric not user-friendly. Who uses keyboard shortcuts?įor a start if you have a tremor, you might find it easier to use a keyboard with some of the settings changed. Some people claim that the 'average' user makes upwards of 5000 clicks a day, which highlights why going mouse-less might be even more challenging.

We were quite surprised to see lots of examples of websites devoted to laptops advocating keyboard shortcuts. You can even take advantage of keyboard shortcuts if you are a laptop user. Yes, you can control your computer as a keyboard only user! Lots of people do. a digital group that offers Digital Marketing and Branding services to businesses, both in a.

What would happen if your mouse or pointing device was taken away from you? Would you know what to do?Īs part of GAAD on Thursday 18th May we challenge you to spend a portion of your day (even just 10 minutes) trying to use your computer with just your keyboard. Going Mouseless - Implementing Keyboard Shortcuts in ASP.

Digital keyboard mouseless