1577148 - The "What's New Panel" links can't be opened with the "Enter" key

Status: VERIFIED FIXED

(Firefox :: Messaging System, defect, P2)

Description

[Marius Coman [:mcoman], Ecosystem QA]

Attachment: rec of the issue.gif

[Affected versions]:

• Firefox Nightly 70.0a1 - Build ID: 20190827203416

[Affected Platforms]:

• All Windows
• All Linux
• All Mac

[Prerequisites]:

• Have a new Firefox profile with the following pref's in the "about:config" page:
  • "browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.asrouter.providers.panel_local_testing" set to "{"id":"panel_local_testing", "cohort": "SHOW_TEST"}"
  • "browser.messaging-system.whatsNewPanel.enabled" set to "true"
  • "browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.asrouter.devtoolsEnabled" set to "true"

[Steps to reproduce]:

1. Open the browser with the profile from prerequisites and navigate to "about:newtab#devtools".
2. Select the "panel_local_testing" from the "Messages" section's filter.
3. Scroll down to the "WHATS_NEW_BADGE_70" section and click the "Show" button.
4. Click the "What's New" toolbar button and press the "Tab" key two times.
5. Press the "Enter" key and observe the behavior.

[Expected result]:

• The "https://blog.mozilla.org/" website is opened in a new tab.

[Actual result]:

• Nothing happens.

[Notes]:

• This issue is not reproducible if the link is clicked instead.
• Attached a screen recording of the issue.

Comment 1

[Andrei Oprea [:andreio]]

Messages can be accessed with both Enter and Space
Links can only be accessed with Space (Enter does not work)

Comment 2

[Liz Henry (:lizzard) (relman/hg->git project)]

Can you try to fix this for 70? Since this affects accessibility I'd like for us to make it a priority.

Comment 3

[Ciprian Muresan [:cmuresan], Ecosystem QA]

Initially we thought that accessing links via keyboard navigation didn't work at all in the panel, but as :andreio found out it's just the "Enter" key that doesn't work. The "Space" key still works as expected in this case. I've updated the Summary to reflect this.

@Liz, given that we have an easy work around for the issue, do we still consider this important for Fx 70, or can it be pushed to a future release?

Comment 4

[Marco Zehe (:MarcoZ)]

This is definitely an inconsistent behavior for keyboard users, since the standard way to open links is Enter, not Space. This should be dealt with with a P2 rather than a P3 I think, although for 70, even though unpolished, an uplift may be debatable. But remember that for keyboard users, Space to activate links is non-standard and thus not easily discoverable.

Comment 5

[Andrei Oprea [:andreio]]

Making this a P2.

Comment 6

[Andrei Oprea [:andreio]]

Attachment: Bug 1577148 - Open What's New Panel message links with the keyboard

Comment 7

[Pulsebot]

Pushed by [e-mail]:
https://hg.mozilla.org/integration/autoland/rev/c74e1d89a83c
Open What's New Panel message links with the keyboard r=pdahiya

Comment 8

[Alexandru Michis [:malexandru]]

https://hg.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/rev/c74e1d89a83c

Comment 9

[Andrei Oprea [:andreio]]

Comment on attachment 9093299 [details]
Bug 1577148 - Open What's New Panel message links with the keyboard

Beta/Release Uplift Approval Request

• User impact if declined: Accessibility issues for What's New Panel
• Is this code covered by automated tests?: No
• Has the fix been verified in Nightly?: No
• Needs manual test from QE?: Yes
• If yes, steps to reproduce: Open the What's New panel
  <Tab> to focus on
  a) a what's new message
  b) a what's new message link
  Use <Enter> to access. A new tab should open with the url
• List of other uplifts needed: None
• Risk to taking this patch: Low
• Why is the change risky/not risky? (and alternatives if risky): Small code chage
• String changes made/needed: n/a

Comment 10

[Andrei Oprea [:andreio]]

Please help verify this. There is a separate issue covering <Space> key access opening two tabs (bug 1582061). Since that is not the expected key (comment 4) fixing it can happen in a follow up bug.

Comment 11

[Ryan VanderMeulen [:RyanVM]]

Comment on attachment 9093299 [details]
Bug 1577148 - Open What's New Panel message links with the keyboard

a11y improvements for the What's New Panel. Approved for 70.0b8.

Comment 12

[Oana Pop-Rus]

https://hg.mozilla.org/releases/mozilla-beta/rev/2b80ad6a9803

Comment 13

[Marius Coman [:mcoman], Ecosystem QA]

I have verified that this issue is no longer reproducible with the latest Firefox Nightly (71.0a1 Build ID - 20190918215055) installed, on Windows 10 x64, Arch Linux and Mac 10.14.5. Now, the "What's New Panel" links can be opened with the "Enter" key.

Comment 14

[Marius Coman [:mcoman], Ecosystem QA]

I have verified that this issue is no longer reproducible with the latest Firefox Beta (70.0b8 Build ID - 20190919164641) installed, on Windows 10 x64, Arch Linux and Mac 10.14.5. Now, the "What's New Panel" links can be opened with the "Enter" key.

Comment 15

[Liz Henry (:lizzard) (relman/hg->git project)]

Thank you!