Closed Bug 1712469 Opened 3 years ago Closed 2 years ago

Trouble navigating to folder list, confirming focus, by keyboard

Categories

(Thunderbird :: Disability Access, defect)

defect

Tracking

(thunderbird_esr78 fixed, thunderbird_esr102 unaffected)

RESOLVED FIXED
90 Branch
Tracking Status
thunderbird_esr78 --- fixed
thunderbird_esr102 --- unaffected

People

(Reporter: erwinm, Assigned: Paenglab)

References

Details

(Keywords: access, leave-open)

Attachments

(2 files, 1 obsolete file)

User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10.14; rv:88.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/88.0

Steps to reproduce:

I am trying to move about Thunderbird by keyboard.

Actual results:

I can use F and N to get from the folder list to the message list within each folder.

I can use tab, but it's hard to predict, and since there is no visual indication of the focus, it's a matter of trial and error.

A search for "folder list" and "folder pane" doesn't show any shortcuts here:

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/keyboard-shortcuts

Expected results:

There should be an easy and clearly-documented way to move from the message list to the folder list.

(listing as Disability Access because this is a keyboard navigation bug).

And there should be a clear indication of focus.

I cannot reproduce the problem described above with Thunderbird 89.0 Beta 4. If I am in the message list, I can easily switch to the folder list with SHIFT+TAB and back to the message list with TAB. Of course I can't say if and what happens visually, because I'm completely blind. A more detailed error description might be more helpful.

If you want to use the letter navigation in the folder list, there is currently only the possibility to install the extension "Quick Folder Key Navigation".

With the vibrancy in the trees there is only a subtle change when focusing. This patch makes on the folder tree and on the directories tree in AB use the Highlight background colour when the treeitem is focused.

Assignee: nobody → richard.marti
Status: UNCONFIRMED → ASSIGNED
Ever confirmed: true
Attachment #9223122 - Flags: review?(alessandro)

According to the documentation, Tab and Shift + Tab are to move to the Next or the Previous UI Element. i.e. Tab is supposed to move where you're going to move next, which is puzzling, and Shift + Tab is supposed to move where you were last.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/keyboard-shortcuts

Comment on attachment 9223122 [details] [diff] [review] 1712469-highlight-treeitem-on-focus.patch Review of attachment 9223122 [details] [diff] [review]: ----------------------------------------------------------------- ::: mail/themes/osx/mail/mailWindow1.css @@ +76,5 @@ > +:root:not([lwt-tree]) #folderTree treechildren::-moz-tree-image(selected), > +:root:not([lwt-tree]) #folderTree treechildren::-moz-tree-twisty(selected), > +:root:not([lwt-tree]) #folderTree treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(selected) { > + color: #282828; > + fill: #282828; nit: maybe this could be currentColor?
Attachment #9223122 - Flags: review?(alessandro) → review+

This patch definitely improves the visual focus, but maybe we can use the occasion here to improve other aspects and investigate possible additions.

According to the documentation, Tab and Shift + Tab are to move to the Next or the Previous UI Element. i.e. Tab is supposed to move where you're going to move next, which is puzzling, and Shift + Tab is supposed to move where you were last.

Any suggestions on how we can improve the documentation? Or maybe our Tab focus ring should behave differently?

Adding thomas to this.

(In reply to Alessandro Castellani [:aleca] from comment #5)

Comment on attachment 9223122 [details] [diff] [review]
1712469-highlight-treeitem-on-focus.patch

Review of attachment 9223122 [details] [diff] [review]:

::: mail/themes/osx/mail/mailWindow1.css
@@ +76,5 @@

+:root:not([lwt-tree]) #folderTree treechildren::-moz-tree-image(selected),
+:root:not([lwt-tree]) #folderTree treechildren::-moz-tree-twisty(selected),
+:root:not([lwt-tree]) #folderTree treechildren::-moz-tree-cell-text(selected) {

  • color: #282828;
  • fill: #282828;

nit: maybe this could be currentColor?

Yes, both are almost the same colour.

Attachment #9223122 - Attachment is obsolete: true
Attachment #9223405 - Flags: review+

Set leave-open per comment 6.

Target Milestone: --- → 90 Branch

[Approval Request Comment]
User impact if declined: on Mac no clear display when the focus is on a treeitem in the folder pane
Testing completed (on c-c, etc.): soon on C-C
Risk to taking this patch (and alternatives if risky): low but not tested on Mac TB 78.

Attachment #9223408 - Flags: review+
Attachment #9223408 - Flags: approval-comm-esr78?

Comment on attachment 9223408 [details] [diff] [review]
1712469-highlight-treeitem-on-focus-ESR.patch

[Triage Comment]
Approved for esr78 (assuming it goes well on nightly)

Attachment #9223408 - Flags: approval-comm-esr78? → approval-comm-esr78+

Pushed by mkmelin@iki.fi:
https://hg.mozilla.org/comm-central/rev/dd591bd4ee58
[Mac] Highlight the treeitem when the focus is on it. r=aleca

Regressions: 1713280
Regressions: 1714870

(In reply to Alessandro Castellani [:aleca] from comment #6)

This patch definitely improves the visual focus, but maybe we can use the occasion here to improve other aspects and investigate possible additions.

According to the documentation, Tab and Shift + Tab are to move to the Next or the Previous UI Element. i.e. Tab is supposed to move where you're going to move next, which is puzzling, and Shift + Tab is supposed to move where you were last.

Any suggestions on how we can improve the documentation? Or maybe our Tab focus ring should behave differently?

Adding thomas to this.

Flags: needinfo?(richard.marti)
Flags: needinfo?(bugzilla2007)

(In reply to Wayne Mery (:wsmwk) from comment #13)

(In reply to Alessandro Castellani [:aleca] from comment #6)

According to the documentation, Tab and Shift + Tab are to move to the Next or the Previous UI Element. i.e. Tab is supposed to move where you're going to move next, which is puzzling, and Shift + Tab is supposed to move where you were last.

The tab sequence is fixed. To go to where you were last would need a places history and this would be not so trivial.

Flags: needinfo?(richard.marti)

(In reply to MarjaE from comment #0)

I can use F and N to get from the folder list to the message list within each folder.

That works kind of incidentally because F and N focus the next (unread) message, but for the general case of moving around I suggest using F6 key instead (see below).

I can use tab, but it's hard to predict, and since there is no visual indication of the focus, it's a matter of trial and error.

I think this is 95% addressed for TB 102. Message pane focus indicator is a bit weak (sometimes missing?), and there's two tab stops on unknown elements which aren't indicated, around tabs toolbar (needs a new bug if there isn't one already).

A search for "folder list" and "folder pane" doesn't show any shortcuts here:
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/keyboard-shortcuts

Well, it would not be easy to list all possible search words for each shortcut while keeping the list of shortcuts compact and readable. But in this particular case, it's probably worth adding a bit of detail as the keyboard shortcut is quite important and not yet listed anywhere in the menus (another bug). I've just submitted a new revision of the keyboard-shortcuts-thunderbird article to improve this.

Expected results:
There should be an easy and clearly-documented way to move from the message list to the folder list.

There is, and it was documented before, soon easier to search for if my revision gets accepted:

Move to next main UI area: In the Mail tab, switch fast between Folder Pane, Message List, Message Pane, and Spaces Toolbar (forwards).

  • F6 or
  • Ctrl + F6

Move to previous main UI area: In the Mail tab, switch fast between Folder Pane, Message List, Message Pane, and Spaces Toolbar (backwards).

  • Shift + F6 or
  • Ctrl + Shift + F6

(In reply to MarjaE from comment #4)

According to the documentation, Tab and Shift + Tab are to move to the Next or the Previous UI Element. i.e. Tab is supposed to move where you're going to move next, which is puzzling, and Shift + Tab is supposed to move where you were last.

No, that's a language misunderstanding. It doesn't say "previously visited", we correctly say "next or previous UI element", which simply means the next or previous element in the tab order.

(In reply to Alessandro Castellani [:aleca] from comment #6)

Any suggestions on how we can improve the documentation?

Done, see above.

Or maybe our Tab focus ring should behave differently?

No, both Tab and F6 focus ring are pretty good as they are, some minor issues notwithstanding.

Adding thomas to this.

Thanks.

Flags: needinfo?(bugzilla2007)

With my changes to keyboard shortcuts documentation and per my comment 15, we're done here - let's close it!

Status: ASSIGNED → RESOLVED
Closed: 2 years ago
Resolution: --- → FIXED
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