[OPEN-ILS-DEV] Keyboard shortcuts in the web client

[McCanna, Terran]

I'm squarely in the pro-autofocus camp.

The majority of our library staff rely almost exclusively on the keyboard and mouse. There are some people who use keyboard shortcuts frequently, but many more who never use any keyboard shortcuts at all. While I think it would be nice if the keyboard shortcuts are still available in the web client, I would be strongly opposed to the idea of removing the autofocus just for the sake of consistency. That would most definitely increase the number of clicks and reduce usability for our users. 


Terran McCanna 
PINES Program Manager 
Georgia Public Library Service 
1800 Century Place, Suite 150 
Atlanta, GA 30345 
404-235-7138 
tmccanna at georgialibraries.org 

----- Original Message -----
From: "Benjamin Kalish" <bkalish at forbeslibrary.org>
To: "Evergreen Development Discussion List" <open-ils-dev at list.georgialibraries.org>
Sent: Tuesday, October 20, 2015 3:41:32 PM
Subject: Re: [OPEN-ILS-DEV] Keyboard shortcuts in the web client

My preference would be to have the focus never automatically focus on an
input element, but instead have a keyboard shortcut to put the focus on the
first/primary input element. This may be an extra keystroke on some pages,
but it has the advantage that it can be consistent across all pages.

An alternative, but to me less desirable, solution would be to include
instructions in the documentation for how to use the tab key to move the
focus away from an input element. The problem with this is that it works
differently depending on the number and placement of input elements on the
page.

Benjamin Kalish
Forbes Library / 413-587-1012 / bkalish at forbeslibrary.org

Currently reading: *Our Mutual Friend* by Charles Dickens
Just Finished: *Mind of the Raven: Investigations and Adventures With
Wolf-birds by Bernd Heinrich.*

On Tue, Oct 20, 2015 at 2:38 PM, Kathy Lussier <klussier at masslnc.org> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> I was going to send this question in response to Galen's RM proposal, but
> I thought a separate thread will be better.
>
> I fully support Galen's proposal to get the web client ready for some
> production use in the next release. However, there is one issue that I know
> will be a barrier for adoption in our libraries and is something that I'm
> not sure has an easy solution.
>
> Keyboard shortcuts are critical for the workflow of our circ desk staff.
> At many circ desks, there isn't ample space to use a mouse, and switching
> between the keyboard and mouse can be cumbersome.
>
> I know there are keyboard shortcuts available in the web client, but, last
> I heard, there was a problem where they don't work if the cursor is already
> focused on an input element in the client. Since we configure many of our
> interfaces to immediately focus the cursor in an input element, this issue
> is going to be problematic for front-line staff.
>
> This issue was discussed at a developers meeting a while ago, but nobody
> came up with any ideas at that time. Has anyone come up with a solution
> since then? If not, do you have a sense of whether this is a solvable
> problem?
>
> Thanks!
> Kathy
>
> --
> Kathy Lussier
> Project Coordinator
> Massachusetts Library Network Cooperative
> (508) 343-0128
> klussier at masslnc.org
> Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kmlussier
>
>