

Re: Proposal for modifying checkpoint 4.17 (Issue 405)

From: Ian Jacobs <ij@w3.org>
Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2000 14:12:19 -0500
Message-ID: <3A367893.BACC5733@w3.org>
To: Jon Gunderson <jongund@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>
CC: w3c-wai-ua@w3.org
Jon Gunderson wrote:
> Sorry.  I just added the new part about focus and selection.  This would be
> the proposal for all the changes:
> <NEW1>
> 4.17 Allow the user to configure how the content focus is highlighted
> viewports, offer at least three rendering options, including colors and
> text decoration (underline, overline and line-through). For graphical
> viewports, allow the user to select from among the range of system colors.
> The default focus highlight mechanism must be different from the default
> selection highlight mechanism. If an element can simultaneously be part of
> a selection and have focus, the focus styling should have priority over the
> selection styling when rendering the element. [Priority 1]
> </NEW1>

I have a counter-proposal. First, some observations and resolutions:

 1) Merge 4.16 and 4.17 since now more closely related.

 2) From Issue 353 resolution:

    a) The default highlighting mechanisms required by the document
    (for selection, focus, etc.) must not rely on color alone.
    b) The default highlighting mechanisms .... must differ from each
    other and not by color alone.

 3) From minutes of 7 Dec teleconf:
    a) Remove minimal font requirement.
    b) However, if fonts used, must be able
       to configure font characteristics.

Putting it all together:

   4.17 Allow the user to configure how the content focus and
   current selection are highlighted 
   (e.g., through foreground and background color, 
   voice pitch, etc.). The default highlight styles must not
   rely on color alone. The default focus and
   selection styles must also differ from each other, and not
   through color alone. If text decorations (e.g., underlining,
   bold, etc.) or font styles are used as a highlight
   mechanism, the user must be able to configure them 
   according to the range of text decoration or fonts 
   available on the system.


   Delete checkpoint 4.16, since incorporated.

I don't support an additional requirement that the user
agent guarantee that the selection and focus always
be distinguishable for the following reason:

  1) I don't think that we should have a requirement that
     the highlight mechanism used for selection and focus
     necessarily be different (e.g., a box around focus and
     color for selection, forbidding the use of two different
  2) Given that, then the user could specify that both
     are highlighted with colors, and the UA would have to
     carry out a calculation each time one or the other changed
     to determine whether there was overlap and provide a specialized
     presentation for the case of overlap.

  3) By default, we require that the two highlights differ, and not
     differ by color alone. That means that if the user chooses
     to configure them to use the same mechanism, then it's the user's
     problem, not the UA's.

 - Ian

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Received on Tuesday, 12 December 2000 14:12:22 GMT
