Accesskeys are a simple method for navigating around a website
without using a mouse. For some people, it's the only way to access website information.
Access keys are a single letter or number combined with the alt function,
that provide direct links to specific pages or sections of the current page. An
example of an important access key is alt+x: It focuses your cursor on the
site search input window. Simply pressing Enter after pressing alt+x,
retrieves a listing of all the pages on our site with information related to the
current page. Alternatively, you can press alt+x and type in a new phrase to get
a page list on a different subject.
Websites that are accessible to nearly everyone, provide benefits to all
users.
Please note, there are (2) additional special access keys:
On most of our accessible webpages, you will see the links,
Previous Page (b) / Next page (n), directly under the page
validation links (on the left side). These
access key links allow users to jump to the previous information page or the next
page on a related topic. We use the Key Concept method, allowing
visitors to access
a sequence of pages that follow directly related topics. If you reach a page topic
that is
not related to your original enquiry or
search phrase, simply
visit our Accessible site map (alt+s) to find the information
page topic you need.
When you move your
cursor over a "link", you can often learn things
about it, even before you press the left mouse button. You can see
the destination address of the link (or a page description) in the status bar.
You can often see additional
information in the little text box that often appears beside your cursor.
What would you do without that mouse?
You would certainly hope that somebody had designed and built websites
that could be accessed and navigated in some other way! That is exactly what
access keys do. Using the "Tab key" on your keyboard, you can quickly
move from link to link, over the entire page. Stopping at each [content]
(bypass this section link), you can Tab
to enter that section (and then Tab from link to link) or press [ENTER] to
skip to the Next Information Section. Pressing SHIFT+TAB will move back one link.
Should you press enter, to follow a link, pressing the [BACKSPACE] key brings
you back to the same place you jumped from.
Access keys (alt+?) make navigating directly to a specific link much faster. It may
take a little practice, but its actually quicker and simpler than using a mouse.
Our website uses a Tabindex to set the priority Tab order for each
important link. (The Tabindex sequence is the same on every
page.)
We only have (1) tabindex priority. When a new webpage loads, press the tab
button until our first [ content ]
link (in the upper left corner of the access key menu) is highlighted. If you
press Enter, you will jump
to the main and page Menu (Skip to Page Menu (p)) link.
From any [content] link, pressing Enter allows you to move around the entire page.
Pressing Tab at any [content] link, will take you into the menu or text section,
to the first available link.
If you only remember alt+a, you can always come directly to this page and see the
instructions again!
The [
content ]
link allows users to by-pass the link collection or menu and skip to the next section
on the page.
Browser Note:
These instructions work well for Internet Explorer only.
For Mozilla browsers you must press and hold the shift + alt keys before you
press the access key. You will then go immediately to the link destination, without
having to press enter. The Opera web browser
operates differently and you need to escape Opera's built in short cut system.
The user should be aware that there are limitations regarding
access keys for some web browsers.
Mozilla
will jump to the linked resource immediately (without pressing enter).
Opera -
Due to Opera's many keyboard shortcuts you
have to escape Opera's keyboard
mode before using access keys. In order to do this, key in SHIFT+ESC preceding the
ALT combination.
Please note: Google does not permit direct searches from non-exclusive business
websites and so they are not included on the list. Please access Google directly
at www.google.com
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