Are QuickLinks dropdown lists accessible?
A growing number of websites use a single drop-down list of links that takes the user immediately to a selected link, without requiring that the user press a Submit button. For people who can’t use a mouse because of a visual impairment or physical disability, these form fields present problems since they automatically select the first field that a user arrows to and activate that link. The user is therefore unable to scroll down any farther in the list. The solution is to always provide a Go button and to avoid using onSelect or onChange events in dropdown lists.
Printable Version A growing number of websites in higher education and elsewhere use a “QuickLinks” form field, a single drop down list of links that takes the user immediately to a selected link without requiring that the user press a submit button. These form fields are not accessible. A standard HTML list box allows users to navigate up and down through the list using the arrow keys on the keyboard. People who can’t use a mouse due to a visual impairment or physical disability depend on this keyboard functionality. “QuickLinks” fields automatically select the first field that a user arrows to, and activate that link. Therefore, the user is unable to scroll down any farther in the list. In fact, users can actually navigate the list using Alt+down arrow; however, few users are aware of this since it is not standard navigation for an HTML form. Also, “QuickLinks” form fields work by executing a small Javascript® function, triggered by the onSelect event (when a user “selects” an item f
