Pointer input
Guideline
Pointer input is consistent and all functionality can be done with simple pointer input in a time and pressure insensitive way.
User needs
This content needs to be written.
Provisions under this guideline
- Pointer activation controllable
- Simple pointer input available
- Consistent pointer cancellation
- Pointer pressure not relied on
- Pointer speed not relied on
Key Terms
- actively available
available for the user to perceive and use
- conformance scope
A set of Views and/or Pages selected to be part of a conformance claim. Where a View or Page is part of a Process, all the Views or Pages in the process must be included.
How a person or organization selects the set is not defined in WCAG3. There maybe informative guidance on selecting a suitable set in future (similar to WCAG-EM), but regional laws or regulations may provide a methodology.
- content
information, sensory experience and interactions conveyed
- down event
platform event that occurs when the trigger stimulus of a pointer is depressed
The down event may have different names on different platforms, such as “touchstart” or “mousedown”.
- gesture
motion made by the body or a body part used to communicate to technology
- page
non-embedded resource obtained from a single URI using HTTP plus any other resources that are used in the rendering or intended to be rendered together
Where a URI is available and represents a unique set of content, that would be the preferred conformance unit.
- platform
software, or collection of layers of software, that lies below the subject software and provides services to the subject software and that allows the subject software to be isolated from the hardware, drivers, and other software below
Platform software both makes it easier for subject software to run on different hardware, and provides the subject software with many services (e.g. functions, utilities, libraries) that make the subject software easier to write, keep updated, and work more uniformly with other subject software.
A particular software component might play the role of a platform in some situations and a client in others. For example a browser is a platform for the content of the page but it also relies on the operating system below it.
The platform is the context in which the conformance scope exists.
- pointer
a hardware-agnostic representation of input devices that can target a specific coordinate (or set of coordinates) on a screen, such as a mouse, pen, or touch contact
- process
series of views or pages associated with user actions, where actions required to complete an activity are performed, often in a certain order, regardless of the technologies used or whether it spans different sites or domains
- simple pointer input
single pointer input event that involves only a single ‘click’ event or a down-up pair of events with no pointer movement required between, and no outcome difference based on length of time between down and up events.
- single pointer input
input modality that only targets a single point on the page/view at a time – such as a mouse, single finger on a touch screen, or stylus
Single pointer interactions include clicks, double clicks, taps, dragging motions, and single-finger swipe gestures. In contrast, multipoint interactions involve the use of two or more pointers at the same time, such as two-finger interactions on a touchscreen, or the simultaneous use of a mouse and stylus.
Single pointer input is in contrast to multipoint input such as two, three or more fingers or pointers touching the surface, or gesturing in the air, at the same time.
Activation is usually by click or tap but can also be by programmatic simulation of a click or tap or other similar simple activation.
- up event
platform event that occurs when the trigger stimulus of a pointer is released
The up event may have different names on different platforms, such as “touchend” or “mouseup”.
- view
content that is actively available in a viewport including that which can be scrolled or panned to, and any additional content that is included by expansion while leaving the rest of the content in the viewport actively available
A modal dialog box would constitute a new view because the other content in the viewport is no longer actively available.
- viewport
object in which the platform presents content
The author has no control of the viewport and almost always has no idea what is presented in a viewport (e.g. what is on screen) because it is provided by the platform. On browsers the hardware platform is isolated from the content.
Content can be presented through one or more viewports. Viewports include windows, frames, loudspeakers, and virtual magnifying glasses. A viewport may contain another viewport. For example, nested frames. Interface components created by the user agent such as prompts, menus, and alerts are not viewports.