Suggestions field for search field
Suggestions field for search field
- Subject: Suggestions field for search field
- From: Henri Normak <email@hidden>
- Date: Thu, 09 May 2013 12:57:39 +0100
In our app we have a search field, when the user starts typing into the field we show a window (similar to Safari's suggestions/autocomplete in the URL bar). This window is not made key as the user needs to be able to continue typing in the field. This results in the window not triggering any VoiceOver notifications and neither can the user navigate to the window using VO.
We have looked at other similar solutions and here's what other apps seem to do:
Safari - Seems to keep VO focus on the search field and simply changes its' contents (part of the autocomplete feature), this gives VO user an illusion of VO reading out the contents of the window, although in reality VO never leaves the field.
Mail - Mail seems to use some sort of a private API on NSMenu, which allows it show a menu, but keep first responder in the search field (or at least pass key events from the menu to the field). The menu is easily navigable with VO and the contents are read out as expected.
iTunes - When searching iTunes opens a popover that steals focus from the field and acts like any other popover would, however the search field itself is made to look as if it still has first responder status, the insertion point blinks and any key events not handled by the popover are passed to the field.
Our specific use case would prefer not to have autocomplete, so ideally we wouldn't want to do what Safari does. Mails option seems like the best, but it's private. This leaves what iTunes is doing, however with this approach there are a few things we haven't figured out how to do.
1) How to make an NSTextField (NSSearchField in this case) look as if it has first responder status, if in reality it does not?
2) Which approach should be preferred from VoiceOver's perspective, keeping focus in the field and manipulating the value VO reads out from it (even if it means the visual value is different from accessibility value) or making the window key and hence moving VO cursor there, relaying key events back to the original fields as necessary?
Thank you for any suggestions,
Henri
--
Henri Normak
email - email@hidden
twitter - henri.normak
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