• Success Criterion 2.1.4
  • Conformance level A

2.1.4 · Character Key Shortcuts

Lesson overview · Character Key Shortcuts

In plain language

Single-key shortcuts (letters, numbers, symbols) must be off-able, remappable, or active only when the control has focus.

Who it affects

Speech-input users and people who press keys accidentally.

How to check

Press single letter keys while browsing (not in a text field): if anything fires, look for a setting to disable or remap it. Worked example — An insurance company's claims form: open the remap UI and try assigning a shortcut using Ctrl/Alt/Shift plus a letter: if it only accepts a bare printable character with no modifier option, it fails.

Common misconception

A single-letter shortcut like “j” for “next” feels like a nice power-user feature until someone using speech-to-text dictates a sentence containing that letter and triggers it by accident. Real example: on a news outlet's article page, single-letter keyboard shortcuts (like 'j', 's') can't be turned off or changed — speech-input users trigger them accidentally while dictating.

Learn more

Scenarios in this lesson