- Success Criterion 2.1.4
- Conformance level A
Global Single-Key Shortcut That Fires During Speech Dictation
2.1.4 — Character Key Shortcuts
Scenario
Setting
An online marketplace's seller dashboard
What’s wrong
Global single-key shortcuts (e.g., "?", "j/k", "s" to search) active page-wide, firing during speech input dictation.
Example
document.addEventListener('keydown', (e) => {
if (e.key === '?') openHelpPanel();
if (e.key === '/') document.getElementById('search').focus();
});
// no check for whether focus is already inside a text field Why it matters
A seller dictating a product description who says a phrase ending in a question mark suddenly gets a help panel popping open over their draft.
How to test
Press single keys like '?' or 'j'/'k'/'s' while browsing normally (not in a text field): if these trigger actions site-wide with no way to disable them, it fails — especially disruptive for speech-input users dictating text.
How to fix
Always check the active element before running a single-character shortcut, and skip it whenever focus is inside editable text.
document.addEventListener('keydown', (e) => {
const inField = e.target.matches('input, textarea, [contenteditable="true"]');
if (inField) return;
if (e.key === '?') openHelpPanel();
if (e.key === '/') document.getElementById('search').focus();
}); Outcome
A seller dictates a full product description without the help panel or search field interrupting them.
Who is affected
Speech-input users lose their place mid-dictation whenever a spoken word matches a global shortcut character.
Learn more
- Understanding Understanding document (opens in a new tab)
Related scenarios
- Single-Letter Keyboard Shortcut With No Way to Turn It Off
- Library’s Default Hotkeys Shipped With No Settings Toggle
- Shortcut Remapping That Doesn’t Allow Modifier Key Combinations
- Shortcut Toggle Setting That Resets on Every Page Load
- Keyboard Shortcut That Fires Even While Typing in a Field
- Shortcut Off-Switch Hidden Behind the Very Barrier It Fixes