- 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 === 's') save(); }); Why it matters
Speech-input users and people who press keys accidentally.
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
The single-key shortcut must be turn-off-able, remappable to include a modifier key, or active only when its control has focus. document.addEventListener('keydown', e => { if (e.ctrlKey && e.key === 's') save(); }); Single-character shortcuts with no modifier key collide with screen reader and speech-input commands.
Outcome
On an online marketplace's seller dashboard, this barrier is gone for speech-input users and people who press keys accidentally — they get the same result as anyone else here.
Who is affected
Speech-input users and people who press keys accidentally.
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