[NFBCS] Updated keyboard shortcuts and first-letters navigation now available on Google Drive

Wed May 1 21:56:51 UTC 2024

On May 1, 2024, Amanda Lacy wrote:

"I can't navigate a table in a Google Doc, because the multi-key, multi-press keystrokes are too complex to hold in working memory while I'm also thinking about the table."

I quite agree that the native table navigation commands provided by Google are not friendly to nonvisual users. Are you using the JAWS screen reader or something else? If you are using JAWS, in particular the latest versions, JAWS does offer a Google mode which makes table navigation a whole lot easier using the traditional JAWS table navigation commands.

Best wishes,

Curtis Chong

From: NFBCS <nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Amanda Lacy via NFBCS
Sent: Wednesday, May 1, 2024 3:46 PM
To: NFB in Computer Science Mailing List <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Amanda Lacy <lacy925 at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [NFBCS] Updated keyboard shortcuts and first-letters navigation now available on Google Drive
Importance: High

Oh thank God. Now if only they could make keyboard navigation in general easier. For example, I can't navigate a table in a Google Doc, because the multi-key, multi-press keystrokes are too complex to hold in working memory while I'm also thinking about the table.

On May 1, 2024, at 4:29 PM, Curtis Chong via NFBCS <nfbcs at nfbnet.org> wrote:

Greetings to all:

Starting today, May 1, 2024, first-letter navigation has been released by Google for widespread use by the public. First-letter navigation is something for which some of us in Colorado have been pushing for almost six years now. We were repeatedly told by folks at Google that this was simply not possible.

Well, Google has finally made this possible. Check out the announcement at  <https://workspaceupdates.googleblog.com/2024/04/first-letters%20navigation-google-drive.html#:~:text=First%2Dletters%20navigation%20enables%20users,item%20starting%20with%20that%20letter> https://workspaceupdates.googleblog.com/2024/04/first-letters%20navigation-google-drive.html#:~:text=First%2Dletters%20navigation%20enables%20users,item%20starting%20with%20that%20letter.

According to the announcement:

"Starting today, you can begin opting into the new shortcuts immediately through a banner notification in Drive or by going to Drive > Settings > Keyboard shortcuts > Update now. On August 1, 2024, Drive keyboard shortcuts will be automatically updated to first-letters navigation for all users. Once shortcuts are updated, you will also be able to see shortcuts where applicable in menus and on hover in toolbars in Drive."

Anyone who has become accustomed to the traditional Google Drive keyboard commands is advised that many commands have changed to make way for first-letter navigation. Honestly, I do not know any other way Google could have pulled this off.

Kudos to the folks in the Colorado Governor's Office of Information Technology for continuing to press for this for more than six years despite Google's claim that this simply could not be done.

Kind regards,

Curtis Chong

_______________________________________________
NFBCS mailing list
 <mailto:NFBCS at nfbnet.org> NFBCS at nfbnet.org
 <http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbcs_nfbnet.org> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbcs_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for NFBCS:
 <http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbcs_nfbnet.org/lacy925%40gmail.com> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbcs_nfbnet.org/lacy925%40gmail.com

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbcs_nfbnet.org/attachments/20240501/cd5af642/attachment.html>