Accessibility features for HCL Connections Mail

Accessibility features

HCL strives to provide products with usable access for everyone, regardless of age or ability. The following list includes the major accessibility features in Connections Mail:

Keyboard-only operation
Interfaces that are commonly used by screen readers

Keyboard navigation

This product uses standard Windows™ navigation keys. Refer to accessibility information in other HCL Connections application sections for information about any unique keys that are used by the individual applications.

For JAWS users: To activate buttons in the user interface, press the Enter key, even when JAWS announces to use the space bar.

Inbox

To open the inbox, tab to the mail icon in the menu and press Enter. Focus is placed on the New message link.

After the inbox is open, you can navigate through your messages as follows:

Tab moves from one selectable item to the next.
Enter runs the action of the highlighted item.
After you tab to the list of messages, focus is set on the first entry.
Use the up and down arrows to navigate the list of messages.
Tab takes you out of the message list, to the Load more messages link.
The next time you tab to the message list, focus is placed on the message that had focus last.
Esc closes the inbox.

To read the message, star the message for follow-up, or access the quick-reply options, press Enter on a message when it is highlighted. Pressing Enter puts a message into Actionable mode. In Actionable mode, keyboard navigation works as follows:

Tab moves from one selectable item to the next for the message in Actionable mode.
Enter on any item completes that action.
Enter on the subject opens the message for reading.
Enter on the star icon marks the message for follow-up, or removes an existing mark.
Enter on Reply, Reply all, or Forward opens the compose window.
Enter on Delete deletes the message.
Escape (Esc) exits Actionable mode and returns focus to the message list.

The keyboard navigation can be enhanced with extra software, such as JAWS 11 or greater screen reader. If you are using JAWS and Mozilla Firefox 3.5 or a later version, you can skip to different locations on the Mail or Calendar lists by pressing Ctrl+Insert+Semicolon (;) to access the ARIA landmarks provided.

Inbox search

To search your inbox, tab to the Search field and enter search terms.

To change the scope of your search, tab to Searching and press Enter to open a menu of search scope options. Navigate by using the up or down arrow, and select an option by using Enter.

To submit a search, tab to the Submit search button after the search text and press Enter.

For Domino® users: You are not prompted to confirm the deletion. When a message is deleted, it is moved to your Trash folder. If your administrator enabled soft deletion, you can open SmartCloud Notes®, Notes®, or iNotes® to restore a message from your Trash folder after it is deleted. If your administrator enabled hard deletion, you receive a message to inform you that the message will be deleted with no chance of recovery.

Mail read window

In Actionable mode, press Enter on a message subject to open the message in the Mail read window.

Initial focus is set on Reply.
Use the arrow keys to navigate between the buttons in the mail read toolbar.
Tab moves between all selectable elements on the page.
Enter runs the action of the highlight item.
Esc closes the mail read window.

Move to Folder window

Press Enter on Move to to open the Move to Folder window.

When focus is on the list of available folders, the keyboard commands are as follows:

Table 1. Keyboard Shortcuts for Move to Folder window
A simple table that describes keyboard actions for the Move to Folder window. The first column describes an action and the second column provides the corresponding key.
Action	Key
Go to the next folder	Down arrow
Go to the previous folder	Up arrow
Expand a folder to show subfolders	Right arrow
Close a folder to hide subfolder	Left arrow
Select a folder	Enter
Go to first tree node	Home
Go to last visible tree node	End

After you select a folder by using Enter, tab to OK to move the message to the selected folder.

When focus is on New Folder, clicking Enter creates a folder and focus is placed on the new folder. To name the folder, type the folder name and press Enter. The new folder is created, and focus is placed on that folder.

Receiving attachments

If a message has attachments, they display in a collapsed section after the message subject. To view the list of attachments, tab to the twistie and press Enter. To download or add attachments to Connections, continue tab to the Download and Share links after the attachment names, select an option, and press Enter.

Accessibility of Message Content

If messages are sent from external contacts, content is not guaranteed to be compliant with accessibility requirements, since the content of the message is not within HCL's control.

Mail Compose window

While you compose a message, you can navigate the page by doing the following actions:

Tab goes from one selectable item to the next.
Enter runs the action of the highlight item.
Enter on Cc adds a field for Cc recipients that follows the To field, and sets focus on the Cc field.
Enter on Bcc adds a field for Bcc recipients that follows the To field, and sets focus on the Bcc field.
Enter on Check Names begins the name validation process (see Check Names section).
Enter on Attachments opens the Attachments window (see the Sending attachments section).
Entering text into the To, Cc, or Bcc fields opens the name suggestion list (see the To, Cc, and Bcc fields section).
When focus is on the rich text editor, there are more keyboard commands available (see the Rich Text Editor section).
Esc closes the mail compose window.

To, Cc, and Bcc fields

Table 2. To, Cc, and Bcc field actions
A simple table that describes keyboard actions for the To, Cc, and Bcc fields. The first column describes an action and the second column provides the corresponding key.
Action	Key
Move one character forward, or if a name object is present, select that name	Right arrow
Move one character backward, or if a name object is present, select that name	Left arrow
Select the first name in the field	Home
Select the last name in the field	End
Place focus into the name suggestion list (if displayed)	Down Arrow
Insert the first name in the name suggestion list into the field (if a suggestion list is present)	Enter
Delete one character if plain text, or if a name object is present, select that full name. Pressing Backspace again removes the name.	Backspace
Resolve entered text into a name object	Semicolon

When focus is placed in the name suggestion list from the To, Cc, or Bcc fields by pressing the down arrow, the following keyboard actions are available.

Table 3. Name Suggestion List actions
A simple table that describes keyboard actions for the Name Suggestion list. The first column describes an action and the second column provides the corresponding key.
Actions	Key
Go to the next suggested name in the list	Down arrow
Go to the previous suggested name in the list	Up arrow
Switch focus between the name suggestion list and the Search Directories link (if present)	Tab
Select the current name, and insert into To, Cc, or Bcc field	Enter
Place focus back on the To, Cc, or Bcc field and close the name suggestion list	Esc

When you type names, pressing the semicolon (;) key converts a name to a name object. When a name object has focus, the keyboard commands are as follows:

Table 4. Name Object Actions
A simple table that describes keyboard actions for naming an object. The first column describes an action and the second column provides the corresponding key.
Action	Key
Cut the name from the current field	Ctrl+X
Copy the selected name	Ctrl+C
Paste the name from the clipboard	Ctrl+V
Open the actions menu	Enter
Delete the name	Delete or Backspace

Name objects cannot be edited by using the keyboard, unless they are placed in edit mode. To place a name object in edit mode, press Enter to display the action menu, use the down arrow to select the Edit option and press Enter. The name objectis place in edit mode with focus placed at the end of the name text. Use the Backspace or arrow keys to edit the name.

Check names

The Check names link verifies that all addresses in the To, Cc, and Bcc fields are correct and complete.

When the Check Names link is pressed, a window displays with focus set on Fix Names.
Press Enter to put focus on the first name in the To, Cc or, Bcc fields, place the name in edit mode, and place focus at the end of the name.
A Skip button is also shown in a menu after the name. Pressing skip leaves the current name as it is entered, and moves focus to the next name, places it in edit mode, and sets the cursor at the end of that name. Press the down arrow to set focus to the skip link and Enter to activate.
With the name in edit mode, use standard text editing keystrokes (i.e. backspace to delete, arrow to move) to correct the name.
Press the semicolon key to convert the name into a name object and move focus to the next name.

If at any time the check names process is exited, it can be resumed by tabbing to the error icon that follows the To field and pressing Enter.

Sending attachments

To attach files to an email, press Enter while the Attach link is selected. The Attach from window opens.

In the Attach from window, use the following keyboard actions:

Tab to move between groups of controls
Press Enter on the My Computer or Files tab to switch to that tab.
To remove attachments that were uploaded, tab to the X next to the attachment name and press Enter.
When focus is on the Attach options options, use the up and down arrows to move between options.
When focus is on the question mark icon that follows the Upload to My Files and insert as links option, Enter opens help for that field.
If the Upload to My Files and insert as links option is selected, tab to an attachment name and press Enter to edit the current attachment name. After you are done editing, press Enter again to exit from edit mode.

Calendar

To open the calendar, tab to the calendar icon in the menu and press Enter. Focus is placed on the Today link. After the calendar is open, you can navigate your events as follows:

Tab moves from one selectable item to the next.
Enter runs the action of the highlighted item.
Enter on the Today link shows calendar events for the current day.
Enter on the next and previous arrows shows you the next or previous day's events.
When focus is on the down arrow next to the date, Enter opens the date picker. The keyboard navigation for the date picker is outlined in the Date Picker section.
After you have tabbed to the calendar entries list, focus is set on the first entry.
Use the up and down arrows to navigate the list.
Enter opens the entry for viewing
The next time that you click tab to enter the calendar entries list, focus is on the entry that last had focus.
Esc closes the calendar.

Date picker

Table 5. Date Picker Keyboard Shortcuts
A simple table the describes keyboard actions for the data picker. The first column describes an action and the second column provides the corresponding key.
Action	Key
Navigate between date cells	Left, Right, Up, and Down arrow keys
Navigate to same day in next month	PgDn
Navigate to same day in previous month	PgUp
Navigate to same day in next year	Ctrl+PgDn
Navigate to same day in previous year	Ctrl+PgUp
Navigate to first day in month	Home
Navigate to last day in month	End
Navigate to today's date and close the date picker	Ctrl+T
Close the date picker	Esc

The keyboard navigation can be enhanced with extra software, such as the JAWS 11 screen reader. If you are using JAWS and Mozilla Firefox 3.5 or a later version, you can skip to different locations on the Updates or Widgets tabs by using Ctrl+Insert+Semicolon to access the ARIA landmarks provided.

Business Card

Most names in HCL Connections Mail can display information from that user's business card. To see a user's business card, tab to their name and press Enter.