EarthSoft is committed to making EQuIS accessible to all users, including users who rely on keyboard navigation, screen readers, or need improved visual clarity. EarthSoft strives to design and develop EQuIS Enterprise in accordance with applicable accessibility standards, such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, Level AA published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Accessibility features span core areas such as dashboards, widgets, forms, reporting, and system navigation. Key features provide:
•Consistent keyboard navigation and focus behavior
•Clear screen reader interactions and page structure, including declaration of page language
•Good visual contrast, readability, and spacing
These features ensure EQuIS Enterprise provides an accessible, reliable, and user friendly experience for diverse user needs, while continuing to support regulatory and accessibility best practices.
This article provides details about the keyboard shortcuts and accessibility features available throughout EQuIS Enterprise. It is written for users who navigate with a keyboard or assistive technology. The following topics are covered:
•Widget-Specific Keyboard Navigation
•Screen Reader and Assistive Technology Support
Note: Various screen readers are available and do not behave same. EarthSoft used Narrator and NVDA to perform screen reader testing. |
Standard Keyboard Navigation
A keyboard shortcut is a specific key or combinations of keys pressed simultaneously to perform an action or command. When using the keyboard to navigate various widgets and dialog boxes on an EQuIS Enterprise dashboard, the following key shortcuts handle common interactions.
Shortcut |
What It Does |
|---|---|
Tab |
Traverse. Moves focus between sections of a widget or dialog. For example, from column headers to grid content to the pager, or between chart buttons. |
Arrow Up / |
Navigate. Moves between items in the current section — rows in a grid, items in a menu, or nodes in a tree. The focused item scrolls into view automatically. |
Enter |
Activate. Performs the primary action on the focused item — sort a column, select a row, open a link, expand a detail row, confirm a dialog, or print a chart. |
Space |
Toggle. Flips a checkbox, switches a selection on or off, or activates an interactive control. In many places, the Space key works the same as the Enter key. |
Escape |
Cancel/Close. Dismisses a dialog, closes a popup or menu, or cancels an in-progress edit. |
Tip: If a shortcut does not appear to work, make sure focus is on the correct element. For example, Enter sorts a column only when focus is on the column header, not on a grid row. |
Grids
Most widgets and dialogs display data in grids. Almost all grids follow the standard pattern:
•Tab moves between the header area, the grid content, and the pager.
•Arrow Up / Arrow Down in the header area jump past the headers (so users do not have to tab through every column). In the grid content, the arrow keys move between rows.
•Enter on a column header sorts the column. On a grid row, Enter activates the row (selects it, opens it, starts editing, or expands it — whatever action the widget supports).
•Space toggles a checkbox or interactive control in the focused row or cell.
•Escape cancels an in-progress edit.
When a grid supports inline cell editing, the same keys apply:
•Enter or Space starts editing a cell.
•Enter saves the edit.
•Escape cancels.
•Tab leaves the editing area.
Tip: First try tabbing through the widget and into the grid. If that does not work, use the arrow keys instead. Some grids are tab only, some are row selection (up and down arrow keys only), and others are cell selection (all arrow keys work to traverse). |
Modifier Shortcuts in Grids
Some grids support additional actions through modifier key combinations. These are always the same keys wherever they are available.
Shortcut |
What It Does |
|---|---|
Shift+Arrow Up / Shift+Arrow Down |
Extend the row selection up or down as a contiguous range. |
Ctrl+Arrow Up / Ctrl+Arrow Down |
Move the focus highlight without changing which rows are selected. |
Ctrl+Space |
Add or remove the focused row from the current selection. |
Alt+Arrow Up / Alt+Arrow Down |
Move the selected row up or down one position (reorder). |
Alt+Arrow Left / Alt+Arrow Right |
Make the focused column narrower or wider (resize). |
Not every grid supports every modifier. Multi-row selection is available in grids configured for it (such as the Data Grid widget). Row reordering is available in grids with drag-and-drop (such as the Explorer widget, Data Grid widget, Live Chart widget). Column resizing is available in the Explorer widget.
Charts
Chart widgets (e.g., Time Series Chart, Vertical Profile, Drilldown, Live Chart, Wind Rose) follow the standard pattern:
•Tab moves focus between chart buttons (print, export, context menu).
•Enter activates the focused button.
Popups and Dialogs
Chooser dialogs (Facility Chooser, Dashboard Chooser, Report Chooser, Widget Chooser) and other popups follow the standard pattern.
Inside any popup, focus is trapped so that Tab at the last element loops back to the first, and Shift+Tab at the first loops back to the last.
Tree Views
Tree views (in report parameter selectors, the Explorer folder tree, and elsewhere) follow the standard pattern and add a few extra keys.
Shortcut |
What It Does |
|---|---|
Arrow Up / Arrow Down |
Move to the next or previous visible node. |
Arrow Right / Arrow Left |
Expand or collapse the node. |
Enter or Space |
Select or activate the node. |
Escape |
Close a context menu (if open). |
Home |
Jump to the first node in the tree. |
End |
Jump to the last visible node in the tree. |
* (asterisk) |
Expand all sibling nodes at the same level. |
Any letter key |
Jump to the next node whose name starts with that letter. |
Shift+F10 |
Open the right-click context menu (where available). |
Widget-Specific Keyboard Navigation
Content in this sections describes behaviors where a widget works differently from or in addition to the standard pattern.
Grids with Excel-Style Filters
Applies to: Data Grid and File Association Manager widgets
In these widgets, Enter on a column header opens the Excel-style filter dialog instead of sorting. To sort, use Shift+Enter on the column header.
Excel-Style Filter Dialog Controls
When an Excel-style filter dialog is open, the standard pattern applies inside it with a few specific differences:
Shortcut |
Where |
What It Does |
|---|---|---|
Arrow Up / Arrow Down |
Filter menu |
Navigate between menu items (separators and disabled items are skipped automatically). |
Enter |
Highlighted menu item |
Activate the selected menu item. |
Enter |
Dialog (no menu item highlighted) |
Apply the filter (OK). |
Escape |
Filter dialog |
Cancel and close the dialog. |
Tab |
Cancel button (last item) |
Loop focus back to the top of the dialog. |
Shift+Tab |
Menu (first item) |
Loop focus back to the Cancel button. |
When a Custom Filter sub-dialog is open (for date ranges or advanced conditions), the following shortcuts apply:
Shortcut |
Where |
What It Does |
|---|---|---|
Enter |
Custom filter dialog |
Apply the custom filter (OK). |
Escape |
Custom filter dialog |
Cancel and close. |
Enter |
Date picker calendar (open) |
Select the highlighted date. |
Escape |
Date picker or drop-down (open) |
Close just the popup, not the entire dialog. |
Color Pickers
The Color picker popups follow the standard pattern (Escape to close, Enter to activate buttons) with these specifics:
Shortcut |
Where |
What It Does |
|---|---|---|
Enter |
RGB / HEX / HSV button |
Apply the color value in that format. |
Enter |
Mode switcher button |
Toggle between the palette view and the gradient picker view. |
Enter |
Palette swatch (in palette mode) |
Select the focused color swatch. |
Tab |
Cancel button |
Loop focus back to the beginning of the popup. |
Escape |
Color picker popup |
Cancel and close the popup. |
Widget Editors with Tabs
Use the arrow keys (Left/Right or Up/down) to switch between tabs in the Widget Editor. This also applies to the User Profile Editor.
Explorer Widget
The Explorer widget follows the standard grid pattern and adds several additional shortcuts.
Shortcut |
Where |
What It Does |
|---|---|---|
Shift+F10 |
Grid row |
Open the right-click context menu. |
Alt+Arrow Left / Alt+Arrow Right |
Resize handle (between the folder tree and grid) |
Make the folder tree panel narrower or wider. |
The folder tree context menu in the Explorer widget also follows the standard pattern: Arrow Up / Arrow Down to navigate, Enter or Space to activate, and Escape to close.
Filter-List Widget
The Filter-List widget uses two non-standard shortcuts to move between the search box and the drop-down list.
Shortcut |
Where |
What It Does |
|---|---|---|
Alt+Arrow Down |
Drop-down list |
Open the drop-down list. |
Alt+Arrow Up |
Drop-down list |
Close the drop-down list. |
Arrow Down |
Search box |
Move focus into the drop-down list. |
s |
Drop-down list |
Move focus back to the search box. |
HTML Widget
The Widget Editor in the HTML widget uses Arrow Left / Arrow Right to cycle between editor type (plain text, rich text) radio buttons.
Live Chart Widget
The legend grid in the Live Chart widget adds a modifier shortcut for accessing the color picker:
Shortcut |
Where |
What It Does |
|---|---|---|
Shift+Enter or Shift+Space |
Legend grid row |
Open the series color picker. |
Standard Enter or Space on a legend row toggles the series visibility checkbox as expected.
Live Historical Chart Widget
The Live Historical Chart widget has a context menu and range selectors that go beyond the standard chart pattern.
Shortcut |
Where |
What It Does |
|---|---|---|
Enter |
Chart Context Menu ( |
Open or close the chart menu. |
Tab |
Chart Context Menu ( |
Move focus to the first menu item. |
Enter |
Chart Context Menu item |
Activate the selected item (Print, Search, Add Remark, |
Enter |
Range selector input (min or max) |
Open the date/time picker. |
Enter |
Range selector button (1d, 1w, 1m, 1y, All) |
Activate the selected range. |
Enter |
Legend item |
Toggle series visibility. |
)
Screen Reader and Assistive Technology Support
Developed by the W3C, Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA) is a set of roles and HTML attributes that define ways to make web content and web applications more accessible to people with disabilities, particularly those using screen readers. EQuIS Enterprise includes a number of features designed to work with screen readers and other assistive technologies.
•ARIA Labels on Grid Headers – Every column header receives an accessible name. Headers with no visible text (such as icon-only columns) are labeled for screen readers and removed from the tab order so they do not create unnecessary stops.
•ARIA Labels on Filter Inputs – Filter bar cells include descriptive labels so screen readers announce the purpose of each filter field.
•ARIA Labels on Checkboxes – Checkboxes in grids (such as row selection checkboxes and select-all checkboxes) receive descriptive labels.
•ARIA Labels on Upload Buttons – File upload controls are labeled for screen readers.
•ARIA Roles and Menu Support – Context menus, filter menus, and tree views use appropriate ARIA roles (menu, menuitem, separator, tree, treeitem, checkbox, link) so screen readers can announce the type and state of each element.
•Active Descendant Tracking – In filter dialog menus and context menus, the currently highlighted item is announced so screen readers report which item is focused, even when the main focus stays on the menu container.
•Expanded/Collapsed State on Tree Nodes – Tree view nodes announce their expanded or collapsed state through aria-expanded, and leaf nodes omit this attribute to avoid confusion.
•Selected State on Tree Nodes – Tree nodes include "selected" or "not selected" in their accessible label so screen readers announce the current selection state.
•Descriptive Chart Labels – Charts receive text descriptions that identify the chart type, which screen readers can use to provide context. To provide the required long description for a chart within the widget, use the Description field in the Widget Editor. Note that this field has a 250‑character limit.
Focus Management
EQuIS Enterprise manages keyboard focus on dashboards and widget menu options in a logical flow to provide a smooth navigation experience:
•Automatic First-row Focus – When users tab into the content area of a data grid, the first row (or the previously selected row) is automatically selected and scrolled into view so the user can begin navigating immediately.
•Focus Return after Dialog Close – When a filter dialog, color picker, column chooser, or context menu closes, focus returns to the element that opened it (such as the column header or button).
•Focus Return after Cell Editing – After users save or cancel a cell edit, focus returns to the cell being edited so they can continue navigating the grid without losing their place.
•Focus Trapping in Popups – Dialogs, filter popups, color pickers, and context menus trap focus so that pressing the Tab key at the last element loops back to the first, and pressing Shift+Tab at the first loops back to the last. This prevents focus from escaping behind the popup.
•Scroll into View – When users navigate to a row, cell, or menu item using the keyboard, the element scrolls into view automatically so it is always visible on screen.
•Header and Content Scroll Sync – In wide grids, the column headers and the grid content scroll together so they stay aligned as users tab or scroll horizontally.
•Disabled Elements Removed from Tab Order – Disabled buttons, pagination icons, and other non-interactive elements are removed from the tab order so users are not forced to tab through elements they cannot use.
•Dialog Repositioning – Filter dialogs, date picker calendars, and submenus are automatically repositioned to stay within the visible area of the window, which is especially helpful at high zoom levels.
Note: For widgets or components that contain selectable list items, no visible distinction exists between an item that is selected and an item that has focus. |
Visual Accessibility
•Tooltip Differentiation – Grid cell tooltips are adjusted to avoid being read identically to the cell content, preventing redundant announcements from screen readers.
•High-zoom Support – Dialogs, menus, and submenus are repositioned at high browser zoom levels to ensure they remain visible and usable within the viewport.
•Color Contrast on Heat Maps – Heat Map cell colors are checked against WCAG AA contrast requirements. When the default color does not meet the minimum contrast ratio, it is automatically adjusted so text remains readable.