Overview

• As of Saturday, September 22, 2012, the SPIRE Main Menu will be a dropdown menu in a menu bar at the top of your SPIRE pages.  The menu bar always includes Favorites and the Main Menu.  The menu bar also shows the series of submenus (folders) that you selected on the way to the page you are viewing (sometimes called "breadcrumbs").  Collectively, the submenus spell out the navigation to the current page.
   
• To expand the dropdown Main Menu using the keyboard, press Ctrl and Y at the same time.  To collapse the menu, press Ctrl+Y again.
   
• Once the Main Menu is open, tab three times to bypass the search and sort features and access the menu items.  If you use the JAWS screen reader and expand the Main Menu, you will hear Menu Search Menu: Edit. Type in text.  To move through items, press up or down arrow.  At this point, tab three times and then use the arrow keys.
   
• To move through the menu items, use the up and down arrow keys.  You may use Tab instead of the down arrow.  Note: The Shift+Tab combination will NOT work to go back.
   
• To open a submenu or select a page from an expanded menu, press Enter.
   
• For more information about SPIRE accessibility, visit SPIRE Accessibility Features or email spire-support@it.umass.edu

Dropdown Menu Keyboard Shortcuts

Ctrl+Y

    - Expands or collapses the Main Menu.  To place focus on the collapsed Main Menu in the dropdown menu bar, Press Ctrl+Y twice.  When the focus is on the collapsed Main Menu, use the left arrow to move to the Favorites menu, which includes links to recently used pages, or use the right arrow to move to the submenus (folders) you selected on the way to the page you are viewing.
 

Tab

    -  After expanding the Main Menu using Ctrl+Y, press Tab three times to move past the search and sort features to access the menu items.  Then use the up and down arrow keys to move through the menu items.  You may use Tab instead of the down arrow.  Note: The Shift+Tab combination will NOT work to go back.
 

Up Arrow

    - In an expanded menu, moves up through the menu items.
 

Down Arrow

    - In an expanded menu, moves down through the menu items.
 

Right Arrow

    - In an expanded menu, the right arrow opens a submenu to reveal its contents (more submenus or links to SPIRE pages).  When the focus is on the collapsed Main Menu in the SPIRE dropdown menu bar, use the right arrow to move to any submenus you selected on the way to the page you are viewing.
 

Left arrow

    - In an expanded menu, the left arrow closes the current submenu and sets the focus on its parent submenu. When the focus is on the collapsed Main Menu in the SPIRE menu bar, use the left arrow to access the Favorites menu, which includes links to recently used pages.  Favorites are not active for students, even though there is an Add to Favorites link.  Students may use the Favorites menu to find recently used pages.
 

Enter

    - In an expanded menu, selects a menu item (submenu or SPIRE page).  Or, when focused on a collapsed menu in the SPIRE dropdown menu bar, press Enter to expand that menu.