Keyboard navigation in My Syncplicity

This topic decribeс how to navigate in My Syncplicity using only your keyboard.

Keyboard accessibility is one of the most important aspects of web accessibility. A large number of people with disabilities rely on a keyboard to navigate through My Syncplicity and use the functionalities of the app. Examples of such cases are:

• People with physical disabilities who are not able to use the mouse - e.g. people who experience tremors which don't allow for fine muscle control.
• Blind people, who cannot see the mouse pointer on the screen.
• People with chronic conditions, such as repetitive stress injuries (RSI), who should limit or avoid the use of a mouse.

Keyboard navigation basics

In order to interact with any element on a page, you need to first focus on it. Use the Tab key to switch to the next element and Shift + Tab to move to the previous one. The one currently on focus will be highlighted.

To interact with a specific element, focus on it and press Enter.

Navigating through folders and files

Use the Up and Down arrow keys to move through your files and folders. When a folder is selected, press Enter to open it.

To go up a level in the folder structure, press Alt + Left arrow key. 

To create a new folder, press the F7 key, then select a name for your folder and press Enter. If you want to cancel the folder creation, press Escape (if using a screen reader, you might need to press Escape twice).

Upload and download 

To download a single file, navigate to it as explained above. Once it is selected, use Tab or Shift + Tab to focus on the download button and press Enter.

 To upload one of more files, focus on the Upload button and press Enter. The operating system prompts you to select a file - use Tab to navigate and make your selection. On Windows use Tab to navigate, use Up or Down to change selection, and Shift or Ctrl to select multiple files. 

Once all files you want uploaded are selected, press Enter.

Bulk download

If you have the Bulk Download feature available on your account, you can select multiple files and folders and download them in bulk as one .ZIP archive. 

To select multiple files and folders, you have a couple of options:

• Use Shift + Up or Down to select multiple items adjacent to each other
• Use Tab to focus on the checkbox next to each item you want downloaded and press the Spacebar to tick it. This is useful for items that are not adjacent.

Once the items are selected, use Tab to focus on the Download button in the taskbar and press Enter.

Search

If you have Search on Web feature available, you can use keyboard navigation to use the search functionality and apply filters to narrow down your search results.

Use Tab to navigate to the Search field. Enter your search keywords and using Tab go to the Filter button, then press Enter or Space to display the filttering options. Switch between options with Tab / Shift + Tab, press Enter or the Spacebar to open the filter drop-down menu and use the Up / Down arrow keys to select the value you need. 

Limitations

Due to current limitations not all options are accessible using only the keyboard. This will be resolved in a future update. 

Here's a list of actions that cannot be performed using only a keyboard:

• Deleting a file or folder
• Sharing a file or folder
• Downloading a specific version of a file