Microsoft/vscode

SCM - improve focus movement

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#116,755 opened on Feb 16, 2021

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accessibilitybughelp wantedscmteam-low-hanging

Description

I did some improvements in the ActionBar focus which I think reflect positively in the SCM view. However there is still two corner cases which I think we could improve:

  1. Focus onto an element in Changes view, press tab -> focus jump to inline actions (great)
  2. Press shit + tab -> focus is moved to the Message box 🐛

It would be cool if tab and shift+tab are always paired, thus shift+tab after a tab would bring you back to the original item.

One more corner case

  1. Focus onto the first item in changes
  2. Press shift + tab -> focus is moved in title bar actions 🐛
  3. I would expect the focus to move into the commit box

Overall I think the focus navigation in SCM works nice, thanks to this "top level" up and down navigation which allows to focus into something.

fyi @joaomoreno

Contributor guide

Tech stack
typescript
Domain
desktopaccessibility
Issue type
bug
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-2 days
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
stale
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
familiarity with TypeScriptunderstanding of keyboard navigation patterns
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
40
Research direction
Examine the SCM view focus handling code, particularly the Changes view and inline actions. Look for tab keybindings and ensure tab/shift+tab are symmetric. Investigate the focus transition from the first item's shift+tab to the commit box rather than the title bar. Review recent ActionBar focus improvements mentioned.