Dear AppleVis Community,
We are excited to share that today, we have introduced an update to the Search functionality on the AppleVis website that we hope will make Search easier to access and use.
Previously, Search was an expandable element that a user would first need to locate, expand, and--depending on screen reader and configuration--manually place focus into the text field to type. Having Search configured in this manner was necessary for our mobile-optimized layout; while this implementation met our needs, we wanted to see if we could have something closer to a traditional search field experience that is always ready for user input.
With today's update, Search is now integrated into the site's main menu at the beginning of the Tab order. To access Search, do the following:
- Navigate to the 'Main Menu' button. Screen readers should report the menu state as 'collapsed'.
- Activate the Main Menu. Screen readers should report the state as 'Expanded'.
- We are aware of an issue with JAWS 2025 where, if one expands the main menu and immediately arrows down, JAWS focus continues to navigate as though the menu had not been expanded. It is our understanding that there is a slight delay with the Virtual Buffer in JAWS 2025; a workaround is to wait a moment before attempting to navigate the menu. We believe this issue is resolved in JAWS 2026.
- Navigate to the first item in the Tab order. Focus should be placed on the Search field.
- Upon landing on the Search field, you may need to activate your screen reader's 'Edit' functionality just as you would for any other text field.
- To submit your search, do one of the following:
- iOS: Activate the 'Search' button on your keyboard.
- macOS and Windows: Press Enter.
- All Platforms: Navigate to the 'Search' Button (which is next in the Tab order after the Search field) and activate it.
While not new, we also wanted to take a moment to call your attention to the search filters we currently have available. On any search results page, you are able to filter results by type (Forum Topic, Blog Post, App Directory, etc.); and by date (sorted by year). If there are any other filters that you would like us to consider for possible addition, please do let us know.
We hope these improvements will make Search easier to access and use. Please share any and all feedback in the Comments below.
Comments
Works
Well works as described for me using Windows 11 and JAWS.
Recent past filter!
First, thanks for making the change to the search functionality. The new implementation is much easier to use on multiple platforms and is much appreciated.
In terms of filters, I'd really like a recent filter. AppleVis has content which goes back quite sometime. Usually, when I'm searching for information on an app, I want results which have been posted in the last two or three years. Because AppleVis has so much content, I often receive results which are quite old. Yes, I could select the individual years, which is usually what I end up doing, but it would be really nice to have one filter which would give me results from the past, say four years. This would make finding relevant content on this site a whole lot easier and would eliminate outdated content showing up in my search.
Thanks for considering this.
Jim