different behavior when navigating a manu when NVDA is closed or opened

[sigal-barak]

Steps to reproduce:

the website : https://iac.ac.il/
When NVDA is closed,and when it is open, navigate the Main Menu using the keyboard, and press ENTER to open a submenu .
IMPORTANT : please delete role menuitem from all the A (links) tags. screenshot: http://prntscr.com/seehf7

Actual behavior:

1. the KeyDown handler (ENTER) not called when using NVDA screen reader,but when NVDA is closed it works fine.
2. enters FORM MODE when navigating the main menu.

Expected behavior:

1. same behavior whether NVDA is open or closed.
2. does not enter FORM MODE when navigating the main menu when NVDA is open but rather stays in BROWSE MODE.

System configuration

NVDA installed/portable/running from source:

installed

NVDA version:

2019.2.1

Windows version:

10

Name and version of other software in use when reproducing the issue:

Google Chrome Version 81.0.4044.138 (Official Build) (64-bit)

Other information about your system:

NA

Other questions

Does the issue still occur after restarting your computer?

Yes

Have you tried any other versions of NVDA? If so, please report their behaviors.

No

If addons are disabled, is your problem still occuring?

Yes

Did you try to run the COM registry fixing tool in NVDA menu / tools?

No

[DrSooom]

@sigal-barak: Could you please explain why these behaviors should be changed? In Browse Mode you can try to press NVDA+F2 (= Pass next key through) before pressing Return. Unsure, if this helps.

[Adriani90]

@DrSooom Obviously NVDA should expand the menu and perform the action on pressing enter. An user should not be required to press nvda+f2 to perform a standard action on an element in browse mode.

[clanceyp]

I am having the same issue with keydown (or keypress) event not being triggered on a button element when NVDA is open
https://jsfiddle.net/clanceyp/hop4zv7L/

[Adriani90]

cc: @jcsteh I am sure you have a more educated explanation than me why this is not working, I guess this is due to NVDA not handling keydown functions in browse mode but only in focus mode. I can imagine this should work properly even in browse mode when turning off the quick navigation by pressing nvda+shift+space bar.

[jcsteh]

In browse mode, due to the number of elements on the web that don't support key presses correctly, NVDA performs a mouse click rather than relying on key presses. This cannot be changed without breaking a massive chunk of the web. It's also questionable as to why the page is differentiating between key presses and clicks in the first place.

If NVDA is switching to focus mode, that means there is a role (menu, menuitem, etc.) that means it needs to be treated as an interactive control which implements its own keyboard navigation. This is expected behaviour. If you want to avoid this, use different roles.

[seanbudd]

I'm closing this as intended behavior @sigal-barak please report the accessibility design issues to the websites authors