Since forms are landmarks, screen reader users might navigate to the
form. But then they were going to find an empty form with no way to
toggle it.
Moving the button inside the form means screen reader users navigating
to the form will find the button to toggle it.
It also helps us simplifying the code; there's no need to use
data-attributes to communicate whether the form should be visible since
now we can easily use the button `aria-expanded` attribute.
We could further simplify the JavaScript if we used a CSS rule to
show/hide the form fields based on the toggle button `aria-expanded`
attribute. However, implementing the "slide" animation we use when
toggling the form with CSS is difficult and unreliable.
We were using the form and then showing it with JavaScript when advanced
search terms were present. Now we hide it with JavaScript when no
advanced search are present. This means users without JavaScript
(including users with JavaScript enabled but bad internet connections
preventing the JavaScript to load) can now access the form.
The other main difference between the two versions is the way the form
flashes while JavaScript is loading.
Previously, the form would always be hidden when no terms had been
introduced. However, when these terms were present, after submitting the
form it would briefly be hidden and then shown again.
Now the opposite happens. When advanced search terms are present, the
form is shown at all times. However, when they aren't, the form is
briefly shown before it disappears.
Here the previous behavior is arguably better because most of the time
these terms will not be present.
So basically we're significantly improving the experience of some users
at the cost of slightly worsen the experience of other users.
We're also hiding the button to show the form when JavaScript is
disabled, since in this scenario it's useless. We're using the `hidden`
attribute so hidden buttons can be detected in CSS.
Users (particularly, screen reader users) usually identify links with
things that take you somewhere, and buttons with things that either send
forms or change things on the page.
Using a button we can also use the `aria-expanded` attribute, meaning
screen reader users will know that the button has two states ("expanded"
and "collapsed"), the current state of the button, and will get
immediate feedback when clicking the button because the new state of the
button will be announced.
Thanks to this change, we can also slightly simplify the code; we
obviously have to remove the (useless) `href` attribute, and we don't
have to prevent the default event in JavaScript since there's no default
event for buttons with `type="button"`.
It was a bit frustrating to click on one of the order elements or the
link to the next page and having to scroll down again until reaching the
comments.
We use order links in many places in the web. However, in the comments
section and the list of community topics, we were displaying a
`<select>` element, and changing the location when users select an
option.
This has several disadvantages.
First, and most important, it's terrible for keyboard users. `<select>`
fields allow using the arrow keys to navigate through their options, and
typing a letter will select the first option starting with that letter.
This will trigger the "change" event and so users will navigate through
a new page while they were probably just checking the available options
[1]. For these reasons, WCAG Success Criterion 3.2.2 [2] states:
> Changing the setting of any user interface component does not
> automatically cause a change of context unless the user has been
> advised of the behavior before using the component.
Second, the form didn't have a submit button. This might confuse screen
reader users, who might not know how that form is supposed to be
submitted.
Finally, dropdowns have usability issues of their own [3], particularly
on mobile phones [4]
The easiest solution is to use the same links we generally use to allow
users select an order, so using them here we make the user experience
more consistent. They offer one disadvantage, though; on small screens
and certain languages, these links might take too much space and not
look that great. This issue affects pretty much every place where we use
order or filter links, so we might revisit it in the future.
Note we're moving the links to order comments after the form to add a
new comment. In my opinion, having an element such as a form to add a
new comment between the element to select the desired order of the
comments and the comments themselves is a bit confusing.
[1] https://webaim.org/techniques/forms/controls#javascript
[2] https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/Understanding/on-input.html
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUkMCQR4TpY
[4] https://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?1950
Now it's easier to change the investments filter. Previously we had to
go back to the budget index page, change the filter there, and then
select one heading.
Now the links to change the current filter in the budget index page
aren't needed anymore.
Having the date at the beginning makes it less weird to select a custom
date now that we don't have enough space to display the "from" and "to"
date selectors in different columns.
Now the banner component accepts either a banner or a section and loads
the banner if it's a section, so we don't have to add the `@banners`
variable in several controllers.
