Steps to reproduce the issue

Audit finding

The Articles list provides drag handles for changing article ordering, but the audit identifies no equivalent way to perform that operation with the keyboard or through clicks or taps without dragging.

This concerns changing the articles' stored ordering. Selecting a different table sort, such as title or creation date, is not an equivalent operation.

User impact

Keyboard-only users cannot perform the documented reordering operation through the drag handles.

People who can click or tap but cannot reliably hold a pointer down while moving it also lack an equivalent way to reposition an article. This can affect people with tremors, limited dexterity, or difficulty maintaining pressure on a mouse button or touch screen.

They may need another person to arrange the articles or must leave their existing order unchanged. Where a frontend view uses article ordering, this can prevent the editor from arranging content in the intended sequence.

Remediation plan

Retain drag and drop where useful, and provide reordering controls that work with both keyboard activation and clicks or taps without dragging

• Add clearly labelled controls such as “Move up” and “Move down”, or provide another accessible way to choose and apply an article's position
• Identify the affected article in each control's accessible name or programmatically associated context
• Allow repeated activation without requiring the pointer to remain pressed
• Ensure that keyboard users can reach and activate the controls
• Keep focus associated with the moved article after its position changes
• Provide concise feedback identifying the article and its new position or relative placement
• Preserve a logical reading and keyboard-navigation order after the rows move
• Handle the first and last available positions predictably
• Respect the same permissions and ordering constraints as the existing drag operation
• Ensure that the alternative updates and persists the same stored ordering as drag and drop
• If the list reloads after a move, restore a useful focus position and retain the relevant filters
• Do not treat changing the table's display sort as a replacement for changing saved article ordering
• Verify keyboard and non-dragging pointer operation separately

Preconditions

• Use Joomla 6.2 with the Atum administrator template
• Use a test installation because reordering may save immediately
• Sign in with an account permitted to change article ordering
• Prepare at least three test articles in the same category with distinct titles
• Ensure that the articles are not blocked from editing by another user's checkout or other restrictions
• Display the test articles together on one results page
• Record their initial order so that it can be restored
• Record the browser name and version, operating system, and pointer device used
• Record the exact build or commit and whether it includes changes from PR #47328

Steps to reproduce — enable manual ordering

1. Open the Joomla administrator interface at the site's base URL followed by /administrator/
2. Open Content → Articles
   • Alternatively, navigate to /administrator/index.php?option=com_content&view=articles on the same installation
3. Filter the list to the category containing the test articles
4. Select the list's ordering sort in ascending order
   • Use the sort control or ordering-column heading provided by the tested build
   • Record the exact control label and selected option
5. Check whether the row drag handles become available
   • Do not report disabled handles while sorting by an unrelated field as the accessibility defect
6. Confirm that all test articles appear on the same results page
7. Record the titles and current sequence
8. Using a pointer, drag one test article to another permitted position
9. Confirm that its order changes
10. Reload the list and check whether the new order persists
11. Restore the initial sequence before comparing alternative interactions
    • If dragging does not work either, investigate permissions, ordering mode, and list constraints before attributing the result to keyboard or pointer accessibility

Steps to reproduce — keyboard-only reordering

1. Return to the same filtered list and ordering mode
2. Set the pointer aside and use only the keyboard for this part of the test
3. Navigate through the test article's row using Tab and Shift+Tab
4. Check whether the drag handle or another reordering control can receive focus
5. Inspect any available instructions or action menu for a keyboard reordering method
6. If the handle is focusable, test its documented keyboard interaction
   • Do not assume an undisclosed key sequence is supported
7. Look for another control that changes the article's saved position
   • Examples include move controls, a position field with an apply action, or a destination-position selector
8. Attempt to move the article one position using the available keyboard method
9. Record whether the article can be moved without using the pointer
10. If the move succeeds, check focus location, feedback, and the resulting row sequence
11. Reload the list to verify that the order was saved
12. Restore the initial order before the next comparison

Steps to reproduce — pointer operation without dragging

1. Return to the same filtered list and ordering mode
2. Use a mouse, trackpad, touch screen, or another available pointer device
3. Do not hold the pointer down while moving it
4. Check whether clicking or tapping the drag handle offers a reordering action
5. Inspect the available row actions for a non-dragging way to choose another position
6. Attempt to move an article using only clicks or taps
7. Record whether a useful equivalent to the drag operation is available
8. If the move succeeds, reload the list and verify the saved order
9. Record the keyboard result and pointer-only result separately
   • A passing keyboard test does not establish that a non-dragging pointer alternative exists
10. Restore the original article order after testing

Supplementary screen reader test

1. Enable a screen reader and record the screen reader and browser combination
2. Return to the filtered Articles list in ordering mode
3. Navigate to a test article's reordering control, if one is available
4. Check whether the control's name and context identify its action and the affected article
5. Perform a move using the supported keyboard interaction
6. Record whether the result is communicated and whether focus remains in a useful location
7. Check whether the updated reading order matches the new article sequence
8. Restore the original order after testing

Version

6.2

Expected result

Users can change saved article ordering with the keyboard and through clicks or taps without dragging.

The alternatives perform the same ordering operation as the drag handles, respect the same constraints, and preserve a useful focus position.

The updated order is communicated and persists after the list is reloaded.

Actual result

The audit reports that article rows can be reordered through drag and drop, but the operation is not otherwise available to keyboard users or pointer users who cannot perform dragging movements.

The exact behaviour of the Joomla 6.2 build, including any proposed reordering enhancements, needs to be recorded during verification.

What device were you using? (eg, phone, laptop)

Desktop web

What web browser were you using? (eg, Chrome, Safari)

Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari

Assistive Technology?

VoiceOver, JAWS, NVDA

Additional Comments

The browser and assistive-technology entries above are carried forward from the original issue and do not represent a new verification of every combination against Joomla 6.2.

Manual article ordering is distinct from sorting the list by title, date, or another field. Establish a working drag operation in the appropriate ordering mode before comparing keyboard and non-dragging pointer access.

Use test articles because the ordering operation may save immediately without a separate Save action.

The issue links PR #47328, titled “[7.0] A11y drag and drop”, which was open when this draft was prepared. A comment describes it as a resolution, but that does not establish that its changes are merged or available in Joomla 6.2.

MS3b is proposed for the documented backend list-view integration. Add a shared-component or transversal-feature milestone only when its implementation scope and phase assignment are confirmed.