Keyboard, touch, accessibility, and recovery

What you are trying to accomplish

Use PatternForge with the input method and display settings that give you reliable control, then recover safely after an interruption without guessing which project state is current.

Why it matters

Precise pattern work can become unsafe when a control is available only on hover, the view is too crowded at high zoom, or an interrupted session resumes in an unexpected place. Accessibility is part of correctness: you need to identify the active tool, understand the current step, and confirm that changes were saved.

Step by step

1. Use Tab and Shift+Tab to move through controls, and activate buttons with Enter or Space.
2. Open the keyboard-shortcuts sheet before relying on single-letter tool shortcuts.
3. To trace without a pointer, choose Trace Piece, Tab to Pattern worktable keyboard tracing, and use the arrow keys to aim. Hold Shift with an arrow to move farther, press Space to place each point, X to switch point type, and Enter to close the shape safely.
4. Use Escape to cancel an in-progress operation, close a temporary surface, or return to a neutral selection state.
5. On touch devices, read the active tool label rather than identifying tools only by their icons.
6. Use the dedicated zoom, fit, and pan controls when a gesture is uncomfortable or ambiguous.
7. At 200% browser zoom, collapse secondary panels and keep the current workflow action visible.
8. PatternForge respects reduced-motion preferences; do not depend on animation alone to locate a changed state.
9. After a crash or closed tab, return on the same browser and device, reopen the project from My Patterns, and read the named next step.
10. Confirm the project name, visible pieces, source-photo availability, scale status, and saved message before editing.
11. If a recovery copy is offered, compare its project and timestamp with the copy you intended to continue.

What success looks like

• The active tool and workflow step can be identified without hover.
• The tested blank-project path and manual tracing are reachable without a mouse, including placing and closing a meaningful outline by keyboard.
• Browser zoom does not hide the primary action or create horizontal page traps.
• Reduced motion removes nonessential movement without removing information.
• A resumed project opens with recognizable content and an honest next action.
• You understand that Saved on this device is a local save and that editable-project cloud sync is unavailable in this launch.

Common problems and recovery

• A shortcut changes the wrong thing: press Escape, return to Select, and use Undo if geometry changed.
• Touch drag moves a piece instead of the view: undo, choose Pan, or use the documented multi-touch view gesture.
• A panel covers the work at high zoom: close or collapse it, then use the workflow ribbon to reopen only the needed surface.
• The resumed project has no source photo: do not edit or export it. Return to the original browser and device or restore the source photo, then check true size again. An account does not contain a cloud backup of the editable project in this launch.
• Two tabs edited the same project: stop editing, compare the saved state, and keep one authoritative tab.
• A screen reader label is unclear or a control is unreachable: do not work around a size-critical decision. Record it as a launch-blocking accessibility issue.

Quick safety check

Before continuing recovered work, verify the project name, piece count, source availability, true-size status, and current workflow step. Saved on this device confirms only the current browser and device. Keep original sources and important exports independently.

Related tools and next step

Read Projects, saving, and resuming. For true-size work after recovery, reopen Set and check true size before exporting.