## Summary
The canvas mode selector popover (Select/Hand mode) uses plain `div`
elements for its menu items, making them completely inaccessible to
keyboard-only users and screen readers. This PR replaces them with
proper semantic HTML and ARIA attributes.
## Problem (AS-IS)
As reported in #9519, the canvas mode selector popover has the following
accessibility issues:
1. **Menu items are `div` elements** — they cannot receive keyboard
focus, so users cannot Tab into the popover or activate items with
Enter/Space. Keyboard-only users are completely locked out of switching
between Select and Hand (pan) mode via the popover.
2. **No ARIA roles** — screen readers announce the popover content as
generic text rather than an interactive menu. Users relying on assistive
technology have no way to understand that these are selectable options.
3. **No keyboard navigation within the popover** — even if a user
somehow focuses an item, there are no ArrowUp/ArrowDown handlers to move
between options, which is the standard interaction pattern for
`role="menu"` widgets (WAI-ARIA Menu Pattern).
4. **Decorative icons are not hidden from assistive technology** — icon
elements (`<i>` tags) are exposed to screen readers, adding noise to the
announcement.
5. **The bottom toolbar (`GraphCanvasMenu`) lacks semantic grouping** —
the `ButtonGroup` container has no `role="toolbar"` or `aria-label`, so
screen readers cannot convey that these buttons form a related control
group.
> Note: Pan mode itself already has keyboard shortcuts (`H` for
Hand/Lock, `V` for Select/Unlock), but the popover UI that surfaces
these options is not keyboard-accessible.
## Solution (TO-BE)
1. **Replace `div` → `button`** for menu items in `CanvasModeSelector` —
buttons are natively focusable and activatable via Enter/Space without
extra work.
2. **Add `role="menu"` on the container and `role="menuitem"` on each
option** — screen readers now announce "Canvas Mode menu" with two menu
items.
3. **Add ArrowUp/ArrowDown keyboard navigation** with wrap-around —
pressing ArrowDown on "Select" moves focus to "Hand", and vice versa.
This follows the WAI-ARIA Menu Pattern.
4. **Add `aria-label` to each menu item and `aria-hidden="true"` to
decorative icons** — screen readers announce "Select" / "Hand" clearly
without icon noise.
5. **Add `role="toolbar"` with `aria-label="Canvas Toolbar"` to the
`ButtonGroup`** — screen readers identify the bottom control bar as a
coherent toolbar.
## Changes
- **What**: Accessibility improvements to `CanvasModeSelector` popover
and `GraphCanvasMenu` toolbar
- **Dependencies**: None — only HTML/ARIA attribute changes and two new
i18n keys (`canvasMode`, `canvasToolbar`)
## Review Focus
- Verify the `button` elements render visually identical to the previous
`div` elements (same padding, hover styles, cursor)
- Confirm ArrowUp/ArrowDown navigation works correctly in the popover
- Check that screen readers announce the menu and toolbar correctly
Fixes#9519
> Note: The issue also requests Space-bar hold-to-pan, Tab through node
ports, and link creation mode keyboard shortcuts. These are significant
new features beyond the scope of this accessibility fix and should be
tracked separately.
## Test plan
- [x] Unit tests for ARIA roles, button elements, aria-labels,
aria-hidden, and arrow key navigation (7 tests)
- [ ] Manual: open canvas mode selector popover → Tab focuses first item
→ ArrowDown/ArrowUp navigates → Enter/Space selects
- [ ] Screen reader: verify "Canvas Mode menu" with "Select" and "Hand"
menu items are announced
┆Issue is synchronized with this [Notion
page](https://www.notion.so/PR-9526-fix-improve-canvas-menu-keyboard-navigation-and-ARIA-accessibility-31c6d73d3650814c9487ecf748cf6a99)
by [Unito](https://www.unito.io)
---------
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
