Arrow Key Selection in Option Menus

[Gregory Lypny]

Hello everyone,

	I have a question about buttons formatted as option menus.  I created a standalone for my students that allows them to submit answers to multiple choice homework assignments via FTP to my Mac at work.  Once in a while I will receive a blank submission from a student using a PC version of the standalone.  By blank, I mean the student's text file on my Mac, which is their log, is updated with the date and time and name of the quiz, but the list of answer choices, for example, "A, C, A, A, B, E", is missing.  As far as I can tell, it has never happened with students using Macs.  I thought it might be that some students quit the app before receiving the confirmation that their answers have gone through.  I took that possibility into account by building in a progress message and a warning not to quit, and a warning for students who were actually submitting a list of blanks.  One day, a PC-using student, who had had the blank experience, told me that he is able to submit successfully when he selects his answers using a trackpad or a mouse, but that when he selects answers using the arrow keys, the answers that appear selected in the option buttons are not sent.

	I took a look at this on my Mac, and although I seldom use the arrow keys, I can select answers in option menus using the arrow keys, and I can send them fine.  My handler simply loops through the option buttons and gathers the answers by taking the value of the selected line.  Is there something else I should be doing for PC users?

	Gregory

	Associate Professor
	Department of Finance
	John Molson School of Business
	Concordia University
	Montreal, Canada