Themes now feature updated accessibility settings and keyboard commands—always enabled by default and fully aligned with Microsoft and WCAG standards—so users benefit from seamless, standards-based navigation without needing to adjust settings; customers who don’t use keyboard navigation won’t notice any change.
Improvements
Enhanced Accessibility in Themes
We’ve upgraded our Themes to deliver seamless, standards-based accessibility—no configuration required. Accessibility settings and keyboard navigation are now always enabled by default, fully aligned with Microsoft out-of-the-box experiences and WCAG guidelines.
No more toggling: The option to enable accessibility in the settings panel has been removed; it’s now built-in for every theme.
Effortless navigation: Keyboard commands have been updated for consistency and compliance, including improved support for mega menus and cascading menus.
Intuitive controls: Tab, arrow keys, Enter, and Ctrl+Enter work as expected for navigating menus and opening links. The Ctrl+M shortcut remains for quick access to the first or last menu item.
Invisible for most: If you don’t use keyboard navigation, you won’t notice any change—your experience stays familiar and uninterrupted.
Fixes
Incorrect keyboard navigation experience
Resolved an issue in the Empower and Invent themes where keyboard navigation (Tab focus) on the search area would incorrectly open a side panel.
Side panel overlapping content
Corrected an overlap issue in the Flex-o theme where the web part settings panel and other content would visually collide.