In addition to using the “tab” key to move between interactive elements on the page when using a keyboard to navigate, there are several other keys that are used to take action on the elements.
- Link
- “Enter” to activate
- Button
- “Enter” to activate OR
- “Spacebar” to activate
- Chekbox
- “Spacebar” to check/uncheck
- Radio buttons
- “Up”/”Down” arrows or “Left”/”Right” arrows to change the option (moving between the options triggers the change in choice.
- Dropdown menu
- “Spacebar” to expand the menu
- “Up”/”Down” arrow to expand and/or change the option
- “Enter” to select an option
- “Esc” to collapse/close menu without making a choice
- Tab panel (a set of tabs, usually with different content in each tab)
- “Tab” to move to the active tab
- “Up”/”Down” or “Left”/”Right” to change the active tab (if the tab panel is coded for automatic activation, this will automatically activate the new tab).
- “Enter” or “Spacebar” to manually activate the tab (if it requires manual activation)
- Menu bar
- “Up”/”Down” to change the menu option
- “Left”/”Right” to expand/collapse submenu options
- “Enter” to expand menu and submenu
- “Enter” to select an option
- “Esc” to close menu and submenu
- Autocomplete fields
- Type to enter text
- “Up”/”Down” to move between options
- “Enter” to select an option
- Dialog (pop-up) box
- “Esc” to close