Keyboard Navigation

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
• Checkbox
  • “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