tabindex

[FatBlokeOnBikepins]

..
To aid navigation field-by-field of a form, I was told to use tabindex=N.
Do I have to tabindex *every* field? - or can I get away with tabindex-ing just the first
X of N fields?

 

[Jukka K. Korpela]

To aid navigation field-by-field of a form, I was told to use
tabindex=N.
Why?

Do I have to tabindex *every* field?
No.

- or can I get
away with tabindex-ing just the first X of N fields?

Why would you use it at all? You should first ask the people who gave
you the advice _why_ they recommend it. Maybe they saw your page - we
didn't.

The simple method is to put the fields into a form so that when read
linearly (linearizing tables when needed), they appear in a suitable
order. That's actually the only reliable method, since tabindex is not
universally supported.

 

[Hywel Jenkins]

.
To aid navigation field-by-field of a form, I was told to use tabindex=N.
Do I have to tabindex *every* field? - or can I get away with tabindex-ing just the first
X of N fields?

Try it.

 

[FatBlokeOnBikepins]

..
Thanx for the info.
I was interested in the feature becos use of the Tab key is faster than positioning by
clicking a mouse of course and in some of the forms there can be links to other pages.
Thanx again.

 

[spaghetti]

I was interested in the feature becos use of the Tab key is faster than positioning by
clicking a mouse of course and in some of the forms there can be links to other pages.
Thanx again.

Most browsers will naturally tab through the fields in the order they are
presented in HTML. The order they are in HTML should be logical enough to be
understood without relying on visual placement whatsoever. So your forms
will tab properly if you code them properly and considerately.

 

[FatBlokeOnBikepins]

Most browsers will naturally tab through the fields in the order they are
presented in HTML. The order they are in HTML should be logical enough to be
understood without relying on visual placement whatsoever. So your forms
will tab properly if you code them properly and considerately.

Well, Sir, I like to think I do; however, in each admin suite, at the top of each input or
choice page, I put a number of links to other pages containing functions which the
operator might wish to use. Without the tabindex feature (again, thanx to everyone) the
TAB key will cycle through the IE6 address field and then each of these links before
reaching the first input field.

 

[rf]

Well, Sir, I like to think I do; however, in each admin suite, at the top of each input
page, I put a number of links to other pages containing functions which the operator might
wish to use. (I choose deliberately to put them at the top.) Without the tabindex
feature (again, thanx to everyone) the TAB key will cycle through the IE6 address field
and then each of these links before reaching the first input field.

Sir, that is what the tab key is _supposed_ to do.

Sir, that is how viewers who do not use a mouse navigate a site.

Cheers
Richard.

 

[Jukka K. Korpela]

in each admin suite, at the top of each input or
choice page, I put a number of links to other pages containing
functions which the operator might wish to use.

- "Doctor, it hurts if I do _this_."
- "Then don't do that."

Without the
tabindex feature (again, thanx to everyone) the TAB key will cycle
through the IE6 address field and then each of these links before
reaching the first input field.

And that's what will keep happening on browsers that do not support the
tabindex attribute.

There are several ways to deal with "navigation links":
- leave them out (one contextual link at the bottom is usually
sufficient - there's a difference between "might wish to" [according
to page designer's opinion] and "will"
- precede them by a "skip navigation" type of link
- put them at the bottom of the page
- put them last in the HTML markup and use CSS positioning to put them
elsewhere visually; the tabbing order will be by the markup order,
not visual rendering.
(Some people will tell you to focus() in the first input field using
JavaScript, but it will often hurt when it works, causing the user lose
input if he has started typing fast.)

 

[Jacqui or (maybe) Pete]

.
To aid navigation field-by-field of a form, I was told to use tabindex=N.
Do I have to tabindex *every* field? - or can I get away with tabindex-ing just the first
X of N fields?

Further to other responses, I like the following javascript approach:

http://www.html-faq.com/htmlforms/?entryfocus

Which avoids the 'losing focus on load' problem.