Hitting tab key skips checkboxes, buttons, etc.

This is my first Mac, so I'm still getting used to the UI, I was hoping someone cold help shed some light on this. When I use the tab key in any application to skip to the next field, it totally ignores the checkboxes and buttons. Is there some way around this, or does Mac OS just not allow you to tab to the checkboxes/buttons?

in system preferences - keyboard & mouse - Keyboard Shortcuts there's an option at the bottom for altering Tab function between 'text boxes & lists' and 'all controls' .
ctrl-F7 makes the switch w/o needing to go to sys prefs.
I think(?) option-Tab enables the 'other' option while option is held; even if set one way.

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JButton gains focus when Hitting tab key but hitting Enter has no effect.

Hi,
I have a program that has two buttons. When pressed, using the mouse, the buttons text appears in the middle of the screen. I have NOT alerted the focus subsystem. Thus when I press the tab key the buttons are highlighted in turn, to indicate that they currently have focus. However if I press enter the buttons actions (to update the middle of the screen with it's text) does not get activated.
I am using 1.4.2 on a Windows machine.
any help on this would be much appreciated !!
The code is as follows:
package com.logicacmg.skynet.tms.mmi.ui;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Container;
public class Test implements ActionListener
JButton bTwo = new JButton("button 2");
JButton b = new JButton("button 1");
JLabel label = new JLabel(" ");
/** Creates a new instance of Test */
public Test()
JFrame frame = new JFrame();
//Create a panel to hold the MMI screens.
JPanel mainPanel = new JPanel();
mainPanel.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
b.addActionListener(this);
bTwo.addActionListener(this);
mainPanel.add(b, BorderLayout.WEST);
mainPanel.add(bTwo, BorderLayout.EAST);
mainPanel.add(label, BorderLayout.CENTER);
//add the main panel which contains the screens and the status bar
//to this frame.
Container contentPane = frame.getContentPane();
     contentPane.add(mainPanel, BorderLayout.CENTER);
frame.pack();
frame.setVisible(true);
public static void main(String [] args)
new Test();
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
JButton aButton = (JButton)e.getSource();
if(aButton == b)
label.setText("one");
else if(aButton == bTwo)
label.setText("Two");

Which plaf are you using? Because when I switch to the windows plaf, the behavior is what you describe.
Demo:
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
public class X {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        final JFrame f = new JFrame("button focus");
        f.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
        ActionListener al = new ActionListener() {
            public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent evt) {
                System.out.println(evt.getActionCommand());
        Container cp = f.getContentPane();
        cp.setLayout(new FlowLayout());
        for(int i=0; i<3; ++i) {
            JButton btn = new JButton("Button " + i);
            btn.addActionListener(al);
            cp.add(btn);
            if (i == 1)
                f.getRootPane().setDefaultButton(btn);
        final JCheckBox laf = new JCheckBox("platform plaf");
        laf.addActionListener(new ActionListener(){
            public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent evt) {
                String cls = laf.isSelected() ? UIManager.getSystemLookAndFeelClassName() :
                  UIManager.getCrossPlatformLookAndFeelClassName();
                try {
                    UIManager.setLookAndFeel(cls);
                    SwingUtilities.updateComponentTreeUI(f);
                } catch (Exception e) {
                    e.printStackTrace();
        cp.add(laf);
        f.pack();
        f.setVisible(true);
}

Curious question about tab key selecting?

I'm not sure how to word this query so try to bare with me.
I sometimes use the tab key to select the next file or folder instead of the arrow keys, but I've noticed that when I have a series of folders and/or files that are in numerical order, the tab key doesn't select the files and folders in the order that they are listed it selects them in a order that is similar to alphabetical order.
Such as this:
This is an example of the file names and the numerical order they're listed in:
9
28
29
30
40
300
2006
2025
A
This is the order the tab selects the same files:
2006
2025
28
29
30
300
40
9
A
If the 9 file is selected then I hit tab key to select the next file, the next files selected is A it will skip over the other files. The arrow Keys don't do this.
My question is why is this the case?
Not really a big deal but I was curious why it does that.

You are correct for the use you've described - using tab in list view, also in icon view. The tab key moves in alpha-numeric sequence but the numeric is by 1st numeral, 2nd numeral, etc if two or more have the same first numeral not by total number size.
The arrow keys are essentially directional. In icon view you use L/R to move to the next item and up/down to move vertically.
This is the standard use but individual applications use these keys differently. In a table/database it's common for the tab to move from cell to cell and the arrow keys to move through the characters in a cell but even these can depend on the particular software package.
This is all part of the learning curve for computer users!
Neville

In the expression editor dialog box my TAB key doesn't function correctly

This is bizarre behavior that seems to have started recently.
In Visual Studio 2012, an SSRS project, any expression editor dialog:
The tab key doesn't work right.
Open the expression editor and:
* I see a blinking cursor and I can type in the expression box.
* If I hit the tab key, the cursor disappears and I cannot type. I appear to lose focus in the editor but focus doesn't appear to go anywhere else in the dialog box.
* If I hit the tab key a 2nd time, the cursor is still gone and I cannot type.
* If I hit the tab key a 3rd time, I can finally type again and note that I am now
3 tabstops in. In other words it seems like the tabs were working but I lost the ability to type anything until I "tab" 3 magical times.
I can work around this by hitting tab key then grabbing the mouse and clicking where the cursor SHOULD be which returns focus to the text area.
Hopefully this image helps clarify:
Anybody know what is wrong?
Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2012
Version 11.0.61030.00 Update 4
Microsoft .NET Framework
Version 4.5.50709
Installed Version: Professional
LightSwitch for Visual Studio 2012 04938-004-0034007-02367
Microsoft LightSwitch for Visual Studio 2012
Office Developer Tools 04938-004-0034007-02367
Microsoft Office Developer Tools
Team Explorer for Visual Studio 2012 04938-004-0034007-02367
Microsoft Team Explorer for Visual Studio 2012
Visual Basic 2012 04938-004-0034007-02367
Microsoft Visual Basic 2012
Visual C# 2012 04938-004-0034007-02367
Microsoft Visual C# 2012
Visual C++ 2012 04938-004-0034007-02367
Microsoft Visual C++ 2012
Visual F# 2012 04938-004-0034007-02367
Microsoft Visual F# 2012
Visual Studio 2012 Code Analysis Spell Checker 04938-004-0034007-02367
Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2012 Code Analysis Spell Checker
Portions of International CorrectSpell™ spelling correction system © 1993 by Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition Copyright © 1992 Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version licensed from Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V. All rights reserved.
Visual Studio 2012 SharePoint Developer Tools 04938-004-0034007-02367
Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 SharePoint Developer Tools
ASP.NET and Web Tools 2012.3.41009
Microsoft Web Developer Tools contains the following components:
Support for creating and opening ASP.NET web projects
Browser Link: A communication channel between Visual Studio and browsers
Editor extensions for HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
Page Inspector: Inspection tool for ASP.NET web projects
Scaffolding: A framework for building and running code generators
Server Explorer extensions for Windows Azure Web Sites
Web publishing: Extensions for publishing ASP.NET web projects to hosting providers, on-premises servers, or Windows Azure
Color Theme Designer 1.0
Designer for creating new color themes
NuGet Package Manager 2.8.50126.400
NuGet Package Manager in Visual Studio. For more information about NuGet, visit http://docs.nuget.org/.
PreEmptive Analytics Visualizer 1.0
Microsoft Visual Studio extension to visualize aggregated summaries from the PreEmptive Analytics product.
SQL Server Analysis Services
Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services Designer
Version 11.0.3369.0
SQL Server Data Tools 11.1.40706.0
Microsoft SQL Server Data Tools
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Microsoft SQL Server Integration Services Designer
Version 11.0.3369.0
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Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services Designers
Version 11.0.3369.0
BIDSHelper
BIDS Helper 2012 - An add-in to extend SQL Server Data Tools - Business Intelligence (SSDTBI formerly BI Development Studio)
(c) 2014 Version 1.6.6.0
http://www.codeplex.com/bidshelper
SQL Prompt 6
For more information about SQL Prompt, see the Red Gate website at
http://www.red-gate.com
For customer support, call 1-866-733-4283.
Copyright © 2006–2009 Red Gate Software Ltd

Hi Bostaevski,
Thank you for posting in MSDN forum.
According to your description, as you said that the cursor disappears and cannot type issue. It seems that the issue may be not Visual Studio the VS IDE issue.
In addition, I find a similar thread about the
Expression Editor Cursor Issue,
please see:
http://www.beta.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/feedbackdetail/view/780682/vs-2012-rdlc-expression-editor-cursor-issue#.
Therefore, I suggest you could also try to press alt with left and right arrow keys and check if it is works fine.
Thnank for your understanding!
Best Regards,
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Tab order of radio buttons skipping back

I'm currently using Adobe Acrobat Pro XI (trial for now) to mess around with forms. I am having a problem right now with the tab order. I believe the culprits are a few pairs of radio buttons I have set up sequentially. Each pair is in it's own group with one being "Y" and the other "N". After setting the tab order such that I can easily navigate the form in the specified order, I have found that when I reach the bottom of the first page (the same page in which my radio buttons are found), with the last object that I "tab" through being a text field, I am redirected back up to the radio buttons instead of proceeding to the next tabulated object located on the next page. When I first tab through the radio buttons, the default value I land on is the "Y" value, and when I am unexpectedly redirected there again, the default value I land on is the "N" value of the first radio button. If I tab through everything to the bottom of the page, I am once again redirected back up to the radio buttons. If I mouse click on the next field on page 2 and tab through, everything works fine including being able to move onto page 3 in the expected order. So what gives? Why would I keep getting redirected back up to the radio buttons at the end of tabulating through page 1? I have the radio button groups in the correct tab order, but I'm not sure how to fix this issue with the radio buttons. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have tried looking online in multiple places for a solution, but haven't quite found one to this or anyone else who might have this same problem. If any further clarification is needed, please let me know. Thanks!

Make sure the thenames for all items including Checkboxes and radio buttons are unique on each page if go to adjust ment for tab order you can drag them to the correct order.
even though you may have placed them at a specific spot if you added then at a later place in the design (say as an after thought, hey I need to add this), their tab order is based on when they are added not the position the actual element is placed.
In other words if the check boxes /radio buttons are the fourth item down position wise in document by they were the twentith item added they will skipped over thad the other 19 in turn will be tabbed to the when 20th tab is hit they will bounce back up to the check boxes/ Radio buttons.
Be sure they are titled button1 button1a, button 2 button 2a and so on or lese the will be marked all at the same time and may bounce back to the first position they were in.

How to stop the "Tab Key" from acting as a "SEND" button in gmail

Since installing the Firefox update today, when I hit the keyboard Tab Key in the course of composing an email on gmail, it sends the (!unfinished!) message. I need to disable this "feature". How?

In the compose window if you hit tab you are tabbing through the buttons on the compose window. You have to hit space in order to sent the message. Please check to see if there is a feature in your gmail that is added to the default. Or see if there is an add on that has saved this feature. You can try safe mode to eliminate the add on theory [[Troubleshoot Firefox issues using Safe Mode]] and reset Firefox if it is a saved application preference.

On my MacBook Pro, sometimes when I click to close tabs in Safari the button will not work. I have to click on some other part of the screen and then it will. This happens in other programs like Word/Excel for changing font, etc. Solution/Suggestions?

On my MacBook Pro, sometimes when I click to close tabs in Safari the button will not work. I have to click on some other part of the screen and then it will. This happens in other programs like Word/Excel for changing font, etc. Solution/Suggestions?

Start up in Safe Mode.
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH4373

I hit some key or tab by accident and now my bookmarks are no longer in a list but viewable across a set of pages that I can scan left to right. I would like to go back to the other display which is much easier for me. Thanks for the help.

I hit some key or tab by accident and now my bookmarks are no longer in a list but in a page format that can be scanned left to right. I'd like to return to the listing format. How do I do this? Thanks!

I'm having the same problem. Did you find a solution?

Tab key doesn't navigate to a CheckBox in Firefox

Hello,
when I press the tab key to move to the next field, the cursor doesn't move to a checkbox. It jumps to the next "non-check-box" field. Any ideas why this happens in FireFox ? IE seems to be ok.
Thanks,
Andreas

SAP Note: 1001411 may be helpful to you which says
Firefox 2 is supported only as of SAP_BASIS 700 Support Package 12
Abhi

Why can't I type in text fields without first hitting the Tab Key?

I have Version 32.0.1700.77 running on a Mac. This problem started with Firefox a little while back and no amount of updates or uninstalling/reinstalling has fixed it. And therefore I have switched to Chrome.
When using Firefox, any text field, including the address bar, will not allow me to type into it. I will get a BONK sound. Once I hit the Tab Key, I can begin typing. But if I stop typing and click any other area, then come back to the text field, I must again hit the Tab Key. Or if I want to edit the text field, I can highlight a word, but for it to delete, I have to hit the tab Key then hit Delete.
Why is it doing this?

hello, please try to [[Reset Firefox – easily fix most problems|reset firefox]] and see if this can address the issue...

Graphical errors. The Address dropdown box is blacked out, and goes normal when highlighted, tabs are blacked out, buttons are half missing etc etc. This ONLY happens in firefox, reinstalled and turn all add-ons off and it persists.

Graphical errors. The Address dropdown box is blacked out, and goes normal when highlighted, tabs are blacked out, buttons are half missing etc etc. This ONLY happens in firefox, reinstalled and turn all add-ons off and it persists.

'''''thedanbot''''':
I am not sure that your image matches '''''Apoth's''''' description as I interpret it.
Have you tried Firefox Safe Mode to see if an Add-on is causing your problem?
#Use Firefox Safe Mode to find a problem with an Extension or Plugin:
#*Don't check anything when entering Safe Mode, just continue
#*If the problem does not occur in Safe Mode it is probably and Extension or Plugin causing the problem
#*See:
#**[[Safe Mode]] and [http://kb.mozillazine.org/Safe_Mode Safe Mode (Mozillazine)]
#**[http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Troubleshooting+extensions+and+themes Troubleshooting extensions and themes]
#**[http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Troubleshooting+plugins Troubleshooting plugins]
#**[http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Basic+Troubleshooting Basic Troubleshooting]

No question. I just wanted to thank whomever told me to hit the TAB key for resolving my issue. I guess I must have inadvertently hit TAB without realizing it. Thank you very much!

No question. I just wanted to thank whomever told me to hit the TAB key for resolving my issue. I guess I must have inadvertently hit TAB without realizing it. Thank you very much!

I'm not sure if I did anything to cause this; if I did, I don't know how to undo it. The format of my library screen has changed. Across the whole screen is a group of 3 photos from my last import, with the one I have chosen highlighted. I can still se

Everytime i hit certain keys the newtab occurs and no matter what every key i hit makes a new tab

my keyboard is going haywire. I hit a key and then the bracket key minus key and y automatically enter and open a new tab; there is a new toolbar at the bottom of the page i have never seen that has a bracket that i have never used new tab virus like actions
== This happened ==
Every time Firefox opened
== i was typing and hit to go online and tabs opened incessantly

If you close Firefox, then start Firefox in Safe Mode, does the problem still occur? For instructions on starting in Safe Mode, see [[Safe Mode]].

Highlight appears over rewind button when using Tab key

I am using Captivate 4 and publishing with Actionscript 3. When the user enters text, they can use the tab key as a shortcut key to move to the next field. However, when they use the tab key, a highlight appears over the rewind key in the control bar. I have tried the no_yellow_tab widget and that did not work with captivate 4/actionscript 3. I also tried adding so.addParam("seamlesstabbing", "false"); to the html and this did nothing as well. Any ideas?
Thank you,
Claudia

Hi there
You might try inserting a Click Box object at the top of your timeline. Configure it to do nothing if clicked and so there is no visible indication.
I've seen it before where focus shifts instead to the hidden object and prevents it from reaching the playback controls. My thought is that after Tab is pressed, focus will then be placed on the hidden Click Box which, of course, the user will not see and will do nothing if they click.
Cheers... Rick
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Since installing LTR 5.4, which I've now upgraded to 5.6, I've encountered repeated slowness and malfunctions in operations, especially when using the Compare View function and the Tab key to open and close the right and left side panels. Such problems n

Since installing LTR 5.4, which I've now upgraded to 5.6, I've encountered repeated slowness and malfunctions in operations, especially when using the Compare View function and the Tab key to open and close the right and left side panels. Such problems never arose during two years of using LTR-4 and nothing else has changed on my computer. I have a pretty simple system with only a few plug-ins, which are usually not in operation. I have 12GB of RAM in my Windows 7 PC. I could illustrate these problems with screen shots if you would tell me how to submit screen shots. Otherwise I will try to describe the problems in words.
The problem is clearly cumulative, growing worse as usage time passes. Compare View feature gradually slows down and eventually seems to choke as my work session proceeds. If I Exit LTR and re-enter and start all over, things will work normally for maybe 30 minutes, but then the Compare View feature begins to become very slow to respond. In a recent example with my screen full of thumbnails in Library mode I highlighted two images to compare. LTR started to open the Compare View screen by first having the top row of thumbnails disappear to be replaced by the "SELECT" and "CANDIDATE" words in their spaces (but no images), but Compare View never succeeded in gaining control of the screen. After some seconds the top row of thumbnails reasserted its position and the Compare View windows disappeared. But LTR kept trying to bring them back. Again the top row of thumbnails would go away, Select and candidate would reappear, try again, and give up. This went on for at least 2-3 minutes before I tried to choose File and Exit, but even that did not initially want to respond. It doesn't like to accept other commands when it's trying to open Compare View. Finally it allowed me to exit.
To experiment I created a new catalog of 1100 images. After 30-40 minutes, the Compare View function began to operate very slowly. With left and right side panels visible and two thumbnails highlighted, hitting Compare View can take half a minute before the two mid-size images open in their respective SELECT and CANDIDATE windows. When the side panels are open and two images are in the Select/Candidate spaces, hitting the Tab button to close the side panels produces a very delayed response--25-30 seconds to close them, a few more seconds to enlarge the two images to full size. To reverse the process (i.e., to recall the two side panels), hitting Tab would make the two sides of the screen go black for up to a minute, with no words visible. Eventually the info fields in the panels would open up.
I also created a new user account and imported a folder of 160 images. After half an hour Compare View began mis-placing data. (I have a screen shot to show this.) CANDIDATE appears on the left side of SELECT, whereas it should be on the right. The accompanying camera exposure data appears almost entirely to the left of the mid-screen dividing line. Although the Candidate and Select headings were transposed, the image exposure data was not, but the data for the image on the right was almost entirely to the left of the line dividing the screen in two.
Gurus in The Lightroom Forum have examined Task Manager data showing Processes running and Performance indicators and they see nothing wrong. I could also send screen shots of this data.
At this point, the only way I can process my images is to work 30-40 minutes and then shut down everything, exit, and re-start LTR. This is not normal. I hope you can find the cause, and then the solution. If you would like to see my screen shots, tell me how to submit them.
Ollie
[email protected]

Since installing LTR 5.4, which I've now upgraded to 5.6, I've encountered repeated slowness and malfunctions in operations, especially when using the Compare View function and the Tab key to open and close the right and left side panels. Such problems never arose during two years of using LTR-4 and nothing else has changed on my computer. I have a pretty simple system with only a few plug-ins, which are usually not in operation. I have 12GB of RAM in my Windows 7 PC. I could illustrate these problems with screen shots if you would tell me how to submit screen shots. Otherwise I will try to describe the problems in words.
The problem is clearly cumulative, growing worse as usage time passes. Compare View feature gradually slows down and eventually seems to choke as my work session proceeds. If I Exit LTR and re-enter and start all over, things will work normally for maybe 30 minutes, but then the Compare View feature begins to become very slow to respond. In a recent example with my screen full of thumbnails in Library mode I highlighted two images to compare. LTR started to open the Compare View screen by first having the top row of thumbnails disappear to be replaced by the "SELECT" and "CANDIDATE" words in their spaces (but no images), but Compare View never succeeded in gaining control of the screen. After some seconds the top row of thumbnails reasserted its position and the Compare View windows disappeared. But LTR kept trying to bring them back. Again the top row of thumbnails would go away, Select and candidate would reappear, try again, and give up. This went on for at least 2-3 minutes before I tried to choose File and Exit, but even that did not initially want to respond. It doesn't like to accept other commands when it's trying to open Compare View. Finally it allowed me to exit.
To experiment I created a new catalog of 1100 images. After 30-40 minutes, the Compare View function began to operate very slowly. With left and right side panels visible and two thumbnails highlighted, hitting Compare View can take half a minute before the two mid-size images open in their respective SELECT and CANDIDATE windows. When the side panels are open and two images are in the Select/Candidate spaces, hitting the Tab button to close the side panels produces a very delayed response--25-30 seconds to close them, a few more seconds to enlarge the two images to full size. To reverse the process (i.e., to recall the two side panels), hitting Tab would make the two sides of the screen go black for up to a minute, with no words visible. Eventually the info fields in the panels would open up.
I also created a new user account and imported a folder of 160 images. After half an hour Compare View began mis-placing data. (I have a screen shot to show this.) CANDIDATE appears on the left side of SELECT, whereas it should be on the right. The accompanying camera exposure data appears almost entirely to the left of the mid-screen dividing line. Although the Candidate and Select headings were transposed, the image exposure data was not, but the data for the image on the right was almost entirely to the left of the line dividing the screen in two.
Gurus in The Lightroom Forum have examined Task Manager data showing Processes running and Performance indicators and they see nothing wrong. I could also send screen shots of this data.
At this point, the only way I can process my images is to work 30-40 minutes and then shut down everything, exit, and re-start LTR. This is not normal. I hope you can find the cause, and then the solution. If you would like to see my screen shots, tell me how to submit them.
Ollie
[email protected]

Hitting tab key skips checkboxes, buttons, etc.

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