Tab to move keyboard focus
Okay, I've been looking around for quite some time and cannot find a solution for my annoying problem: I cannot keep the 'Tab to move keyboard focus between: All controls' to stick. I am able to change the keyboard setting so that the Tab key changes keyboard focus through settings -> keyboard -> keyboard shortcuts -> full keyboard access and the simple control+F7 until I log out, reboot or power cycle.
I have reset all of my keyboard settings to default and I have gone so far as to create a new user with admin priviledges but the problem persists. Any ideas?
I appreciate any input you may have!
More info in case anyone is reading (I feel as though this is a one person conversation).
I backed my MBP up and reinstalled Lion and still have the problem after a restore. I did the reboot -> command-R trick and reset priviledges but to no avail and I am beginning to think this is a bug.
The last thing I will add is under Keyboard -> Keyboard Shortcuts, Full Keyboard Access is granted to All controls and does not reset when I reboot and am unable to change keyboard focus with tab.
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JComboBox popup list remains open after losing keyboard focus
Hi,
I have noticed a strange JComboBox behavior. When you click on the drop down arrow to show the popup list, and then press the Tab key, the keyboard focus moves to the next focusable component, but the popup list remains visible.
I have included a program that demonstrates the behavior. Run the program, click the drop down arrow, then press the Tab key. The cursor will move into the JTextField but the combo box's popup list is still visible.
Does anyone know how I can change this???
Thanks for any help or ideas.
--Yeath
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.util.*;
public class Test extends JFrame
public Test()
super( "Test Application" );
this.getContentPane().setLayout( new BorderLayout() );
Box box = Box.createHorizontalBox();
this.getContentPane().add( box, BorderLayout.CENTER );
Vector<String> vector = new Vector<String>();
vector.add( "Item" );
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}ran your code on 1.5.0_3, observed problem as stated.
even though the cursor is merrily blinking in the textfield, you have to click into
the textfield to dispose the dropdown
ran your code on 1.4.2_08, no problems at all - tabbing into textfield immediately
disposed the dropdown
another example of 'usual' behaviour (involving focus) breaking between 1.4 and 1.5
the problem is that any workaround now, may itself be broken in future versions -
508 accessibility and keyboard focus
I'm using Captivate 4 and can't seem to get the keyboard accessibility to work properly. I want to be able to control the tab order and keyboard focus on each slide. For example, if the user keeps pressing tab they will eventually move from the .swf file and begin reading the address and menu bar in the browser window. Does anyone know how to ensure that the keyboard focus is provided only to active elements?
Hi,
I noticed your post while searching for the same answer with respect to Captivate 5. So far, it is the closest I've seen to the problem I'm trying to resolve. I see that you had no luck here, but was wondering if you found a solution elsewhere. All help would be appreciated. -
On a page like http://www.ori.uzh.ch/links.html, clicking a link opens a new tab, and after closing that tab, you can move to the next link with the tabulator key. On that site, it still works with Firefox 5. I also worked on our project site (password secured, sorry) with Firefox up to 3.6.18. But now, if I open a link with the mouse, close that tab again and press the tab key, the focus just goes to the first clickable button, as if I had not clicked any button previously. If I open a link by tab key and "enter", the keyboard focus is preserved on that button. But there are many many buttons on our pages, and they reload frequently.
BTW I adjusted the system preferences, so that the keyboard focus moves between all controls. (see http://www.tipstrs.com/tip/1505/Tab-key-to-select-form-elements-in-Firefox-on-the-Mac). But I don't think the problem is related to that.I found out that our buttons are no links, but input tags, type="submit". I'll discuss the problem with our programmer.
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Bug Report: The keyboard focus doesn't automatical...
Bug Report: When a conversation window opens, the focus doesn't automatically land in the chat entry text field.
Since the new interface for Skype was introduced officially in Skype 7.0, there is a bug with the system/keyboard focus for a new conversation window. When Skype is in "Split Window View" and each new conversation automatically pops up in a separate window, the system/keyboard focus doesn't land in the chat entry edit field. Instead, the user has to press Shift+TAB a couple of times, to move it there and reply to the chat message received. This especially problematic for screen reader users, who rely on keyboard navigation. This mainly occurs when a new conversation is started with an incoming message, but it sometimes occurs when moving the focus out of that conversation window and later back in it again (while it is still opened).
Steps to reproduce it:
1. From "View" menu, activate the "Split Window View", if it is not already enabled.
2. From Tools -> Options -> IM & SMS -> IM settings, enable "Open a new window when I receive a new message in Split Window View", if it is not already enabled.
3. From Tools -> Options -> Advanced, activate "Enable accessible mode", if it is not already enabled.
4. Activate the "Save" button, to save the changes.
5. Close all windows, related to Skype. You may keep only the main window opened.
6. Tell someone to send you a chat message. When the message arrives, Move the system focus to the conversation window in question, preferably with Alt+TAB. The system/keyboard will not land in the chat entry edit field as it did in Skype 6.21 and earlier and as it should by default, but in some unknown place in the window.
7. Move the system/keyboard focus in the chat entry edit field and keep it there.
8. Switch to another window, preferably from another application.
9. With Alt+TAB, switch back to the window of the opened Skype conversation. There is a chance that the system/keyboard focus will not land in the chat entry edit field as it did in Skype 6.21 and earlier and as it should do by default, but again in some unknown place in the conversation window. But that is harder to reproduce.
Test environment:
- Operating system: Windows 8.1 Pro N, 64-bit, in Bulgarian with all locale settings set to "Bulgarian".
- Skype version: 7.0.0.102 for Desktop.This is a known problem, but Skype have not given us an estimated time for a fix.
Traditionally, Skype updates have been roughly monthly, so we are due a new version sometime soon. Many of us here are hoping that is has a bunch of fixes for the UI, the focus problem being one of them.
Sean Ellis - uses Skype chat for serious work
Click here to read my blog post on Skype 7 and basic principles of GUI design -
How can I use the enter key instead of tab to change field focus?
I am using Acrobat 9 Pro.
We have a fillable PDF where the users enter numbers into fields. They want to be able to use the <enter> key on the 10-key pad instead of the <tab> key on the keyboard to move the focus to the next data entry field.
How can I set my PDF so that it recognizes the <enter> key instead of the <tab> key for changing focus?
Thanks!You can use a custom Keystroke script, something like:
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if (event.willCommit && event.commitKey === 2) {
getField("Text2").setFocus();
Where "Text2" is the name of the next field. This doesn't disable the Tab key though. For more information, see: http://livedocs.adobe.com/acrobat_sdk/9.1/Acrobat9_1_HTMLHelp/JS_API_AcroJS.88.608.html -
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What is the proper hotkey in Safari to move the keyboard focus from the search bar to the webpage?
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Hypothetical question: is it possible to programmatically obtain the current keyboard focus point (NOT mouse pointer focus point) & application containing it then invoke that application's context menu at that location?
I thought I saw something in the accessibility kit that provides the location of the current keyboard focus. If so, how?
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Ok, i have a JTextField which is initially disabled. A JPanel draws some stuff and receives keyboard input. When i enable the textfield, type some stuff, then press Esc (which disables it), i cant get the keyboard focus back on the JPanel. Here is an example:
(you can move the red circle before you enable the textfield, after you disable it, you cant move it anymore).
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.border.*;
import javax.swing.event.*;
import java.util.Vector;
public class example extends JPanel implements ActionListener,Runnable {
JFrame frame;
JMenuBar menubar;
JMenu m_file;
JMenuItem mi_open,mi_close;
JPanel canvas,northpanel;
JTextField textfield;
Image canvasimg;
Thread thread=new Thread(this);
private Image dbImage; // for flickering
private Graphics dbg; // for flickering
int x1=400,y1=200;
public example() {
frame = new JFrame("Example"); // window
frame.setLayout(null);
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(1000,700));
frame.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
northpanel=new JPanel();
northpanel.setLayout(null);
northpanel.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(1000,20)); northpanel.setLocation(0,0);
menubar=new JMenuBar();
m_file=new JMenu("File");
mi_open=new JMenuItem("Open");
mi_close=new JMenuItem("Close");
m_file.add(mi_open);
m_file.add(mi_close);
m_file.getPopupMenu().setLightWeightPopupEnabled(false);
menubar.add(m_file);
northpanel.add(menubar);
menubar.setLocation(0,0); menubar.setSize(80,20);
textfield=new JTextField();
northpanel.add(textfield);
textfield.setSize(200,20); textfield.setLocation(500,0);
textfield.setEnabled(false);
frame.add(northpanel,BorderLayout.NORTH);
canvas=new JPanel();
canvas.setLayout(null);
canvas.setSize(1000,600);
canvas.setBackground(Color.white);
frame.add(canvas,BorderLayout.CENTER);
frame.pack();
frame.setVisible(true);
thread.start(); // start the thread
textfield.addMouseListener(new MouseAdapter(){
public void mousePressed(MouseEvent e){
textfield.setEnabled(true);
textfield.addKeyListener(new KeyAdapter() {
public void keyPressed(KeyEvent e){
int key=e.getKeyCode();
if(key==27){ // esc
textfield.setEnabled(false);
canvas.setEnabled(true); // not working
canvas.requestFocus();
canvas.requestFocusInWindow();
frame.addKeyListener(new KeyAdapter() {
public void keyPressed(KeyEvent e){
int key=e.getKeyCode();
if(key==37){ //left
x1-=5;
if(key==38){ //up
y1-=5;
if(key==39){ //right
x1+=5;
if(key==40){ //down
y1+=5;
// Create the GUI and show it.
private static void createAndShowGUI() {
JFrame.setDefaultLookAndFeelDecorated(true);
example ex = new example();
public void run(){
while(true){
try{
if(canvasimg==null)repaint();
Graphics g=canvas.getGraphics();
update(g);
thread.sleep(30); // 1 sec
} catch(InterruptedException ex){}
// ActionPerformed handles button and menu events
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e){
public static void main(String[] args) {
//Schedule a job for the event-dispatching thread:
//creating and showing this application's GUI.
javax.swing.SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
createAndShowGUI();
public void update (Graphics g){ // get rid of flicker
if (dbImage == null){
dbImage = canvas.createImage (canvas.getSize().width, canvas.getSize().height);
dbg = dbImage.getGraphics ();
dbg.setColor (canvas.getBackground ());
dbg.fillRect (0, 0, this.getSize().width, this.getSize().height);
dbg.setColor (canvas.getForeground());
paint (dbg);
g.drawImage (dbImage, 0, 0, this);
public void paint(Graphics g){
g.drawImage(canvasimg,0,0,this);
g.setColor(Color.red);
g.fillOval(x1,y1,10,10);
public void repaint(){
if(canvas!=null && canvasimg==null)canvasimg=canvas.createImage(1000,670);
if(canvasimg==null)return;
Graphics g=canvasimg.getGraphics();
if(g==null)return;
g.setColor(Color.white);
g.fillRect(0,0,1000,600);
}OK great guru since you're so damn confident that you're doing everything right, find out for yourself why this works and yours doesn't.
I could list a few dozen things wrong with your code, but I'd be wasting my keystrokes.import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.event.KeyAdapter;
import java.awt.event.KeyEvent;
import java.awt.event.MouseAdapter;
import java.awt.event.MouseEvent;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JMenu;
import javax.swing.JMenuBar;
import javax.swing.JMenuItem;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JTextField;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
public class TextFieldDisableNoProblem extends JPanel {
JPanel northPanel;
JMenuBar menubar;
JMenu m_file;
JMenuItem mi_open,mi_close;
JTextField textField;
int x1 = 400;
int y1 = 200;
public TextFieldDisableNoProblem () {
setBackground (Color.WHITE);
addKeyListener (new KeyAdapter () {
public void keyPressed (KeyEvent e){
int key = e.getKeyCode ();
switch (key) {
case KeyEvent.VK_LEFT:
x1 -= 5;
break;
case KeyEvent.VK_UP:
y1 -= 5;
break;
case KeyEvent.VK_RIGHT:
x1 += 5;
break;
case KeyEvent.VK_DOWN:
y1 += 5;
break;
repaint ();
void makeUI () {
JFrame frame = new JFrame ("");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation (JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setSize (600, 500);
frame.setLocationRelativeTo (null);
menubar=new JMenuBar ();
m_file=new JMenu ("File");
mi_open=new JMenuItem ("Open");
mi_close=new JMenuItem ("Close");
m_file.add (mi_open);
m_file.add (mi_close);
menubar.add (m_file);
frame.setJMenuBar (menubar);
textField=new JTextField ();
textField.setEnabled (false);
textField.setBounds (200, 0, 200, 20);
textField.addMouseListener (new MouseAdapter (){
public void mousePressed (MouseEvent e){
textField.setEnabled (true);
textField.addKeyListener (new KeyAdapter () {
public void keyPressed (KeyEvent e){
int key = e.getKeyCode ();
if(key == KeyEvent.VK_ESCAPE){
textField.setEnabled (false);
requestFocus ();
northPanel=new JPanel ();
northPanel.setLayout (null);
northPanel.setPreferredSize (new Dimension (600,20));
northPanel.add (textField);
frame.add (northPanel,BorderLayout.NORTH);
frame.add (this, BorderLayout.CENTER);
frame.setVisible (true);
requestFocus ();
public void paintComponent (Graphics g) {
super.paintComponent (g);
g.setColor (Color.RED);
g.fillOval (x1, y1, 10, 10);
public static void main (String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater (new Runnable () {
public void run () {
JFrame.setDefaultLookAndFeelDecorated (true);
new TextFieldDisableNoProblem ().makeUI ();
}db -
How to detect loss of keyboard focus?
I’ve got a numeric input field that must be padded with
leading zeros to exactly 8 digits. The handler to pad the input is
trivial and calling the handler on various mouse events is equally
simple, however, I would also like to call the handler when the
input field looses keyboard focus by tabbing. Apparently, keyDown
events are not passed for the tab key when auto tabbing is engaged.
Anyone know if there is an event triggered by loss of focus?There is no onBlur event in Lingo (though something like it
would be a
useful addition). You'll need to poll for keyboard focus. -
Dir11 is loosing keyboard focus!
I have a kiosk application running WITHOUT a mouse. All
inputs is from the keyboard. The app is autostarting when Windows
starts.
After playing a Flash animation and a mpeg2 video (Mpeg adv
xtra) the application looses keyboard focus, wich result in Windows
warning sound when you press a key and the key is not sent to the
application.
The problem is solved if you click with a mouse, but there is
no mouse as I mentioned. The problem is NOT solved by <alt>
<tab>-switching forth and back.
I know this is an old MX2004 bug, and the work around then
was to set the document type to "tool". But this is not helping in
Dir11.
Anyone hwo has a work around?
Where to report bugs now a days? Does Adobe care at all?
(It's not easy to even find the Director support pages!)Hi,
maybe you can use one of the Xtras than can simulate a
mouseclick?
Richard
"stageit ab" <[email protected]> wrote in
message
news:ganvvs$2as$[email protected]..
>I have a kiosk application running WITHOUT a mouse. All
inputs is
>from the
> keyboard. The app is autostarting when Windows starts.
> After playing a Flash animation and a mpeg2 video (Mpeg
adv xtra)
> the
> application looses keyboard focus, wich result in
Windows warning
> sound when
> you press a key and the key is not sent to the
application.
> The problem is solved if you click with a mouse, but
there is no
> mouse as I
> mentioned. The problem is NOT solved by <alt>
<tab>-switching forth
> and back.
>
> I know this is an old MX2004 bug, and the work around
then was to
> set the
> document type to "tool". But this is not helping in
Dir11.
>
> Anyone hwo has a work around?
> Where to report bugs now a days? Does Adobe care at all?
(It's not
> easy to
> even find the Director support pages!)
>
>
> -
Why does the keyboard focus keep switching to the menu bar?
Does anyone else have the problem of Photoshop CS6 constantly setting the keyboard focus to the menu bar? This makes it difficult to use shortcuts.
Typical examples: I want to switch to the Move tool, so I press V, but instead, the View menu drops down. Or I press T for the Type tool, but instead, the Filter menu drops down. This happens often and it's very annoying.
This also happens in Premiere Pro CS6, and happens on both my Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 machines. Doesn't happen in other applications, and is not related to actually using a menu, i.e. if I choose something from a menu, then press V, Photoshop will often work correctly and activate the Move tool. This behavior seems to happen randomly.Alt doesn't really "unhide" the menu bar (speaking of Photoshop), but it's always been the introducer of keyboard operations for "keyboard accessbility" - i.e., operation of Windows applications without mouse.
Alt causes little underlines to show up under the key characters of menu items, and prepares the system for the next character being typed to open a menu - so for example you press something like 'e' and the Edit menu pulls down. Now you use an arrow key to move to the next item, or maybe a single character that's associated with one of the menu entries.
Photoshop's goals for using modifier keys kind of conflict with this. They've apparently tried to reach a balance where using the Alt key to modify some operation cancels the introduction of the next menu item.
But I don't think it's possible to be perfect at that, especially for example if the user presses Alt, decides not to do the operation he was thinking about doing (e.g., zooming out), then just releases the key. Another factor might be the habits people get into for choosing tools.
As a contrast, one person might not press the Alt key until they're sure they're going to do something with it (e.g., zoom out), and that same person might only choose tools from the Tools panel by clicking on them. Another person might press the Alt key sometimes, but then stop before doing the operation it modifies. That same person might be in the habit of choosing tools by their letter (e.g., E for eraser). It's clear to see how the first person might never get into a condition where the menu introducer key (Alt) leaves them in a state where a menu opens inadvertently, while the latter might see it regularly.
As far as why Photoshop might get into a mode where the menu introduction occurs when you HAVEN'T pressed the Alt key, I don't know; I certainly haven't seen that reported much if at all here on the forum.
-Noel -
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I use Firefox in fullscreen mode and switch tabs with Ctrl + PgUp/PgDn. I need to peek at the tab bar when I switch tabs, to avoid searching for the desired tab with multiple shortcut presses.
Is there a way to temporarily show the tab bar when I switch tabs with the keyboard shortcut? I want the tab bar to hide again after, say, 2 seconds of no tab switching.You can try to set the focus to the location bar with Ctrl+L before switching the tabs to make the toolbar and tab bar appear.
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When using Google Chrome or Firefox this does not happen.
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Loss of keyboard focus in Java appl running under linux
I have a small sample program that replicates my problem. When this program is run a window is created. If you select File->New another instance of the program window is created. Now if you try to go back and bring to front the first window, keyboard focus is not
transferred when run under linux. You can only type in the second window. The expected behavior does happen in Windows.
> uname -a
Linux watson 2.6.20-1.2933.fc6 #1 SMP Mon Mar 19 11:38:26 EDT 2007 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux
java -versionjava version "1.5.0_11"
Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment, Standard Edition (build 1.5.0_11-b03)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 1.5.0_11-b03, mixed mode, sharing)
javac -versionjavac 1.5.0_11
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
class SwingWindow extends JFrame {
SwingWindow() {
super("SwingWindow");
JMenuBar menuBar = new JMenuBar();
JMenu fileMenu = new JMenu("File");
JMenuItem newItem = new JMenuItem("New");
newItem.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent event) {
SwingWindow.createAndShowGUI();
fileMenu.add(newItem);
menuBar.add(fileMenu);
setJMenuBar(menuBar);
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.DISPOSE_ON_CLOSE);
JTextField text = new JTextField(200);
getContentPane().add(text);
pack();
setSize(700, 275);
public static void createAndShowGUI() {
JFrame frame = new SwingWindow();
frame.setVisible(true);
public static void main(String[] args) {
javax.swing.SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
createAndShowGUI();
}You can implement the FocusListener interface. When
the first JFrame gains focus, call
text.requestFocusInWindow(). I hope this helps.The call requestFocusInWindow is not helping, perhaps even making it worse.
The problem seems to be that I am in the situation where the call
KeyboardFocusManager.getCurrentKeyboardFocusManager().getPermanentFocusOwner()
is returning the expected Component. The problem is that the KeyListener class that is registered with the Component is not being called when a key is being pressed.
The issue is that I have a component that has the keyboard focus, but the KeyListener class
is not responding.
This seems to be a linux only problem which makes it only mysterious.
Maybe you are looking for
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