Setting or Modifying Tab Stops and Tab Order

Previous  Home topic  Next  Print this topic Send Feedback

You can specify if an object can be tabbed to and the order in which the focus will move from object to object when the Tab key is pressed.

 


Interactive Example IconInteractive Example

To see a demonstration of tab order management, see the Tab Order Management Example topic (available only in the online version of this help guide).


 

To set or modify tab stops and tab order:

 

Document Icon

1.With a form loaded in the Form Designer in Layout view, select the object for which you want to control tabbing. The object properties are displayed on the Properties bar.
2.In the Properties bar, expand the Navigation section.
3.To exempt the selected object from the tab order, turn off the Tab Stop check box.
4.To set or modify the tab order, enter a Number to represent the object order. As a general practice, tab order or movement should go from top left to bottom right.

Note: A Check box Group object or Radio Button Group object can be included in the tab order. When a form user tabs through to the group object, they will come to the first object in the group, then they will use the arrow keys to navigate through the other options.


5.On the menu bar, select Form > Preview to test the tab order.

 

 

Alternative Methods

 

Universal - Inline Toggle - DownManaging Tab Order from the Browser bar

 

Switch to the Browser bar by clicking on the Browser Browser Button button at the top of the Toolbox bar.

 

Expand the Page from the Objects list. The order in which your objects and groups appear is the tab order. Select an object and then use the up and down arrow keys in the blue bar at the top to adjust.

 

 

Universal - Inline Toggle - DownManaging Tab Order in the Properties bar

 

You may use the Tab Index property in the Navigation section of the Properties Bar. You don't need to worry about the Tab Index value starting at precisely 1. Tab Indexes will not necessarily be numbered 1, 2, 3 etc. This depends on how you have added and deleted objects. Any objects that are in the page itself (as opposed to being within a group) are tabbed to first. Group objects are considered objects in the tab order. Once you tab to a group, however, PerfectForms™ looks for the object with the lowest Tab Order number of those objects within that Group. Once you have tabbed past the last object within that group, the object with the next highest Tab Index after the group's will receive the focus.

 

 

Updated: 06/12/2011  Page url: http://www.perfectforms.com/Documentation/manual/html/?tab_order.htm
PerfectForms™ -- forms software, workflow software, and business process management