For more information about displaying the input focus, see Chapter 13, "Visual Design."
Keyboard navigation requires a user to press specific keys and key combinations to move the input focus — the indication of where the input is being directed — to a particular location. The appearance of the input focus varies by context; in text, it appears as a text cursor or insertion point.
Note
For more information about displaying the input focus, see Chapter 13, "Visual Design."
The navigation keys are the four arrow keys and the HOME, END, PAGE UP, PAGE DOWN, and TAB keys. Pressed in combination with the CTRL key, a navigation key increases the movement increment. For example, where pressing RIGHT ARROW moves right one character in a text field, pressing CTRL+RIGHT ARROW moves right one word in the text field. Table 5.1 lists the common navigation keys and their functions. You can define additional keys for navigation.
Table 5.1 Basic Navigation Keys
|
Key |
Moves cursor to |
CTRL+key moves cursor to |
|
LEFT ARROW |
Left one unit. |
Left one (larger) unit. |
|
RIGHT ARROW |
Right one unit. |
Right one (larger) unit. |
|
UP ARROW |
Up one unit or line. |
Up one (larger) unit. |
|
DOWN ARROW |
Down one unit or line. |
Down one (larger) unit. |
|
HOME |
Beginning of line. |
Beginning of data or file (topmost position). |
|
END |
End of line. |
End of data or file (bottommost position). |
|
PAGE UP |
Up one screen (previous screen, same position). |
Left one screen (or previous unit, if left is not meaningful). |
|
PAGE DOWN |
Down one screen (next screen, same position). |
Right one screen (or next unit, if right is not meaningful). |
|
TAB |
Next field. (SHIFT+TAB moves in reverse order). |
Next larger field. |
Note
For more information about keyboard navigation in secondary windows, such as dialog boxes, see Chapter 8, "Secondary Windows."
Unlike mouse and pen navigation, keyboard navigation typically affects existing selections. Optionally, you can support the SCROLL LOCK key to enable scrolling navigation without affecting existing selections. If you do so, the keys scroll the appropriate increment.