Tab Indexing
Use tab indexing to define a sequence to follow when you use the Tab key to navigate a form. By default, the logical tabbing order is from left to right, top to bottom within the views and forms. You may need to manually set the tab index on a control or view if, for example, you have a form with different states and each state's layout is slightly different. However, in most cases when you design your view or form with a logical flow, you can let the browser handle the tabbing order.
Tab Index property
Tab indexing is available in the following sections:
- Controls on a view
- Controls on a form
- Views on a form
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Tab Index | Use the tab index property of views and controls to define the sequence people using the form can navigate it by the Tab key. The value of the tab index can consist of any valid integer greater than or equal to zero, with lower numbers being earlier in the tab order. When all the controls on the view or form have the default tab index, the browser tabbing order applies. Controls or views that do not have a tab index set (None) are skipped. Tab indexes can range from 1 to 126. |
Applying tab indexing at runtime
The following images show how tab indexing applies when you have a form with a view and controls. The first image shows a form with two controls and a view with three controls. For this scenario all Tab Index properties remain (Default). The image below shows the setting of the Submit button.
The illustration below shows how the default tabbing order of left to right, top to bottom, occurs on the form. 
For the second scenario, the Tab Index property of the Quantity control on the view is changed to 1 and the Tab Index property of the Calculate control on the form is also changed to 1.
The illustration below shows how the tab configuration of scenario two occurs on the form.
The Tab Index settings of the view gets priority over the Tab Index settings of the controls on the form, and the setting of 1 gets priority over the default setting.
Considerations
- You can use a rule to set tab indexes at runtime. See the How To: Use the Set a Control's Properties Action topic for more information.
- When two views on a form have different tab indexes, you cannot tab to a different view until you have tabbed through all the controls in that view.
- When you have multiple List views on a form, try to have different tab indexes for each one.
- List views are always last in the tab order on a view, with the header getting focus before the table.
- When you tab through the editable columns in an Editable List view, you cannot tab out to the rest of the form before closing the edit row.
- If two controls have the same tab index of 1, the top left control receives focus first.
- On a form, if a view and a control on the form have the same tab index, the focus occurs first on the controls within the view first, and then moves to the controls on the form.