tab order of login form

[Erik DeBill]

I type my username. I hit tab to get to the password box. I type my password. I hit tab and it jumps up to the URL bar.

It would be darn spiffy if it jumped to the "remember me" checkbox instead. And after that going to the actual login button. As it is, those two inputs are entirely outside of the tab order, which makes me sad.

[Sean DeMerchant]

Hi Erik,

I just tested this on a few pages and the tab order was consistent in both IE and Firefox going from username, to password, to remember me, to the submit button. What browser were you using and what was the URL?

btw, how does one check a checkbox in a form when using the keyboard?

thanks,

Sean

[Erik DeBill]

Hi Erik,

I just tested this on a few pages and the tab order was consistent in both IE and Firefox going from username, to password, to remember me, to the submit button. What browser were you using and what was the URL?


Firefox 1.5.0.10 on Mac OS X 10.4.8. I always go to http://www.openphotographyforums.com/, then click on forums.


btw, how does one check a checkbox in a form when using the keyboard?


Spacebar does it.

Perhaps it's silly, but once I get my hands on the keyboard, I like to keep them there. At the end of this message I'll hit tab to go to the Submit Reply button and hit enter to submit it.

[Sean DeMerchant]

Firefox 1.5.0.10 on Mac OS X 10.4.8. I always go to http://www.openphotographyforums.com/, then click on forums.


Looking at both the site source and the delivered HTML with IE 7 on XP (I also tested with Firefox 2.0.0.2 and Opera 9.01) and the tab order is correct. The actual HTML for the tabindex values of the the login form in the navbar at the top explicitly sets the form to ask for Real Name, Password, Remember Me?, and then the Log In button (tab index values of 101, 102, 103, and 104) respectively.

Hence the behavior you describe seems odd. Have you tried it with Safari?


Spacebar does it.


Thanks.


Perhaps it's silly, but once I get my hands on the keyboard, I like to keep them there. At the end of this message I'll hit tab to go to the Submit Reply button and hit enter to submit it.

I get lazy/efficient that way too. Sometimes I hunt and peck right handed while still holding the stylus so I do not have to pick it up again even though I can touch type faster. Other times I never take my hands off the keyboard (especially for selecting text where the mouse cursor is so slow).

enjoy your day,

Sean