Keyboard Navigation on VEX Websites

This article details keyboard navigation for people who cannot use a mouse or other pointing device, or who want to use a keyboard as much as possible.


Basic Navigation

Keyboard navigation relies on six main buttons that allow you to move around webpages:

Action Shortcut
Move to next interactive element Tab
Move to previous interactive element Shift + Tab
Activate elements (links, buttons, etc) Return/Enter
Activate buttons (pause/play videos, submit forms, etc) Spacebar
Close opened content (modals, navigation menus, etc) or cancel current action Esc
Navigate within widgets (tablists, checkboxes within a disclosure button, etc) and around page Arrows

Advanced Navigation

Page Operations

Action Windows Shortcut Mac Shortcut
Print options Ctrl + p ⌘ + p
Save page Ctrl + s ⌘ + s
Page Setup N/A ⌘ + Option + p
Reload page F5 or Ctrl + r ⌘ + r
Reload (ignore cache) Shift + F5 or Ctrl + Shift + r ⌘ + Shift + r
Stop loading Esc Esc
Open file Ctrl + o + Select a file ⌘ + o + Select a file

Navigation & Browsing

Action Windows Shortcut Mac Shortcut
Browse items forward Tab Tab
Browse items backward Shift + Tab Shift + Tab
Scroll down Space or PgDn Space
Scroll up Shift + Space or PgUp Shift + Space
Open home page Alt + Home ⌘ + Shift + h

Window Management

Action Windows Shortcut Mac Shortcut
New window Ctrl + n ⌘ + n
Private browsing Ctrl + Shift + n ⌘ + Shift + n
New tab Ctrl + t ⌘ + t
Close tab Ctrl + w ⌘ + w
Close window Ctrl + Shift + w ⌘ + Shift + w
Minimize window Alt + Space + n ⌘ + m
Hide browser N/A ⌘ + h
Quit browser Alt + F4 ⌘ + q

Bookmarks

Action Windows Shortcut Mac Shortcut
Save as bookmark Ctrl + d ⌘ + d
Save all tabs as bookmarks Ctrl + Shift + d ⌘ + Shift + d

Text & Zoom

Action Windows Shortcut Mac Shortcut
Zoom in Ctrl + + ⌘ and +
Zoom out Ctrl + - ⌘ and -
Reset zoom Ctrl + 0 ⌘ + 0
Move to previous word Ctrl + Left arrow Option + Left arrow
Move to next word Ctrl + Right arrow Option + Right arrow
Delete previous word Ctrl + Backspace Option + Delete

For more information, help, and tips, check out the many resources at VEX Professional Development Plus

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