Setting up tabbing chains

Adobe GoLive lets you define a tabbing chain for any given set of form elements on the same page. The tabbing chain specifies the order in which form elements are selected when viewers press the Tab key repeatedly.

A tabbing chain is defined by assigning a tab index value to each element. Navigation proceeds from the element with the lowest index value to the element with the highest index value. Tab index values need not be contiguous or start at any particular value. If you assign the same tab index value to two elements, the sequence in the HTML stream determines the tabbing order. Labels, text fields, password fields, text areas, Submit buttons, Reset buttons, check boxes, radio buttons, pop-up menus, and list boxes support tab indexing.

To assign a tab index value to form elements automatically:

1 In Layout view, choose Special > Start Tabulator Indexing. Alternatively, select the first element, and click the Start/Stop indexing button () in the Inspector.

Small yellow index boxes appear on top of or inside indexable elements throughout your form, and a pound sign is appended to the pointer ().

2 Click each element successively in the required tabbing order. A number appears in each index box and in the Tab text box of the respective Inspector. This is the tab index.

3 When you have specified the tabbing chain, choose Special > Stop Tabulator Indexing, or click the Start/Stop indexing button () in the Inspector.

4 Test the result in a browser that supports tabbing navigation, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 on a Windows platform.

To assign a tab index value to form elements manually:

Select the form elements one at a time in the desired tabbing order, and enter a number in the Tab text box of the Inspector.

To change an existing tabbing chain:

1 Select the element where you want to start renumbering.

2 Choose Special > Start Tabulator Indexing, or click the Start/Stop Indexing button () in the Inspector.

3 Click each element successively in the new required tabbing order.

4 Choose Special > Stop Tabulator Indexing, or click the Start/Stop Indexing button () in the Inspector.

5 Test the result in a browser that supports tabbing navigation, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 on a Windows platform.

Creating Forms > Providing form navigation > Setting up tabbing chains