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HTML accesskey global attribute

files/en-us/web/html/reference/global_attributes/accesskey/index.md

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The accesskey global attribute provides a hint for generating a keyboard shortcut for the current element. The attribute value must consist of a single printable character (which includes accented and other characters that can be generated by the keyboard).

{{InteractiveExample("HTML Demo: accesskey", "tabbed-shorter")}}

html
<p>If you need to relax, press the <b>S</b>tress reliever!</p>
<button accesskey="s">Stress reliever</button>
css
b {
  text-decoration: underline;
}

The way to activate the accesskey depends on the browser and its platform:

<table class="standard-table"> <tbody> <tr> <th></th> <th>Windows</th> <th>Linux</th> <th>Mac</th> </tr> <tr> <th>Firefox</th> <td colspan="2"><kbd>Alt</kbd> + <kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd><em>key</em></kbd></td> <td> <kbd>Control</kbd> + <kbd>Option</kbd> + <kbd><em>key</em></kbd> or <kbd>Control</kbd> + <kbd>Alt</kbd> + <kbd><em>key</em></kbd> </td> </tr> <tr> <th>MS Edge</th> <td rowspan="2"><kbd>Alt</kbd> + <kbd><em>key</em></kbd></td> <td rowspan="2"> <kbd>Control</kbd> + <kbd>Option</kbd> + <kbd><em>key</em></kbd> or <kbd>Control</kbd> + <kbd>Option</kbd> + <kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd><em>key</em></kbd> </td> <td rowspan="2"><kbd>Control</kbd> + <kbd>Option</kbd> + <kbd><em>key</em></kbd></td> </tr> <tr> <th>Google Chrome</th> </tr> <tr> <th>Safari</th> <td colspan="2">n/a</td> <td><kbd>Control</kbd> + <kbd>Option</kbd> + <kbd><em>key</em></kbd></td> </tr> <tr> <th>Opera</th> <td colspan="2"><kbd>Alt</kbd> + <kbd><em>key</em></kbd></td> <td><kbd>Control</kbd> + <kbd>Alt</kbd> + <kbd><em>key</em></kbd></td> </tr> </tbody> </table>

Accessibility concerns

There are numerous concerns with the accesskey attribute:

  • An accesskey value can conflict with a system or browser keyboard shortcut, or assistive technology functionality. What may work for one combination of operating system, assistive technology, and browser may not work with other combinations.
  • Certain accesskey values may not be present on certain keyboards, especially when internationalization is a concern. So adapting to specific languages could cause further problems.
  • accesskey values that rely on numbers may be confusing to individuals experiencing cognitive concerns, where the number doesn't have a logical association with the functionality it triggers.
  • Informing the user that accesskeys are present, so that they are aware of the functionality. If the system lacks a method of notifying the user about this feature, the user might accidentally activate accesskeys.

Because of these issues, it is generally advised not to use accesskeys for most general-purpose websites and web apps.

Specifications

{{Specifications}}

Browser compatibility

{{Compat}}

See also