Focus Management

Jan 23, 2019
3 minutes to read

An end-user can move focus between layout items using the TAB key and shortcuts.

By default, the Layout Control’s Automatic Tab Order feature is enabled and the tab order defined by the TabIndex properties of the controls that constitute the layout is ignored. In this mode the layout control tracks the TAB key being pressed and moves focus according to its settings. When the Layout Control receives focus the top-, leftmost control is focused. When the TAB key is pressed focus is moved across and then down. So consistent focus movement is supported by default according to the visual order of the controls.

Shortcuts that can be added for layout items allow an end-user to quickly jump to a specific control. To specify a shortcut add the ampersand (‘&’) before a specific character in the layout item’s label (the BaseLayoutItem.Text property). An end-user can then press this character while holding the ALT key down to move focus to this layout item’s control.

Using Automatic Tab Order

The options that enable you to specify the sequence in which the controls are selected when an end-user presses the TAB key can be accessed via the layout control’s LayoutControl.OptionsFocus property. These options are described below in detail.