Keyboard Navigation Tester

Keyboard navigation is the ability to use a website or application using only keyboard inputs (Tab, Enter, Space, Arrow keys, etc.) without requiring a mouse. It's essential for accessibility because many users with disabilities, power users, and those using assistive technologies rely on keyboard-only navigation to interact with web content.

The tool tracks and displays all keyboard events in real-time, including key presses, releases, and modifier keys (Ctrl, Shift, Alt, Meta). It also monitors focus changes as you navigate through elements, showing which element currently has focus and recording the complete navigation history. Additionally, it can detect and visualize the tab order of all focusable elements on the page.

The tool tracks keydown and keyup events for all keys, including alphanumeric keys, special characters, function keys, and navigation keys. It also captures modifier key combinations (Ctrl, Shift, Alt, Meta) and displays precise timestamps for each event. Focus and blur events are tracked separately to monitor element navigation.

Tab order is the sequence in which interactive elements receive focus when users press the Tab key. A logical tab order ensures users can navigate your website efficiently and understand the flow of content. Poor tab order can confuse users and make forms or interactive features difficult or impossible to use with keyboard-only navigation.

Start tracking and navigate through your webpage using only the keyboard. Verify that all interactive elements (buttons, links, form fields) are reachable via Tab key, that the tab order is logical, that focus indicators are visible, and that all functionality is accessible without a mouse. Check the focus events log to ensure nothing is skipped or inaccessible.

Review the focus events to ensure all interactive elements can receive focus, the focus order follows a logical reading sequence (top to bottom, left to right), no elements are unexpectedly skipped, focus doesn't get trapped in modal dialogs or widgets, and custom interactive elements (with tabindex) are properly included in the navigation flow.

The Test Area provides a set of common interactive elements (buttons, form fields, links, checkboxes, radio buttons, select menus) that you can use to practice keyboard navigation and see how the tool tracks events. It's useful for learning keyboard navigation patterns and understanding how different element types behave with keyboard input.

Yes! Once you start tracking, the tool monitors keyboard and focus events across the entire page, including your own website if you embed or test it alongside this tool. You can also use the "Detect Tab Order" feature to analyze the complete tab sequence of any page you're testing.

Modifier keys are Ctrl, Shift, Alt, and Meta (Command on Mac) that modify the behavior of other keys. The tool displays these in the keyboard events log whenever they're pressed in combination with other keys, showing combinations like "Ctrl + S" or "Shift + Tab". This helps you test keyboard shortcuts and complex keyboard interactions.

Tabindex is an HTML attribute that controls whether an element can be focused with the keyboard and its position in the tab order. The tool displays the tabindex value for each focused element. A value of 0 makes an element focusable in its natural order, -1 removes it from tab navigation, and positive numbers explicitly set the tab order (though this is generally discouraged).

Common problems include: interactive elements that don't appear in the focus events (unreachable by keyboard), illogical tab order that jumps around the page, focus indicators that are invisible or unclear, keyboard traps where users can't Tab out of a section, and missing keyboard shortcuts for important actions. The tool helps identify these by providing complete visibility into keyboard navigation behavior.

Test Tab (forward navigation), Shift+Tab (backward navigation), Enter (activate buttons/links), Space (activate buttons/checkboxes), Arrow keys (navigate within groups like radio buttons or menus), Escape (close dialogs/modals), and any custom keyboard shortcuts your application implements. All functionality should be accessible via keyboard.