The tabindex global attribute indicates if its element can be focused, and if/where it participates in sequential keyboard navigation (usually with the Tab key, hence the name).
The source for this interactive example is stored in a GitHub repository. If you'd like to contribute to the interactive examples project, please clone https://github.com/mdn/interactive-examples and send us a pull request.
It accepts an integer as a value, with different results depending on the integer's value:
-
A negative value (usually
tabindex="-1") means that the element should be focusable, but should not be reachable via sequential keyboard navigation. It's mostly useful to create accessible widgets with JavaScript.
This is useful when you have off-screen content which appears on a specific event. You won't be able to focus any element with a negative tabindex using your keyboard, but you can do so by calling the focus() method.
-
tabindex="0"means that the element should be focusable in sequential keyboard navigation, but its order is defined by the document's source order.
CSS Positioning won't affect your Tab Order; it would only change the Visual Order of your Elements. Tab Order corresponds to the DOM order!
Avoid using tabindex values greater than 0. Doing so will make it difficult for people who rely on assistive technology to navigate and operate page content.
-
A positive value means the element should be focusable in sequential keyboard navigation, with its order defined by the value of the number. That is,
tabindex="4"would be focused beforetabindex="5", but aftertabindex="3". If multiple elements share the same positivetabindexvalue, their order relative to each other follows their position in the document source.
It is not recommended to give positive values to your elements. You will end up jumping between them, and it will be confusing to manipulate between your element's tabindex attribute values. Instead, focus on writing them in a suitable DOM sequence.
If you set the tabindex attribute on an <div>, then its child content cannot be scrolled with the arrow keys unless you set tabindex on the content, too. Check out this fiddle to understand the scrolling effects of tabindex.
Note: The maximum value for tabindex is 32767. If not specified, it takes the default value 0.
Accessibility concerns
Avoid using the tabindex attribute in conjunction with non-interactive content to make something intended to be interactive focusable by keyboard input. An example of this would be using an <div> element to describe a button, instead of the <button> element.
Interactive components authored using non-interactive elements will not be listed in the accessibility tree. This will prevent assistive technology from being able to navigate to and manipulate it. The content should be semantically described using interactive elements (<a>, <button>, <details>, <input>, <select>, <textarea>, etc.) instead. These elements have built-in roles and states that communicate status to the accessibility that would otherwise have to be managed by ARIA.
Specifications
| Specification | Status | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| HTML Living Standard The definition of 'tabindex' in that specification. |
Living Standard | No change from latest snapshot, HTML 5.1. |
| HTML 5.1 The definition of 'tabindex' in that specification. |
Recommendation | Snapshot of HTML Living Standard, no change from HTML5. |
| HTML5 The definition of 'tabindex' in that specification. |
Recommendation | Snapshot of HTML Living Standard. From HTML 4.01 Specification, the attribute is now supported on all elements (global attributes). |
| HTML 4.01 Specification The definition of 'tabindex' in that specification. |
Recommendation | Only supported on <a>, <area>, <button>, <object>, <select>, and <textarea>. |
Browser compatibility
The compatibility table on this page is generated from structured data. If you'd like to contribute to the data, check out https://github.com/mdn/browser-compat-data and send us a pull request.
| Feature | Chrome | Edge | Firefox | Internet Explorer | Opera | Safari |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Feature | Android webview | Chrome for Android | Edge mobile | Firefox for Android | Opera Android | iOS Safari | Samsung Internet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
See also
- All global attributes
HTMLElement.tabIndexthat reflects this attribute- Accessibility problems with tabindex: see Don’t Use Tabindex Greater than 0 by Adrian Roselli