I have a form with some text_fields and text_areas. Pressing the tab-key in a text_field takes me to the next field. In a text_area, however, it adds a tab to the text. You have to control-tab to get to the next field.
The end-users will find this very confusing. I’d rather control-tab to insert a tab in a text-area…
Any way to get around this?
2.0RC13
Mac OS X 10.3.3
I agree with swingman, a more uniform handling of tab-key and enter-key on text area fields would be appreciated… From my point of view Ctrl-tab and ctrl-enter for inserting tab and return in text area can be a good solution, leaving tab and enter for navigating field and firing on-action methods also from text area fields.
Any way to get around this?
Leave this field, out of the tab-order!!
So customers don’t (accidently) tab in a text-area!
I don’t like to make a real-tab with CTRL-TAB. This would confuse a lot of other users!!
automazione:
a more uniform handling of tab-key and enter-key on text area fields would be appreciated…
I would also like to trigger the default button on a form-in-a-window using the enter-key…
Any way of doing this at present?
automazione:
I agree with swingman, a more uniform handling of tab-key and enter-key on text area fields would be appreciated…
I also agree. Users expect to be able to tab through all fields in logical order regardless of whether the fields are text_fields and text_area fields. However, until that is possible HJK’s approach is probably best.
swingman:
I would also like to trigger the default button on a form-in-a-window using the enter-key…
Any way of doing this at present?
See the “open_splash” form of the crm solution, with a on_show method for the onShow form property of:
elements.continueButton.requestFocus()
and closesplash method for the onAction property of the continueButton of:
application.closeFormDialog()
Thanks, Westy, for pointing this out. But, I tried opening the CRM, and to hit the enter-key to close the splash dialog, and nothing happened - maybe Apple’s Java is to blame?
Java 1.4.2 on Mac OS X 10.3.3
swingman:
- maybe Apple’s Java is to blame?
Yes, it’s part of the Apple LAF that doesn’t allow this.
Westy:
automazione:
I agree with swingman, a more uniform handling of tab-key and enter-key on text area fields would be appreciated…I also agree. Users expect to be able to tab through all fields in logical order regardless of whether the fields are text_fields and text_area fields. However, until that is possible HJK’s approach is probably best.
As do I. We need to have tab-keys behave the same way whether it is a text field or text_area. This is really going to confuse my users. Forcing users to use control-tab just for text_areas is not the right way to handle this.
-Peter
tabbing out of a text area won’t change.
This is just how it works everywhere. A text area is a full text editor (notepad) and in that people expect to insert an enter with the enter key and a tab with the tab key. That is how it just works.
maybe we can make it an option in the further. But it will never be default, because default we are following the platform component itself.
I agree with Johan, this is default behaviour!
As I say before:
Leave this field, out of the tab-order!!
So customers don’t (accidently) tab in a text-area!
I still think this is the best option!
Hello,
Would it be possible to write a plugin that overrides the default tab behavior for text areas? Marcel?
Is the following link of any help?
Google Groups Link
Hmm, you could do that but would end up with yet another issue.
You’d have to capture the tab event and transfer it to the next field defined on the form. However, as far as I know, there is nothing in the api to do that. As a result you would have to define a method that gets called whenever the the tab is pressed.
Hi Marcel,
Can you access the list of elements in a form’s tab sequence? Would that help? Would the Servoy developers have any insight?
I tried to tell that but I think I was a little too fast. I am able to retrieve the tab sequence of the selected field I guess. Not sure that it is easy to find the next field/element.
But before even considering this, how many people are interested. I have too many project to just begin with such a thing…
It is best to just wait for Servoy to add the property…
Hopefully, other developers can reply with their interest level. As for me, I’m only at the beginning of porting a somewhat complex FileMaker solution, so I would need this feature “eventually”, like in about 5-6 months. I’m guessing other developers would like to have this feature sooner, like now
See also:
http://forum.servoy.com/viewtopic.php?t=6504
Jim
p.s. just posted a support request; would encourage others to do so as well
Hi Jim,
Thanks for pointing out that thread, and also for creating a support ticket. I hope it gives Marcel and/or Servoy some more incentive to include this feature soon (of course, Marcel seems swamped with work, which is a good thing ). All I’m looking for is a flag to set at startup, something like changeTextAreaTabs(true).
there is api for that to just override it. But with that simple code you can never get a tab in the area.
And i can’t get the reverse tab to work currently (shift-tab) somehow that is getting screwed up.
Hi Johan,
Thanks so much for looking into this. I found some more Google links. Would any of these links be of more help? Some examples involved “key listeners”.
http://groups.google.com/groups/search? … b&start=0&