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Tab key cannot be used on website without a button or input, links can never be accessed by tabs

  • 3 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 14 views
  • Last reply by cor-el

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Until recently, I could use the tab key to navigate on websites. Suddenly, the tab key stopped working partially:

  • When a website has an input field or a button, using the tab key reaches these fields and afterwards cycles through the UI of Firefox. Links on the website are not accessed by the tab key.
  • When a website has no inputs or buttons and only links, the tab key never enters the websites.

I’m using the Firefox Developer Edition 69.0b14 (64-bit) on macOS 10.14.6. Is there something wrong with my installation? Is there something accidentally turned off I need to turn on again?

Until recently, I could use the tab key to navigate on websites. Suddenly, the tab key stopped working partially: * When a website has an input field or a button, using the tab key reaches these fields and afterwards cycles through the UI of Firefox. Links on the website are not accessed by the tab key. * When a website has no inputs or buttons and only links, the tab key never enters the websites. I’m using the Firefox Developer Edition 69.0b14 (64-bit) on macOS 10.14.6. Is there something wrong with my installation? Is there something accidentally turned off I need to turn on again?

All Replies (3)

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Many site issues can be caused by corrupt cookies or cache.

Warning ! ! This will log you out of sites you're logged in to. You may also lose any settings for that website.

If there is still a problem, Start Firefox in Safe Mode {web link} by holding down the <Shift> (Mac=Options) key, and then starting Firefox.

A small dialog should appear. Click Start In Safe Mode (not Refresh). Did this help?

While you are in safe mode;

Try disabling graphics hardware acceleration in Firefox. Since this feature was added to Firefox it has gradually improved but there are still a few glitches.

How to disable Hardware Acceleration {web link}

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Make sure you are not blocking content.

Start Firefox in Safe Mode {web link}

A small dialog should appear. Click Start In Safe Mode (not Refresh). Is the problem still there?


One issue that seems more common lately is Firefox's Content Blocking. When it is blocking content in a page, a shield icon will appear at the left end of the address bar next to the padlock icon. This article has more info on managing this feature:

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/content-blocking

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That is probably how the Tab key works on Mac.

See: Full Keyboard Access https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204434