Changing the Tab Order

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The tab order is the order in which the TAB key moves the input focus from one control to the next within a dialog box. Usually the tab order proceeds from left to right in a dialog box, and from top to bottom. Each control has a property page with a Tabstop check box, used to determine whether a control actually receives input focus.

Even controls that do not have the Tabstop property set need to be part of the tab order. This can be important, for example, when you define mnemonics for controls that do not have captions. Static text that contains a mnemonic for a related control must immediately precede the related control in the tab order.

Note   If your dialog box contains overlapping controls, changing the tab order may change the way the controls are displayed. Controls that come first in the tab order are always displayed on top of any overlapping controls that follow them in the tab order.

Tip   Once you enter Tab Order mode, you can press ESC to disable the ability to change the tab order.

What do you want to do?

Change the tab order for all controls

Change the tab order for two or more controls

To change the tab order for all controls in a dialog box

  1. From the Layout menu, choose Tab Order.

    A number in the upper-left corner of each control shows its place in the current tab order.

  2. Set the tab order by clicking each control in the order you want the TAB key to follow.

  3. Press ENTER to exit Tab Order mode.

Changing the Tab Order for Two or More Controls

To change the tab order for two or more controls, specify the starting control; that is, select the control prior to the one where you want the changed order to begin. The selected control determines the number of the control you click next. For example, if you are in Tab Order mode, and control number 3 is selected, the next control you click is set to number 4.

To change the tab order for two or more controls

  1. From the Layout menu, choose Tab Order.

  2. Specify where the change in order will begin. To do this, hold down the CTRL key and click the control prior to the one where you want the changed order to begin.

    For example, if you want to change the order of controls 7 through 9, select control 6 first.

    Note   To set a specific control to number 1 (first in the tab order), double-click the control.

  3. Reset the tab order by clicking the controls in the order you want the TAB key to follow.

  4. Press ENTER to exit Tab Order mode.