Arrow key navigation

Repeating dynamic layouts support tab and arrow key navigation, with the arrow key navigation set as the default pattern.

With arrow key navigation, users can switch between items in a Repeating dynamic layout by using the keyboard arrow keys. When an item on the list receives keyboard focus, the layout provides navigation instructions to the screen reader. The user can then press the enter key to navigate to one or more actionable elements in the item. This navigation pattern follows the WCAG grid cell navigation standard, and is typically used when displaying long lists of items because it eliminates repeated tabbing.

Tab navigation

With tab key navigation, users can switch focus between interactive elements in each item of the Repeating dynamic layout by pressing the tab key. This navigation pattern is useful if your layout displays a small number of interactive fields for each list item, and the number of list items is also relatively small. For example, tab navigation might be useful for a list of five attachments with two interactive options each (such as open attachment and delete attachment). Additionally, using tab navigation in forms is intuitive to most users.

Selecting the navigation pattern for your application

You can switch between navigation patterns by selecting or clearing the Use form navigation (by tab) checkbox in the Repeating dynamic layout configuration. For more information, see Creating a repeating dynamic layout.

For more information about accessibility in layouts, see Assigning WAI-ARIA roles to a Dynamic Layout and Supported keyboard navigation.