Keyboard Support in Blazor Grid

• May 08, 2024
• 5 minutes to read

The DevExpress Blazor Grid allows users to access every UI element with a keyboard. Keyboard navigation is implemented on the client and works seamlessly even in Blazor Server apps with a slow connection. Built-in keyboard shortcuts allow users to perform various operations with grid elements.

Run Demo: Grid - Overview

Navigation in the Grid Component

The image below shows navigation areas available in the Grid component:

To navigate between these areas, users can press Ctrl+Up/Ctrl+Down keys (Alt+Tab/Alt+Shift+Tab keys on Mac). Press arrow keys or Tab/Shift+Tab shortcuts to navigate between elements within an area.

Some areas or their elements contain nested focusable objects. For instance, a pager contains buttons. Press Enter to switch to navigation between nested objects and Esc to return to the previous navigation level. Use Tab and Shift+Tab shortcuts to move focus between nested objects. When leaving the last object, navigation returns to the previous level.

Navigation in Popups

The Grid component ships with the following pop-up elements:

• Column Chooser
• Column Filter Menu
• Delete Confirmation Dialog
• Popup Edit Form

Once a user opens a popup, the Grid focuses the first nested object in this popup. Use Tab and Shift+Tab shortcuts to navigate between nested objects. Note that navigation in pop-up elements moves in cycles: users can navigate from the last to the first nested object, and vice versa. The Esc key closes the popup and returns focus to the data area.

Keyboard Shortcuts

The table below lists common keyboard shortcuts:

Shortcut Keys	Description
Arrow keys	Move focus between elements within the column chooser or toolbar, group panel, header, body, and footer navigation areas.
Ctrl + Arrow Down Alt + Tab (Mac)	Moves focus to the next navigation area.
Ctrl + Arrow Up Alt + Shift + Tab (Mac)	Moves focus to the previous navigation area.
Tab Shift + Tab	Moves focus between grid cells. When leaving the last/first cell in the current area, the navigation moves to the next/previous area. Within an element or pager area, moves focus between nested focusable objects (such as editors, buttons). When leaving the last object, the navigation returns to the previous level. Within a popup, moves focus between nested focusable objects (such as editors, buttons). When leaving the last object, the navigation returns to the first nested object.
Enter	If the focused element contains focusable objects (for instance, a template that contains a detail grid), switches to navigation between nested objects.
Escape	Within an element, exits nested object navigation. Within a popup, closes the popup and returns focus to the data area.
Ctrl + F	Focuses the search box (provided that the element is visible).

The following sections describe keyboard shortcuts available when a certain Grid element is focused.

Group Panel

Shortcut Keys	Description
Space	Changes sort order for the focused column.
Alt + Arrow Down Option + Arrow Down (Mac)	Opens the column filter menu (provided that the filter menu button is visible). The filter menu displays unique column values that match the current filter criteria.
Shift + Alt + Arrow Down Shift + Option + Arrow Down (Mac)	Opens the column filter menu (provided that the filter menu button is visible). The filter menu displays all unique column values.

Header Row

Shortcut Keys	Description
Space	Clears sort order applied to other columns, and initiates sort operations or changes sort order for the focused column.
Shift + Space	Maintains sort order applied to other columns, and initiates sort operations or changes sort order for the focused column.
Ctrl + Space Option + Space (Mac)	Clears sort order for the focused column.
Alt + Arrow Down Option + Arrow Down (Mac)	Opens the column filter menu (provided that the filter menu button is visible). The filter menu displays unique column values that match the current filter criteria.
Shift + Alt + Arrow Down Shift + Option + Arrow Down (Mac)	Opens the column filter menu (provided that the filter menu button is visible). The filter menu displays all unique column values.

Data Row

Shortcut Keys	Description
Home Fn + Left Arrow (Mac)	Focuses the first cell of the current row.
End Fn + Right Arrow (Mac)	Focuses the last cell of the current row.
Ctrl + Home Ctrl + Fn + Left Arrow (Mac)	Focuses the first data cell on the current page.
Ctrl + End Ctrl + Fn + Right Arrow (Mac)	Focuses the last data cell on the current page.
Page Up Fn + Arrow Up (Mac)	Moves focus one page up. If the first data row on the current page is already focused, focuses the last data row on the previous page.
Page Down Fn + Arrow Down (Mac)	Moves focus one page down. If the last row on the current page is already focused, focuses the first row on the next page.

Group Row

Shortcut Keys	Description
Left Arrow Right Arrow	Collapses/expands the focused group row.

Selection Column

Shortcut Keys	Description
Enter	Selects/deselects the checkbox.

Command Column

Shortcut Keys	Description
Enter	If the focused cell contains a single button, presses the button.

Pager

The following shortcuts are available when the focus is on the pager area but not within it:

Shortcut Keys	Description
Left Arrow Right Arrow	Navigates to the previous/next page.
Home Fn + Left Arrow (Mac)	Navigates to the first page.
End Fn + Right Arrow (Mac)	Navigates to the last page.

Column Chooser

Shortcut Keys	Description
Enter Space	Selects/deselects the checkbox in the focused column.

Limitations

In the Safari browser on macOS, make sure that keyboard support is enabled; otherwise some functionality may not be available. Go to Apple menu → Settings → Keyboard → Shortcuts and select “Use keyboard navigation to move focus between controls”.