Navigating with the Keyboard

Working in a browser-based environment can often be mouse intensive. However, PeopleSoft applications offer keyboard navigation alternatives to using a mouse. To view a printable list of all keyboard shortcuts while using a PeopleSoft application, press Alt + K (Ctrl + K on a Mac).The key sequences displayed are appropriate for the browser that you are currently signed on with. If you sign on with a different browser (for example, Safari instead of Firefox), then different key sequences may apply.

Note: Certain PeopleSoft hot keys do not work as expected on alternate, non-U.S. keyboard layouts. For example, Alt + ', Alt + \, and Alt + / do not produce the expected results on the AZERTY keyboard. This occurs because some keys on non-U.S. keyboards produce different key codes than the same key on a U.S. keyboard (also known as a QWERTY keyboard).

See PeopleSoft Hot Keys Do Not Function As Expected on a non-U.S. Keyboard for a solution to this problem.

The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts available in a PeopleSoft system. The key sequences can differ depending on the desktop operating system and sometimes the browser. Some shortcuts are designated as valid in a classic context only while others are designated as valid in a fluid context only. In addition, when a second or third shortcut is listed, it is alternative to the primary shortcut, which may not work in all circumstances.

Shortcut (Windows)	Shortcut (macOS)	Result	Classic	Fluid
Alt + 1 Alt + Shift + 1 (fluid, Firefox only)	Ctrl + Shift + 1 (classic) Ctrl + Alt + 1 (fluid)	For classic components, executes a specific button depending on the page type: When the toolbar is present at the bottom of a standard page, invokes the Save button. On a secondary page, invokes the OK button. On a component search page, invokes the Search or Add button. On a prompt page, invokes the Search (or Lookup) button. For fluid components, executes a specific button depending on the page type: On a standard page, invokes the Save button if the button was generated by PeopleTools. In a modal window, invokes the Done button in the header of the modal window. On a component search page, invokes the Search button. On a prompt page, invokes the Search button.	Y	Y
Alt + 2	Ctrl + Shift + 2	Returns to the search page from a transaction page.	Y	N
Alt + 3	Ctrl + Shift + 3	Views the next row in the list when the Next in List button is active.	Y	N
Alt + 4	Ctrl + Shift + 4	Views the previous row in the list when the Previous in List button is active.	Y	N
Alt + 5	Ctrl + Shift + 5	Executes an action depending on the context: Opens the lookup page from a prompt field. Opens the calendar prompt from a date field.	Y	Y
Alt + 6	Ctrl + Shift + 6	Opens a pop-up window to show other links or activates the link when there is only one link.	Y	N
Alt + 7	Ctrl + Shift + 7	Inserts a row in a grid or scroll area.	Y	Y
Alt + 8	Ctrl + Shift + 8	Deletes the current row in a grid or scroll area.	Y	Y
Alt + 9	Ctrl + Shift + 9	Takes you to the first link in the pagebar at the top of the page	Y	N
Alt + 0	Ctrl + Shift + 0	Refreshes the page by invoking the Refresh button on the toolbar.	Y	N
Alt + .	Ctrl + Shift + 0	Displays the next set of rows in a grid or scroll area.	Y	N
Alt + ,	Ctrl + Shift + ,	Displays the previous set of rows in a grid or scroll area.	Y	N
Alt + /	Ctrl + Shift + /	Finds data in a grid or scroll area when the cursor is within the grid or scroll area page control.	Y	Y
Alt + ‘	Ctrl + Shift + ‘	Views all rows of data in a grid, scroll area, or search page results list.	Y	N
Alt + \	Ctrl + Shift + \	Depending on the context, performs a different action: On a standard page, takes you to the first button in the toolbar at the bottom of the page. On a component search page, toggles between the Find an Existing Value and the Add a New Value tabs.	Y	N
Alt + ;	Ctrl + Shift + ;	Displays the related action's page field context menu.	Y	Y
Alt + J Ctrl + J Ctrl + Shift + J	Ctrl + Shift+ J Ctrl + J	Displays the system information page if it is configured by an administrator to be displayed. See Using the System Information Page.	Y	Y
Alt + K Ctrl + Alt + K	Ctrl + K	Displays the keyboard shortcuts information page.	Y	Y
Ctrl + M	Ctrl + M	Activates drag mode for the selected object.	N	Y
Ctrl + Alt + M	Ctrl + Alt + M	Places (drops) an object that was moved in drag mode.	N	Y
Ctrl + Alt + P	Ctrl + Alt + P	When screen reader mode is not enabled, opens a mouse over pop-up page for a field (if configured for that field). Hit the Esc key to close this page. When screen reader mode is enabled, you can continue to use the information (i) icon to open the pop-up page.	Y	N
Ctrl + Alt + S	Ctrl + Alt + S	Displays the Skip to Main Content link and sets focus on the link. See Using the Skip to Main Content Link for more information.	Y	Y
Enter	Enter	In certain circumstances, the Enter key has been given these additional behaviors: When a modal window is displayed, invokes the OK (or Done) button. When a component search page is displayed, invokes the Search or Add button. When a prompt page is displayed, invokes the Lookup (or Search) button.	Y	Y
Esc	Esc	Activates the Cancel button if it is displayed.	Y	Y

The Skip to Main Content link allows keyboard-only users to bypass all the header links and get to the main content on the page.

When you tab from the browser header area into a PeopleSoft page (non-modal pages only), the Skip to Main Content link is displayed automatically. Also, when you are on any control within any PeopleSoft page, you can use Ctrl + Alt + S to display the Skip to Main Content link. Then, press Enter to dismiss the link and place focus on the first actionable field within the main content of the PeopleSoft page.

Note: For fluid pages, focus is first placed on the main fluid page container, which is itself not actionable. Then, press Tab once to place focus on the first actionable field within the main content of the page.

Pressing tab on the skip to main content link, closes the pop-up menu and places you on the first button on the banner.

The NavBar (navigation bar) is a control that provides quick access to tiles, folders, and pages in your PeopleSoft system. The NavBar contains tiles on the left that, when clicked, display a list of associated items on the right. The list items can be folders, links, or other objects. Users can use the list of items to access a page.

You can use the following keyboard shortcuts within the NavBar:

Key or Key Combination	Result
Tab	Moves focus forward through the three sections of the NavBar: the NavBar header, the tile list on the left, and the content area on the right. Note: When the NavBar is first opened, the content area on the right is not displayed.
Shift + Tab	Moves focus backward through the three sections of the NavBar: the NavBar header, the tile list on the left, and the content area on the right. Note: When the NavBar is first opened, the content area on the right is not displayed.
Down Arrow	When focus is on either the tile list or the content area, moves focus to the next item.
Up Arrow	When focus is on either the tile list or the content area, moves focus to the previous item.
Enter	When focus is on a tile, toggles the content area open or closed. When the content area is opened to display new content, focus is moved to the first item in the list. When focus is on an item in the content area, opens the content associated with that item—for example, a menu folder or a menu item. When the menu is displayed in alphabetical order and when focus is on an alphabetical section divider such as the letter B, selects the alphabetical section divider. Note: When an alphabetical section divider is selected in this manner, it remains selected throughout the time the menu remains open in the content area of the NavBar. Then, when you tab out and tab back into the content area again, this section divider is selected rather than the first one in the list. If you close the menu or select a different NavBar tile, this selection is discarded.
Right Arrow	When focus is on a menu folder, opens the menu folder. Only when the menu is displayed in alphabetical order and focus is on an alphabetical section divider, moves focus to the first item in that section.
Left Arrow	When focus is on a menu item or menu folder, moves focus backward to the parent menu folder. Only when the menu is displayed in alphabetical order and focus is on an item beneath an alphabetical section divider, moves focus back to the alphabetical section divider.

You can use keyboard shortcuts to navigate items of a fluid pop-up menu.

This table lists the key or key combinations that you use to navigate fluid pop-up menus:

Key or Key Combination	Result
Enter	When focus is on the menu button, opens the menu and moves focus to the first menu item in the list. When focus is on a menu item, performs the action of that item (for example, accessing a new component) and closes the menu.
Down Arrow	When focus is on a menu item, moves focus to the next item, optionally wrapping from the last to the first.
Up Arrow	When focus is on a menu item, moves focus to the previous item, optionally wrapping from the first to the last.
Esc	Closes the pop-up menu and returns focus to the item or context from which the menu was opened—for example, the menu button or parent menu item.
Tab	Closes the pop-up menu and moves focus to the next item in the tab sequence.
Shift + Tab	Closes the pop-up menu and moves focus to the previous item in the tab sequence.

You can use keyboard shortcuts to navigate items within a collection of fluid sectional tabs.

This table lists the key or key combinations that you use to navigate fluid sectional tabs and the results of using those keys:

Key or Key Combination	Result
Tab	When focus moves to the tab set, places focus on the first tab. When focus is on the tab set, moves focus out of the tab set and onto the next focusable item on the page.
Shift + Tab	When focus moves to the tab set, places focus on the first tab. When focus is on the tab set, moves focus out of the tab set and onto the previous focusable item on the page.
Right Arrow Down Arrow	Moves focus to the next tab. If focus is on the last tab, moves focus to the first tab.
Left Arrow Up Arrow	Moves focus to the previous tab. If focus is on the first tab, moves focus to the last tab.
Enter Space	Activates the tab.

This table lists the key or key combinations that you use to navigate through calendar controls and the results of using those keys:

Note: Screen reader users, use the table command to change the date.

Key or Key Combination	Result
Tab	Moves focus to the next object within the calendar control. When you initially open a calendar control, the focus is on the current date link.
Enter	Selects the current item. In the Date table, pressing Enter on a date selects that date and closes the calendar control. On the Current Date link, pressing Enter selects the current date and closes the calendar control.
Esc	Closes the calendar without any action.
Down Arrow	Moves to the same day of the week in the next week.
Up Arrow	Moves to the same day of the week in the previous week.
Right Arrow	Moves to the next day.
Left Arrow	Moves to the previous day.

This table lists the key or key combinations that you use to navigate through charts and the results of using those keys:

Note: These keyboard shortcuts apply to charts beginning with PeopleTools release 8.55. Charts from previous releases, and some specific charts do not support these keyboard shortcuts.

Key or Key Combination	Result
Tab	Moves focus to next component.
Shift + Tab	Moves focus to the previous component.
Up Arrow	Moves focus and selection to previous data item.
Down Arrow	Moves focus and selection to next data item.
Left Arrow	Moves focus and selection to previous data item (on left).
Right Arrow	Moves focus and selection to next data item (on right).
Shift + Up Arrow	Moves focus and multi-selects previous data item.
Shift + Down Arrow	Moves focus and multi-selects next data item.
Shift + Left Arrow	Moves focus and multi-selects previous data item (on left).
Shift + Right Arrow	Moves focus and multi-selects next data item (on right).
Ctrl + Up Arrow	Moves focus to previous data item, without changing the current selection.
Ctrl + Down Arrow	Moves focus to next data item, without changing the current selection.
Ctrl + Left Arrow	Moves focus to previous data item (on left), without changing the current selection.
Ctrl + Right Arrow	Moves focus to next data item (on right), without changing the current selection.
Ctrl + Spacebar	Multi-selects data item with focus.
= or +	Zooms in one level if zooming is enabled.
- or _	Zooms out one level if zooming is enabled.
Page Up	Pans up if scrolling is enabled.
Page Down	Pans down if scrolling is enabled.
Shift + Page Up	Pans left in left-to-right locales. Pans right in right-to-left locales.
Shift + Page Down	Pans right in left-to-right locales. Pans left in right-to-left locales.

Important! Drop-down menus and other forms of classic navigation are no longer supported. The information in this topic pertains to a prior version of PeopleSoft classic applications only. The default navigational interface for PeopleSoft applications in the current release is based on the fluid banner, which can be used for both classic and fluid applications. For information on using the keyboard to navigate within the fluid user interface, see Using the Keyboard with the NavBar.

This table lists the key or key combinations that you use to navigate the drop-down menu structure and the results of using those keys:

Key or Key Combination	Result
Ctrl + Y	Expands the Main Menu.
Alt + Z	If the search field is configured to appear in the Main Menu, expands the Main Menu and moves the cursor to a search field.
Tab	If the search field is configured to appear in the Main Menu, press Tab to move past the search field and sort icons to access the menu items.
Up Arrow	Varies based on context: In an expanded menu, moves one item upward through a list of folders and content references. When moving through the navigation path, collapses a drop-down menu item.
Down Arrow	Varies based on context: In an expanded menu, moves one item downward through a list of folders and content references. When moving through the navigation path, expands a drop-down menu item.
Right Arrow Note: This functionality applies only to languages read from left to right.	Varies based on context: In an expanded menu, opens a folder to the right so that subfolders or content references appear. When moving through the navigation path, accesses the next menu item to the right.
Right Arrow Note: This functionality applies only to languages read from right to left.	Varies based on context: In an expanded menu, closes the current folder and sets the focus on its parent folder. When moving through the navigation path, accesses the next menu item to the right.
Left Arrow Note: This functionality applies only to languages read from left to right.	Varies based on context: In an expanded menu, closes the current folder and sets the focus on its parent folder. When moving through the navigation path, accesses the next menu item to the left.
Left Arrow Note: This functionality applies only to languages read from right to left.	Varies based on context: In an expanded menu, opens a folder to the right so that subfolders or content references appear. When moving through the navigation path, accesses the next menu item to the left.
Esc	Closes all open menu items. Collapses all expanded menus.

This table lists the key or key combinations that you use to navigate to and from the rich text editor toolbar and the results of using those keys:

Keyboard Shortcuts in Rich Text Editor v5

Key or Key Combination	Result
Alt + F10 On a Mac, you may require the Fn key.	Moves the focus to the toolbar.
Enter Space	Selects a toolbar option when the focus is on the toolbar.
Esc	Closes contextual balloons and UI components, for example, drop-down list box.
Arrow keys	Moves through toolbar items and options.

If you frequently use the tab key to navigate, you can opt to skip page elements that you know you will not need to access. For example, you can set your navigation personalizations to always tab over the calendar prompt if you always type the date into a date field and then press Tab to move quickly to the next field rather than opening the calendar prompt, selecting the date, and then closing the prompt. To do this:

Select My Preferences from Actions.
The My Preferences page appears.
The appearance of this page may differ depending on the application that you are using. If multiple preference categories appear in the left panel, select General Settings.
Expand the Navigation Personalizations section.
Configure the navigation options—specifically, tab navigation options—as you prefer.
Save your changes; your selections will be active the next time you log on to the system.

Navigating with the Keyboard

Using Keyboard Shortcuts

Using the Skip to Main Content Link

Using the Keyboard with the NavBar

Navigating Fluid Pop-up Menus Using Keyboard Shortcuts

Navigating Fluid Sectional Tabs Using Keyboard Shortcuts

Navigating Calendar Controls Using Keyboard Shortcuts

Navigating Charts Using Keyboard Shortcuts

Navigating Drop-Down Menus Using Keyboard Shortcuts

Navigating in the Rich Text Editor Using Shortcuts

Keyboard Shortcuts in Rich Text Editor v5

Setting Navigation Personalizations