Using tab on Mac to change focus in web browsers and pop-up windows

Since switching from PC to Mac three years ago, probably the single most annoying user-interface feature on Mac has been the loss of flexibility in using Tab and Shift+Tab to move focus: to buttons and menus in web browsers, and between buttons in pop-up dialogue windows.

Thanks to Tony Spencer, I am now able to do this!  It’s a simple setting: in System Preferences, select Keyboard & Mouse > Keyboard Shortcuts.  At the bottom of the window there will be a button for changing Full Keyboard Access from Text boxes and lists only to All controls.  Selecting the latter will give you full flexibility of changing focus with Tab and Shift+Tab.

One other crucial tidbit: on pop-up windows, when you have moved focus to a non-default button, in order to select that button you need to press Space rather than Return/Enter.

Amazing that it took me three years to figure this out…!

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