tabindex (attribute)

The maximum value for tabIndex should not exceed 32767 per W3C section 17.11.1
If not specified default value is -1

The tabindex global attribute is an integer indicating if the element can take input focus (is focusable), if it should participate to sequential keyboard navigation, and if so, at what position. It can take several values:

• a negative value means that the element should be focusable, but should not be reachable via sequential keyboard navigation;
• 0 means that the element should be focusable and reachable via sequential keyboard navigation, but its relative order is defined by the platform convention;
• a positive value means should be focusable and reachable via sequential keyboard navigation; its relative order is defined by the value of the attribute: the sequential follow the increasing number of the tabindex. If several elements share the same tabindex, their relative order follows their relative position in the document.

An element with a 0 value, an invalid value, or no tabindex value should be placed after elements with a positive tabindex in the sequential keyboard navigation order.

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
WHATWG HTML Living Standard The definition of 'tabindex' in that specification.	Living Standard	No change from latest snapshot, HTML5.1
HTML5.1 The definition of 'tabindex' in that specification.	Recommendation	Snapshot of WHATWG HTML Living Standard, no change from HTML5
HTML5 The definition of 'tabindex' in that specification.	Recommendation	Snapshot of WHATWG HTML Living Standard. From HTML 4.01 Specification, the attribute is now supported on all elements (global attributes).
HTML 4.01 Specification The definition of 'tabindex' in that specification.	Recommendation	Only supported on <a>, <area>, <button>, <object>, <select>, and <textarea>.

Browser compatibility

See also

• All global attributes.
• HTMLElement.tabIndex that reflects this attribute.
• Accessibility problems with tabindex: see Don’t Use Tabindex Greater than 0 | Adrian Roselli.