General Info

When you have input objects, listbox objects, tree objects, radiobutton objects, checkbox objects, richtext objects, and combobox objects on the page or dialog, the user can use the Tab and Shift+Tab keys to switch from one object to another. This "sequence" of objects is known as the tab order. In AutoPlay Media Studio, the tab order is determined by where the objects are arranged in the z-order.

The easiest way to "see" the z-order is to look at the list of objects in the object browser (the "Objects" pane).

Note: If the object browser isn't visible, you can display it by choosing View > Panes > Object Browser from the menu.

The tab order basically follows the order that the input, listbox, combobox, checkbox, radiobutton, richtext and tree objects are listed in on the object browser. Note that any "other" types of objects are skipped completely, and the list "wraps around" when it reaches the end.

Alternate Tab Order

In AutoPlay Media Studio, there is a global variable called _AutoTabOrder that is set to true by default. When it's set to true, the tab order will work as described above.

If you don't want the tab order for these objects to automatically follow the z-order on the page or dialog, you can set _AutoTabOrder to false. When _AutoTabOrder is false, the application will not handle tabbing for you at all. Instead, you will have to implement the Tab and Shift+Tab behaviors yourself by using Page.GetFocus and Page.SetFocus actions and on your pages' On Key events, or DialogEx.GetFocus and DialogEx.SetFocus actions on your dialog's On Key events.

Note: When _AutoTabOrder is true, the page's, or dialog's On Key event is triggered after the default application tab order handling is done.