MAC
How to move between buttons with the Tab key on a Mac
Real screenshot · MacBook Neo, macOS 27.0.1In short
Open System Settings, click Keyboard in the sidebar and switch on Keyboard navigation. Then press Tab to move the focus forward between controls, and Shift Tab to move it backward.
Well, reaching for the trackpad every time a dialog pops up gets tiring when your hands are already on the keys. There is another way: keyboard navigation lets you press the Tab key to move the focus between controls on the screen, so that you can use windows and dialogs without the mouse or trackpad.
5 of 5 steps show a real screenshot from our MacBook Neo.
Steps
- 1
Open System Settings
Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner of the screen and choose System Settings.
- 2
Click Keyboard in the sidebar
Scroll down the sidebar if you need to. On our MacBook Neo, Keyboard sits between Wallet & Apple Pay and Trackpad.
- 3
Switch on Keyboard navigation
Click the switch next to Keyboard navigation so that it turns on.
On our MacBook Neo the note under it reads: "Use keyboard navigation to move focus between controls. Press the Tab key to move focus forward and Shift Tab to move focus backward."
- 4
Press Tab to move the focus
Press Tab to move to the next control and Shift Tab to go back. A ring shows which control has the focus.
On our MacBook Neo, the first Tab put the focus ring on the Back (<) button in the top-left of the window.
- 5
Switch it off again if you want
Click the Keyboard navigation switch again to turn it off. Tab then goes back to its usual behaviour.
If you do not see this option
- Keyboard is not in the sidebar Scroll down the sidebar. On our MacBook Neo it sits just above Trackpad.
- You cannot see Keyboard navigation It is in the first section of the Keyboard page, under Press 🌐 key to and above the Keyboard Shortcuts… button. Scroll to the top of the page.
If this does not work
- Tab does not seem to do anything Make sure the Keyboard navigation switch is on. Then look for a ring round a control; on our MacBook Neo the first press of Tab put it on the Back (<) button.
- You went past the control you wanted That happens to everyone. Press Shift Tab to move the focus backward, as the note under the switch says. It is that easy.
- Tab only jumps between text boxes? Apple lists Control-F7 (or Fn-Control-F7) as the shortcut that changes whether Tab moves focus between all controls or only text boxes and lists. Press it once and try Tab again. What it will do, it switches Tab between all controls and only text boxes and lists, so one press puts the buttons back in reach.
- Tab works in one app but not another? Keyboard navigation covers standard macOS controls. However, an app or web page that draws its own buttons may handle Tab differently, so the fault is with that app, not with your settings.
Good to know
The Keyboard Shortcuts… button on the same page lists the shortcuts of macOS: how to create your own keyboard shortcuts on a Mac.
Keyboard navigation lets you press keys to move the focus between controls on the screen. Under Keyboard Shortcuts in Keyboard settings you can browse keyboard shortcuts, turn them on or off or customise them.
macOS 27 compared with macOS 26: We rewrote this guide on macOS 27.0.1 (MacBook Neo): it now has 5 steps instead of 3. The macOS 26 page keeps the steps and screenshots as they were.
Version history: the macOS 26 version of this guide, with its own screenshots.
About this guide
- Device
- Mac
- Shown on
- macOS 27.0.1 (MacBook Neo)
- App
- System Settings
- Real screenshots
- 5 of 5 steps
- Checked
- October 2026
- Sources
- 1 official, linked below
Sources
Links checked October 2026. Menus and features can change with updates.Did this guide work for you?
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