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adrianb73919358
adrianb73919358
Inspiring
February 20, 2016
Answered

Captivate 9 - Text Entry Box - Cannot navigate through text entry boxes on same slide using enter key (only tab works)

  • February 20, 2016
  • 1 reply
  • 2073 views

I designed a slide that has 3 Text Entry Boxes.

I need the user to be able to type in their answer to the first box and then hit the ENTER key, this will move them to the next Text Entry box. And then after typing in their answer to the second box, hit ENTER and have focus move to the third box.

I don't want to use Tab, I want enter to work as the shortcut key, so this will work well on all devices. It feels like a logical user journey.

I've removed the SUBMIT button and checked the Validate User Input box.

I set the shortcut key to ENTER in the Proprieties/ Actions box

However, after typing in an answer and hitting enter, the focus is not moved to the next available text entry box on that same slide.

This happens regardless of browser (tested Firefox, Chrome, Safari and IE9/10) and also regardless of OS - Windows 7, Mac OSX 10.9, 10.10 and latest version of iOS

Only the tab key works (Ive even tried it with other keyboard shortcuts and it still reverts to TAB).

I know this feature is possible in Captivate 9. I read and watched many online tutorials, it looks a very basic feature. I may be wrong.

Is this a big/known feature or am I doing something wrong.

If a bug, is there a plan to fix it soon?

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Lilybiri

Indeed, your problem is linked with absolutely wanting the Enter key as shortcut key, not with having multiple TEB's and one validation button. Have a look at this very old article (you are not the first to ask about this):

One Submit button for Multiple Text Entry Boxes? - Captivate blog

But here I explained to tell the user to click in a next TEB, not to use Enter.

1 reply

RodWard
Community Expert
RodWardCommunity Expert
Community Expert
February 21, 2016

Try putting the Text Entry Boxes on separate slides.  I think you will then find that moving to the next slide will automatically mean the focus is on the first TEB in that slide.  Your issue is trying to move focus when all of the Text Entry Boxes are on the SAME slide.  So use more slides.  The user will be none the wiser if you set them up properly.

adrianb73919358
adrianb73919358Author
Inspiring
February 21, 2016

‌you are indeed correct in your assumption of where the issue lies, but splitting simple sections into three slides provides a poor user experience. I see this working in tutorial and demo sites, so surely I'm doing something wrong.

In short, I need a number of text entry boxes on one slide with a single submit button.

imagine this as an exercise where the learner needs to show they can use information from one source (say, an email) to fill gaps in another (an event poster). There are three gaps (date, time, location) that the email contains. The poster is shown with the text boxes to fill. This is fairly common when creating Functional Skillls training that meet UK government standards - Learners have to prove they have the skill/ability to take information from one context/source and apply it to another.

RodWard
Community Expert
RodWardCommunity Expert
Community Expert
February 21, 2016

Were these tutorial and demo sites that you mention created with Captivate?  I've not seen this done with Captivate so I doubt it, but happy to be proven wrong if you can provide the link.

Text Entry Boxes in Captivate have the option of showing a Submit button that will trigger validation on the entered data.  But that button will ONLY validate a single TEB.  If you want to validate data entered in multiple TEBs at the same time, then you have to use a normal interactive button to execute a Conditional Advanced Action that evaluates the current values of all variables that contain the data from their associated TEBs.

So, you can certainly have multiple TEBs on a single slide, AND you can evaluate all TEBs with a single button click (as mentioned).  However, I think you are going to strike limitations when insisting that something has to happen in a certain way if the application has not been designed to work that way.  For example, moving the text entry focus from one object to the next is achieved (in Captivate output) using the TAB key, not the ENTER key. And it's not something you can control with Advanced Actions either.

I believe one reason why the TAB key is preferred here is that this is the key usually employed for moving around the screen for accessibility.  The user employs the TAB key to select objects and then hits the ENTER key to execute the action of a selected interactive button, (or validate the text entered into a selected TEB). 

If Captivate worked the way you want it to, there would likely be howls of protest from all the people trying to create accessible content (which there are howls of protest about anyway).  So, I don't really believe this is a "poor user experience".  It's just that the Captivate design team decided to implement the feature in a way that is different from what you might have chosen.

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