Is there a way to simulate a virtual keyboard event (specifically the tab key) using Javascript in Internet Explorer 8

Question

Is there a way to simulate a virtual keyboard event (specifically the tab key) using Javascript in Internet Explorer 8

I'm looking to create a virtual keyboard event for tab using JavaScript. I've researched this topic and found some helpful answers, but I haven't been able to get it working properly. I know that JavaScript is an event-driven language and typically requires user input for key events, but I'm curious if it's possible to simulate a keyboard event through JavaScript.

function generateTabKeyEvent() {
    var e = new KeyboardEvent("keydown", { keyCode: 9 });
    document.getElementById("someTxtBox").dispatchEvent(e);
}
<input type="text" id="someTxtBox"/>

This function doesn't seem to work in IE8, and there are no visible errors. My goal is to trigger a keyboard event (tab) on the textbox whenever this function is called.

Source1, Source2. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

javascript internet-explorer-8 dom-events keyboard-events

Answer 1

Answer №1

It seems like you were a bit too quick to judge, because the code actually works fine on my computer:

<html>
<body>
<input type="text" id="someTxtBox" onkeyup="window.alert(event.keyCode)"/>
<script type='text/javascript'>
function fnGenerateTabKeyEvent() {
    var e = document.createEventObject("KeyboardEvent");
    e.keyCode = 9; // tab's ASCII
    document.getElementById("someTxtBox").fireEvent("onkeyup", e);
}

fnGenerateTabKeyEvent();
</script>
</body>
</html>

There are definitely some minor "issues" (such as accessing elements via getElementsByName and possibly calling the script before the <input>), but let's just chalk that up to copying and pasting errors ;)) On my version of Internet Explorer, running in document mode 8, the alert successfully displays the number 9.

Answer 2

It seems like you were a bit too quick to judge, because the code actually works fine on my computer:

<html>
<body>
<input type="text" id="someTxtBox" onkeyup="window.alert(event.keyCode)"/>
<script type='text/javascript'>
function fnGenerateTabKeyEvent() {
    var e = document.createEventObject("KeyboardEvent");
    e.keyCode = 9; // tab's ASCII
    document.getElementById("someTxtBox").fireEvent("onkeyup", e);
}

fnGenerateTabKeyEvent();
</script>
</body>
</html>

There are definitely some minor "issues" (such as accessing elements via getElementsByName and possibly calling the script before the <input>), but let's just chalk that up to copying and pasting errors ;)) On my version of Internet Explorer, running in document mode 8, the alert successfully displays the number 9.

Is there a way to simulate a virtual keyboard event (specifically the tab key) using Javascript in Internet Explorer 8

Answer №1

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