index.md

---

title: accesskey
slug: Web/HTML/Global_attributes/accesskey
page-type: html-attribute
browser-compat: html.global_attributes.accesskey

---

{{HTMLSidebar("Global_attributes")}}

The accesskey global attribute provides a hint for generating a keyboard shortcut for the current element. The attribute value must consist of a single printable character (which includes accented and other characters that can be generated by the keyboard).

{{EmbedInteractiveExample("pages/tabbed/attribute-accesskey.html","tabbed-shorter")}}

Note: In the WHATWG spec, it says you can specify multiple space-separated characters, and the browser will use the first one it supports. However, this does not work in most browsers. IE/Edge uses the first one it supports without problems, provided there are no conflicts with other commands.

The way to activate the accesskey depends on the browser and its platform:

	Windows	Linux	Mac
Firefox	Alt + Shift + key	On Firefox 57 or newer: Control + Option + key or Control + Alt + key On Firefox 14 or newer: Control + Alt + key On Firefox 13 or older: Control + key
Edge	N/A	Control + Option + key Control + Option + Shift + key
Google Chrome	Alt + key
Safari	N/A
Opera 15+	Alt + key	Control + Alt + key
Opera 12	Shift + Esc opens a contents list which are accessible by accesskey, then, can choose an item by pressing key

Accessibility concerns

In addition to poor browser support, there are numerous concerns with the accesskey attribute:

• An accesskey value can conflict with a system or browser keyboard shortcut, or assistive technology functionality. What may work for one combination of operating system, assistive technology, and browser may not work with other combinations.

• Certain accesskey values may not be present on certain keyboards, especially when internationalization is a concern. So adapting to specific languages could cause further problems.

• accesskey values that rely on numbers may be confusing to individuals experiencing cognitive concerns, where the number doesn't have a logical association with the functionality it triggers.

• Informing the user that accesskeys are present, so that they are aware of the functionality. If the system lacks a method of notifying the user about this feature, the user might accidentally activate accesskeys.

Because of these issues, it is generally advised not to use accesskeys for most general-purpose websites and web apps.

• WebAIM: Keyboard Accessibility - Accesskey

Specifications

{{Specifications}}

Browser compatibility

{{Compat}}

See also

• {{domxref("HTMLElement.accessKey")}}

• {{domxref("HTMLElement.accessKeyLabel")}}

• All global attributes.

• aria-keyshortcuts