Example
Two hyperlinks with specified accesskeys:
<a href="http://www.w3ii.com/html5" accesskey="h">HTML5</a><br>
<a href="http://www.w3ii.com/css3" accesskey="c">CSS3</a>
Try it Yourself »
Definition and Usage
The accesskey attribute specifies a shortcut key to activate/focus an element.
Note: The way of accessing the shortcut key is varying in different browsers:
| Browser | Windows | Linux | Mac |
|---|---|---|---|
| Internet Explorer | [Alt] + accesskey | N/A | |
| Chrome | [Alt] + accesskey | [Alt] + accesskey | [Control] [Alt] + accesskey |
| Firefox | [Alt] [Shift] + accesskey | [Alt] [Shift] + accesskey | [Control] [Alt] + accesskey |
| Safari | [Alt] + accesskey | N/A | [Control] [Alt] + accesskey |
| Opera | Opera 15 or newer: [Alt] + accesskey Opera 12.1 or older: [Shift] [Esc] + accesskey |
||
However, in most browsers the shortcut can be set to another combination of keys.
Tip: The behavior if more than one element has the same access key differs:
- IE, Firefox: The next element with the pressed access key will be activated
- Chrome, Safari: The last element with the pressed access key will be activated
- Opera: The first element with the pressed access key will be activated
Browser Support
| Attribute | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| accesskey | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Differences Between HTML 4.01 and HTML5
In HTML5, the accesskey attribute can be used on any HTML element (it will validate on any HTML element. However, it is not necessarily useful).
In HTML 4.01, the accesskey attribute can be used with: <a>, <area>, <button>, <input>, <label>, <legend>, and <textarea>.
Syntax
<element accesskey="character">
Attribute Values
| Value | Description |
|---|---|
| character | Specifies the shortcut key to activate/focus the element |
Related Pages
HTML Tutorial: HTML Attributes
HTML DOM reference: accessKey Property