Navigate Evergreen Without a Mouse

Evergreen makes use of common keyboard commands for navigation. These key patterns are also commonly used on other websites. Try using these in combination with the Evergreen Keyboard Shortcuts/Hotkeys!

Tab and Shift + Tab

To navigate to the next interactable object, use the Tab key on your keyboard.

To move to a previous interactable object, use the Shift + Tab key combination.

You should see a highlight or a ring appear around elements you can interact with. This is called the focus indicator. With a keyboard, you can only interact with items that are in focus.

Example 1

An item is on hold and shows a hold popup. Instead of using the mouse to print the hold slip, use the Tab key until you see a focus indicator appear around the Print button. The indicator is a blue solid outline in the image below.

Let’s say you Tabbed twice and your focus indicator is over Do Not Print. You can go to a previous element by using Shift and Tab keys at the same time.

Note: If you want your focus indicator to move quickly all over Evergreen and the browser, hold down Tab or Shift Tab until you reach your desired spot.

Enter and Spacebar

Once items are in focus, you can press the Enter key to confirm your action.

Depending on the context, Spacebar can also be used to confirm actions. Spacebar is mainly used in forms to select radio buttons or checkboxes. The Enter key doesn’t work for selecting items in radio buttons or checkboxes.

Example 1, Continued

The Print button has focus. Use the Enter key to print the receipt. You can now scan your next item.

Example 2

You’re creating a new patron and using the Tab key to navigate the empty fields. Eventually, you reach the notification preferences. This patron does not want Phone notices, but does want SMS.

Once the focus indicator is on the Phone checkbox, press Spacebar, and the checkbox disappears.

Use Tab to get to the next checkbox. Use Spacebar to check the SMS box.

Patron Record Considerations

It can be a little tricky to navigate the patron record when using a keyboard only. This is because the left sidebar contains a few focusable links (the patron email and the address links) which will suddenly take you further down the page. 

To make navigating this area easier, collapse the left sidebar when you don’t need to see the information on the side of the record. Move the focus to the collapse icon and hit Enter to collapse the side menu. 

Skip to Main Content

On most pages, Evergreen puts the cursor automatically in a Barcode field–it’s automatically moving the focus for you! However, other parts of Evergreen don’t have this luxury. On these pages, there’s a hidden link that appears only when you hit Tab for the first time on a page. This is called a skip link. Using it will move your focus from the green navigation bar to the actual page.

Example 3

Using your mouse, navigate to Cataloging → Item Buckets. Without clicking anything else, use the Tab key. You should see a new link appear saying Skip to main content. Use Enter.

You won’t see anything happen immediately. But, you’ve effectively skipped all of Evergreen’s green navigation bar.