This is topic The Tab Button in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.


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Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
 
I'm just curious. But why doesn't the tab button peform its proper function on the Hatrack forums. It might work in the forums I'm not part of, Writers Workshop and Hatrack River 1830's, but I know they don't here are at Virtual Battle School.

Is there a reason for this?
 
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
 
It does what it usually does online, what do you mean?
 
Posted by Amanecer (Member # 4068) on :
 
What is the tab button's proper function? When I press the tab button it goes to add reply. I like this because then I can just press enter.
 
Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
 
I mean its proper function in word proccessing programs. We type here, as you do in a word proccessor, shouldn't it ident paragraphs? But it doesn't. Why not?
 
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
 
Because when you use it online, it jumps to the next window to be filled in or box to be checked or button to be clicked. That's how it works on every website I've tried to type in, except the ones it doesn't work at all on.
 
Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
 
Ok, I suppose that makes sense. I think it is kind of weird though.
 
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
 
It's freakin' convenient when you're filling out a form.
 
Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
 
I'd prefer consisiteny to convienence. That is what the world is all about now adays. Convienence. Why do you think we have the internet? To make it easier and more Convienent to communicate and do research.
 
Posted by JaimeBenlevy (Member # 6222) on :
 
So wouldn't it be consistent to keep the internet convenienent by having the tab button do that? I mean, if the internet was invented for convenience, and you want consistency, then it'd be consistent to keep the internet convenient. Know what I mean? [Evil]
 
Posted by Troubadour (Member # 83) on :
 
Another reason the Tab button doesn't work on web form fields (apart from the reasons already listed) is that it's extremely difficult to setup the kind of restraints that a word processing program has to determine where the cursor should jump to when the Tab key is hit. Setting up a series of vertical constraints that are consistent and don't interupt the column of text would be fairly hard to achieve in a basic HTML environment.
 
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
 
*high fives Jaime*
 
Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
 
But it would also be convienent for it to indent paragraphs, rather than having to press space a few times. Can't it be both ways? Either way, both of us are right.
 
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
 
Why do you need to indent paragraphs when it is accepted practice to separate paragraphs with double spacing?
 
Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
 
Because just because it is accepted does not neccesarily mean it is correct.
 
Posted by Fusiachi (Member # 7376) on :
 
Just because it is correct doesn't mean it should be accepted.
 
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
 
But it doesn't have to be correct, that's the beauty of the internet.
 
Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
 
Alright. You know what? I don't care anymore. I was just curious. It makes sense, no more comments trying to make me look stupid.
 
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
 
I prefer Fresca to Tab.

That is all. [Big Grin]
 
Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
 
I think that Tante has repaired the mood of this thread without saying anything sensible. Thank you, Tante.
 
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
 
Oh, no trouble at all! I specialize in not making sense. [Big Grin]
 
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Tante Shvester:
Oh, no trouble at all! I specialize in not making sense. [Big Grin]

Trust us, we have noticed. [Wink]

[ September 27, 2005, 11:33 PM: Message edited by: Kwea ]
 
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
 
Huh?
 
Posted by HollowEarth (Member # 2586) on :
 
code:
	1	2	3

1 2 3

The above should have ~ the same spacing if UBB supports tabs. I doubt it does. So even if the tab key inserted a tab, UBB doesn't escape them, so the tabs just get eaten by the browser (since HTML treats all whitespace identically).
 
Posted by camus (Member # 8052) on :
 
Actually, the tab feature of skipping to the next field or selection is pretty consistent with the way most programs work. On the other hand, the tab feature used in word processing programs where it automatically indents is the feature that's not consistent. To prove that, press tab in any program. You will see that in most cases, it cycles through different selections or buttons. Click on the "file" menu and then each time you press tab you go to the next selection. Close your word processing document. You will find that you can "tab" through to either Ok or Cancel.

In most programs, the tab button is usually used to determine the focus. The fact that it does this on web pages too means it is consistent with the normal use of the tab key.
 
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
 
It doesn't matter if UBB inserts the tabs, HTML treats any amount of whitespace between characters as if it were a single space by default. I could insert a thousand tabs between the words in this sentence and it would continue to appear exactly like this.
 
Posted by Bokonon (Member # 480) on :
 
Yeah, what fugu said. It's part of the heritage of the Web being heterogeneous. There's.

And Steve, sometimes it annoys me too; you aren't alone.

-Bok
 


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