twitter/bootstrap — Issue #1788: Bootstrap 2 dropdown limitations
Author: mbierman
Created: 2012-02-07 05:51:26+00:00
State: open

**Problem Statement**

In Bootsrap 2, dropdowns such as Button dropdowns,
http://markdotto.com/bs2/docs/components.html#buttonDropdowns such as this

```

Action

Action

Another action

Something else here

```

don't allow users to either:
1. tab through menu items (Action, Another action, Something else here)
2. use standard browser behaviors like typing the first letter of the item to select without using a mouse.
Whereas allows for these behaviors in most browsers.

```

Action

Another action

Something else here

```

This is both a hindrance for accessibility and an makes for a very mouse-dependent experience without the luxury of modern browser keyboard navigation.

**Proposed Solution**
Create a JS library that would do the following:
1. When the dropdown has focus, temporarily reset the tab order to allow tabs and arrows to navigate the dropdown list.
2. Pattern match based on letters typed to select items in the list as elements do in most browsers.