Progress® Kendo UI® for jQuery Feedback Portal
Back to Feed
Request a Feature Report a Bug
Unplanned
Last Updated: 26 Aug 2025 12:45 by ADMIN
Michael D
Created on: 13 Aug 2025 07:40
Category: DropDownList
Type: Bug Report
1
DropDownList Keyboard Navigation - highlight item without selecting it

The DropDownList's Keyboard Navigation Docs specify that the arrow keys move the highlight in the dropDownList, while Enter selects the highlighted item.

However, in reality, the arrow keys already select items. Via keyboard, it is not possible to select e.g. the third item in the list without selecting the first and the second item first (by pressing the down arrow).

E.g. the docs for Angular describe a different behavior.

3 comments
ADMIN
Nikolay
Posted on: 26 Aug 2025 12:45

Hello Michael,

After a preliminary review, we've identified that this specific interaction does not have a single, universally standard implementation. The impact of this decision on both accessibility (a11y) and user experience (UX) is significant, and we want to ensure it aligns with best practices and our product's goals.

Therefore, we are not yet in a position to confirm the final behavior. Our next step is to convene a discussion between our design, development, and accessibility teams to evaluate the options and their implications. We will provide a definitive answer following that internal alignment.

Updates will be posted in the provided GitHub issue. Your patience is highly appreciated.

Regards,
Nikolay
Progress Telerik

Love the Telerik and Kendo UI products and believe more people should try them? Invite a fellow developer to become a Progress customer and each of you can get a $50 Amazon gift voucher.

Michael D
Posted on: 19 Aug 2025 12:57

Could you elaborate what the desired behavior is?
We agree that the docs and the implementations for different frameworks are inconsistent.

But in my opinion, selecting items on keyPress is wrong, as it does not allow keyboard users to select a specific item without selecting others first. Are we on the same page?

ADMIN
Nikolay
Posted on: 19 Aug 2025 09:58

Hi Michael,

Thank you for reporting this undesired behavior with the DropDownList.

You are right and we need to update the current behavior. The change event shall trigger on arrow key press.  You can track the progress at the item in the next link:

https://github.com/telerik/kendo-ui-core/issues/8343

As a token of gratitude for reporting this, I added some Telerik points to your account.

Regards,
Nikolay
Progress Telerik

Love the Telerik and Kendo UI products and believe more people should try them? Invite a fellow developer to become a Progress customer and each of you can get a $50 Amazon gift voucher.

Create an account Log In
View
Type
Status
Category