If you’ve ever tried to use your keyboard to navigate a pop-up dialog in macOS—such as when closing a document and being prompted to Save, Don’t Save, or Cancel—you might have noticed that sometimes, Tab doesn’t cycle through the buttons as expected. Even if you have “Use keyboard navigation to move focus between controls” enabled in System Settings, the problem can persist.
After searching for solutions and troubleshooting extensively, I discovered a simple but effective fix that isn’t widely documented. If you’re facing this issue, try the following method:
The Quick Fix: Toggle Full Keyboard Access
- Open System Settings (or System Preferences in older macOS versions).
- Go to Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts.
- Select Keyboard on the left panel.
- Locate “Use keyboard navigation to move focus between controls” and toggle it off.
- Wait a few seconds, then toggle it on again.
This reset seems to refresh macOS’s ability to recognize keyboard focus within pop-up dialogs. Once enabled, you should be able to navigate the buttons using the Tab key as expected.
Alternative Methods to Navigate Dialogs
If the issue persists, try these additional keyboard shortcuts:
Return or Enter – Selects the default button (usually “Save”).Esc – Acts as “Cancel”.Command + Delete – Chooses “Don’t Save” in file dialogs.fn + Tab – Sometimes required for button focus in certain macOS versions.Control + Tab or Option + Tab – Alternative navigation in some apps.Command + Left/Right Arrow – Moves focus between buttons in some cases.