Numbers Causing Unintended Tab Navigation in Fabric

[SivaReddy86421]

Let's say we have opened few items/artifacts(Notebooks, warehouse, etc.,) in a workspace. If we try to type any numbers as part  of work, it was switching to that particular tab.

Ex: I'm working in the 4th tab(SQL endpoint) if I press 1 as part of a query, it's switching to the 1st tab(Notebook). Is there any button to turn this feature off.?

[deborshi_nag]

Hello @SivaReddy86421 

I see you have opened these Fabric items inside one browser tab. Why don't you open each Fabric item in a separate browser tab? When you open a Fabric item, right click and choose Open link in new tab. See if that resolves your problem! 

[SivaReddy86421]

Hi @deborshi_nag 

This helps and restricts the tabs from switching. The @Thomaslleblanc  also explained the root cause and shared a few additional workarounds, please have a look, as they may be helpful for you as well, especially if you open multiple items in a single tab.

[stoic-harsh]

Hi @SivaReddy86421,

Apart from the solution given by @Thomaslleblanc, I believe number-key navigation is usually associated with browser. Could you try opening Fabric in another browser, and see if it is still causing an issue?

Please do share whatever works for you, so that it helps us all in such scenarios.

[SivaReddy86421]

Hi @stoic-harsh 

I was using Microsoft Edge earlier and tried the same scenario in Chrome, where I observed the following:

• Opened a few items in a single browser tab and pressed number keys, it did not navigate between items.

• Pressed ALT + Tab to switch between applications.

• After returning to Chrome (where fabric is opened), pressing number keys started switching between items.

• Pressing number keys followed by ALT + Shift prevented the navigation between items.

This seems consistent with the behavior and workaround @Thomaslleblanc  described.

[Thomaslleblanc · Accepted solution]

This behavior is not a setting you can turn off — it’s a known Fabric UI bug where number keys switch tabs even when ALT is not pressed. Multiple users have reported the exact issue, and Microsoft has acknowledged it.

After you click a workspace item (Notebook, SQL endpoint, etc.), Fabric’s UI sometimes enters a mode where number keys (1–9) are interpreted as tab‑switch shortcuts, even though the documented shortcut requires ALT + number. This has been reproduced consistently after ALT+Tabbing away and back, or when some UI element retains keyboard focus incorrectly.

Sometimes this works:

• ALT once, or
• ALT + Shift (better, because it doesn't move focus)

will “reset” the keyboard focus and stop number‑key tab switching

[SivaReddy86421]

HI @Thomaslleblanc 

Thanks for the clarification. I do use ALT + Tab frequently to navigate between applications, which explains the behavior. I’ll follow the suggested workarounds (ALT once / ALT + Shift) to reset the focus when this occurs.