Prevent Grid Checkbox Selection with the Enter Key

Updated on Aug 24, 2026

Environment

Product

Progress® Kendo UI® for Angular Grid

Description

How can I prevent the Enter key from changing a row selection when a Grid checkbox has focus?

This KB also answers the following questions:

• How can I stop Enter from selecting a Grid row through a checkbox?
• How do I prevent keyboard selection for a custom Grid checkbox column?
• How can I keep Enter from changing checkbox-only selection in the Angular Grid?

Solution

To prevent Enter from changing selection, replace the built-in checkbox column with a custom column. Apply the SelectionCheckboxDirective to the custom checkbox and intercept keydown during the capture phase.

1. Add a directive that stops immediate propagation of the Enter key event before the Grid handles it. The following snippet defines the directive:

   ts

   import { Directive, ElementRef, OnDestroy } from '@angular/core';
   
   @Directive({
       selector: '[preventSelectionOnEnter]'
   })
   export class PreventSelectionOnEnterDirective implements OnDestroy {
       private readonly onKeyDown = (event: KeyboardEvent): void => {
           if (event.key === 'Enter') {
               event.stopImmediatePropagation();
           }
       };
   
       constructor(private readonly element: ElementRef<HTMLElement>) {
           this.element.nativeElement.addEventListener('keydown', this.onKeyDown, true);
       }
   
       public ngOnDestroy(): void {
           this.element.nativeElement.removeEventListener('keydown', this.onKeyDown, true);
       }
   }

   If your application uses server-side rendering, import isDocumentAvailable from @progress/kendo-angular-common and wrap both addEventListener and removeEventListener calls in an if (isDocumentAvailable()) check.

2. Apply the directive to a custom checkbox that uses kendoGridSelectionCheckbox. The following snippet defines the custom column:

   html

   <kendo-grid-column [width]="40">
       <ng-template kendoGridCellTemplate let-rowIndex="rowIndex">
           <kendo-checkbox
               [kendoGridSelectionCheckbox]="rowIndex"
               preventSelectionOnEnter
               [inputAttributes]="{ 'aria-label': 'Select row' }"
           ></kendo-checkbox>
       </ng-template>
   </kendo-grid-column>

   Checkbox selection is supported only in row selection mode and is not compatible with cell selection mode.

The following example demonstrates how to prevent Enter from changing row selection. Focus a checkbox and press Enter to verify that the row selection does not change.

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See Also

• Kendo UI for Angular Grid Row Selection
• Keyboard Navigation of the Kendo UI for Angular Grid
• SelectionCheckboxDirective