pointer-events:none Hit-Test Bypass Note

HTML auto/none hit-test eligibility contrasted with independently established keyboard focus and descendant overrides; not disable bubbling or keyboard activation. Explicit supplied computed/layout context only; not a browser cascade/layout engine or cross-browser guarantee.

Description

Pointer targeting and keyboard focus are separate interaction mechanisms.

Pointer targeting and keyboard focus are separate interaction mechanisms.^[1]

Pointer-events none does not alone exclude a focusable element from keyboard navigation. Use pointer-events:none Hit-Test Bypass Note to evaluate the supplied inputs under the specific model below.

When to use pointer-events:none Hit-Test Bypass Note

Use pointer-events:none Hit-Test Bypass Note to evaluate the supplied inputs under the specific model below. Define the supplied layout, token or rendering scenario and establish the relevant units and browser context independently.

How to use pointer-events:none Hit-Test Bypass Note and understand its results

Define the supplied layout, token or rendering scenario and establish the relevant units and browser context independently.
Enter Element pointer events, Independently focusable, Descendant overrides pointer events using the field table and validation rules below, then run the tool.
Read Element hit test target, Keyboard focus excluded, Descendant may be target and interpret units, signs, ordering and placeholders as explained below.
If the tool reports an input error, correct that field and rerun. A successful false result, empty match list or unknown-evidence placeholder has the specific meaning described here; check the limitations before applying the result.

Input field	Meaning	Value type	Requirement
elementPointerEvents	Element pointer events	string	Required; constraints below
independentlyFocusable	Independently focusable	boolean	Required; constraints below
descendantOverridesPointerEvents	Descendant overrides pointer events	boolean	Required; constraints below

Enter pointer-events as exactly auto or none, plus independently established keyboard focusability and descendant-override booleans. The element is an ordinary pointer target only for auto; keyboardFocusExcluded is the negation of the supplied focusability. descendantMayBeTarget returns the supplied override flag unchanged, regardless of the parent's value. No event propagation or actual focus behavior is simulated.

elementTarget = pointerEvents==auto; keyboardFocusExcluded = !focusable; descendantMayBeTarget = callerOverride

Field order, units and branch conditions follow the implementation explanation above.

Output field	Meaning	Value type
elementHitTestTarget	Element hit test target	boolean
keyboardFocusExcluded	Keyboard focus excluded	boolean
descendantMayBeTarget	Descendant may be target	boolean

json

{
  "input": {
    "elementPointerEvents": "none",
    "independentlyFocusable": true,
    "descendantOverridesPointerEvents": true
  },
  "output": {
    "elementHitTestTarget": false,
    "keyboardFocusExcluded": false,
    "descendantMayBeTarget": true
  }
}

Limitations and assumptions

Pointer-events none does not alone exclude a focusable element from keyboard navigation. Apply the exact scope and assumptions described above.

All listed fields require explicit values. Unexpected fields, incorrect types, nonfinite numbers and sparse arrays fail validation. Domain-specific bounds, alignments and supported tokens are stated above; extremely large inputs or outputs can also be rejected. These errors differ from successful results such as false, no matches or unknown evidence.

Alternative or Complementary methods

Use appearance:none Form Reset Note for a related task: Appearance none changes native rendering without removing an element's semantics.

Use user-select:none Protection Lookup for a related task: User-select controls ordinary selection behavior.

References

pointer-events:none Hit-Test Bypass Note — tool.io

Similar or alternative tools

appearance:none Form Reset Note
Appearance none changes native rendering without removing an element's semantics.
user-select:none Protection Lookup
User-select controls ordinary selection behavior.