Keyboard arrow navigation is broken in 7.0 block editor

[darkhousedevelopment]

Problem Description
Before 7.0 if you had a set of nested blocks, let’s say a group block with columns and then heading, paragraphs, images etc in the individual columns, you could use your arrow keys to move through the layers. For example if I was in the heading tag at the top of a column and clicked the up arrow it would make the column block the active selected block. Press it again and you’re on the columns container. One more time and you’re at your parent group.

Now if I’m in that exact same scenario and click up from the heading block it will jump me to the lowest nested child block of the next highest root level block or if I’m already in the highest root level block it will take me to the page title. There is absolutely no way to use the keyboard to navigate between layout block layers anymore and it’s infuriating.

Steps to Recreate

1. Create a page in the block editor
2. Add multiple nested elements like Group > Columns > Column > Content Blocks (Header, Paragraph, Image, etc)
3. Duplicate that top level Group block
4. Click into the top level content block in your lowest group and then use your arrows to try to navigate up and down
5. If there are multiple content blocks inside that layout block you will navigate between them as expected, but once you reach the top or bottom content block pressing up or down, respectively, will jump you all the way out of the root level block the the previous or next root level block's nearest content block.

Expected Outcome
Since the beginning of Gutenberg and the block editor using up and down arrows allowed you to navigate through ALL blocks, critically including the layout type blocks as well. Now all layout blocks are completely skipped over with no way to navigate through them without using point and click. This is a major issue for accessibility.

[jorbin]

hi @darkhousedevelopment, welcome to WordPress Core Trac.

Issues related to the block editor should be reported in the ​gutenberg repo on github. Would you please report this there and then this can be closed as reported-upstream.

[jorbin]

Unintentional closing.

[darkhousedevelopment]

@jorbin thanks. I have posted the ticket on the gutenberg repo - ​https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/78955