# How to get the component associated with the Active Tab (Z-Index vs. Tab Index) **URL:** \ **Category:** Ignition\ **Tags:** perspective, scripting, ignition81\ **Created:** [February 13, 2026, 4:02pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/how-to-get-the-component-associated-with-the-active-tab-z-index-vs-tab-index/113961 "2026-02-13T16:02:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Farhan\_Basheer](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/farhan_basheer/32/66759_2.png) [@Farhan\_Basheer](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/Farhan_Basheer)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2026, 4:02pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/how-to-get-the-component-associated-with-the-active-tab-z-index-vs-tab-index/113961/1 "2026-02-13T16:02:58Z")
I am writing a script to identify and interact with the component currently visible inside a **Tab Container** based on its `currentTabIndex`. I’ve encountered a challenge: `container.getChildren()` returns components in the order they appear in the **Z-index/Component Tree** , which does not always match the order defined in the `props.tabs` array. For example, my 3rd tab in the UI might be the 1st child in the tree, causing `getChildren()[active_index]` to return the wrong component. **My Goal:** Is there a reliable way to pinpoint the exact component object currently active in the view without relying on the Z-index order? ```python container = self.getSibling("TabContainer") active_index = container.props.currentTabIndex # This is fragile because it follows the Tree order, not the Tab order: all_children = container.getChildren() active_comp = all_children[active_index] system.perspective.print("Active Name: " + active_comp.name) ``` **What I've tried:** I am currently trying to match the `name` property from the `props.tabs` array against the names in `getChildren()`, but I was wondering if there is a more direct "Perspective-native" way to access the active tab's child object directly. Any advice or best practices would be appreciated! ---
**Author:** ![ryan.white](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/ryan.white/32/73193_2.png) [@ryan.white](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/ryan.white)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2026, 4:08pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/how-to-get-the-component-associated-with-the-active-tab-z-index-vs-tab-index/113961/2 "2026-02-13T16:08:40Z")
> [@Farhan\_Basheer](#): > > I am writing a script to identify and interact with the component currently visible inside a **Tab Container** based on its `currentTabIndex` What is the end goal here? What are you intending to do on the associated child component(s)? The fact that you say interact makes me think you are trying to execute a button or similar, but i could be misinterpreting it. > [@Farhan\_Basheer](#): > > exact component object currently active Elaborate, what do you plan on doing with this component once you've gotten the reference to it? ---
**Author:** ![Farhan\_Basheer](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/farhan_basheer/32/66759_2.png) [@Farhan\_Basheer](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/Farhan_Basheer)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2026, 4:16pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/how-to-get-the-component-associated-with-the-active-tab-z-index-vs-tab-index/113961/3 "2026-02-13T16:16:01Z")
I will basically Identify the - **type of the component** `if it is a table then export its data else ignore` I don’t want to manually pass the component name or types, need something dynamic that still works when Parent container inherit more children. ---
**Author:** ![ryan.white](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/ryan.white/32/73193_2.png) [@ryan.white](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/ryan.white)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2026, 4:23pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/how-to-get-the-component-associated-with-the-active-tab-z-index-vs-tab-index/113961/4 "2026-02-13T16:23:37Z")
> [@Farhan\_Basheer](#): > > if it is a table then export its data Have the tables' data as view private custom properties. On request to export, grab the selected tab index and have a list of property names that are associated with that tab. Grab only the data from those properties and export. You should follow this pattern for control entries (start and end timestamps, record filters, etc) as well, as it makes them resilient to the driving components moving to different containers. The other option would be to have a generic message handler on the tables that just grabs data from `props.data` and then dumps it into a file. You would not be able to have the tab container set to run unselected tabs in the background. ---
**Author:** ![Farhan\_Basheer](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/farhan_basheer/32/66759_2.png) [@Farhan\_Basheer](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/Farhan_Basheer)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2026, 4:30pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/how-to-get-the-component-associated-with-the-active-tab-z-index-vs-tab-index/113961/5 "2026-02-13T16:30:45Z")
I like the second option, I can also add tabIndex ID in the message handler of the table and can broadcast the message with selected tab index, and target table will automatically export it's data. ---
**Author:** ![ryan.white](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/ryan.white/32/73193_2.png) [@ryan.white](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/ryan.white)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2026, 4:31pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/how-to-get-the-component-associated-with-the-active-tab-z-index-vs-tab-index/113961/6 "2026-02-13T16:31:57Z")
Ah yes, I forgot about the payload, that would alleviate the issue with the unselected tabs running in the background. ---
**Author:** ![Farhan\_Basheer](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/farhan_basheer/32/66759_2.png) [@Farhan\_Basheer](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/Farhan_Basheer)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2026, 4:33pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/how-to-get-the-component-associated-with-the-active-tab-z-index-vs-tab-index/113961/7 "2026-02-13T16:33:24Z")
Exactly. It will be more cleaner than the solution I was trying to build.