diff --git a/web/pgadmin/browser/static/js/keyboard.js b/web/pgadmin/browser/static/js/keyboard.js
index 662b8dd0239..9f8b54b6eab 100644
--- a/web/pgadmin/browser/static/js/keyboard.js
+++ b/web/pgadmin/browser/static/js/keyboard.js
@@ -209,7 +209,12 @@ _.extend(pgBrowser.keyboardNavigation, {
     // to give React a chance to paint the panel before we move into it.
     pgAdmin.Browser.Events.trigger(SHOW_OBJECT_EXPLORER_EVENT);
     setTimeout(()=>{
-      document.querySelector('[id="id-object-explorer"]')?.focus();
+      const panel = document.querySelector('[id="id-object-explorer"]');
+      // Focus the tree rather than the panel around it. The panel is a plain
+      // div with no tabindex, so focusing it has never done anything; the
+      // tree carries tabindex="-1" and can actually take focus, which is
+      // what makes the arrow keys work once the shortcut has been pressed.
+      (panel?.querySelector('.file-tree') ?? panel)?.focus();
       tree.t.select(tree.i);
     }, 0);
   },
diff --git a/web/pgadmin/static/js/Theme/overrides/reactaspen.override.js b/web/pgadmin/static/js/Theme/overrides/reactaspen.override.js
index 2be6e2d188e..a8acfae3d60 100644
--- a/web/pgadmin/static/js/Theme/overrides/reactaspen.override.js
+++ b/web/pgadmin/static/js/Theme/overrides/reactaspen.override.js
@@ -32,6 +32,17 @@ export default function reactAspenOverride(theme) {
       display: 'inline-block',
       position: 'relative',
       width: '100%',
+      // The tree carries tabindex="-1" and the Object Explorer shortcut
+      // focuses it deliberately, so draw the focus indicator ourselves.
+      // Left to the browser this is an outline-style: auto ring, which takes
+      // the host's accent colour - orange in one browser, blue in another -
+      // and Safari may not draw it at all, leaving keyboard users with no
+      // indication of where focus has landed. The negative offset keeps the
+      // outline inside the scrolling container so it is not clipped.
+      '&:focus-visible': {
+        outline: '1px solid ' + theme.otherVars.activeBorder,
+        outlineOffset: '-1px',
+      },
       '&, & *': {
         boxSizing: 'border-box',
       },
diff --git a/web/regression/javascript/browser/keyboard_left_tree_spec.js b/web/regression/javascript/browser/keyboard_left_tree_spec.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..31c68ca4854
--- /dev/null
+++ b/web/regression/javascript/browser/keyboard_left_tree_spec.js
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+//
+// pgAdmin 4 - PostgreSQL Tools
+//
+// Copyright (C) 2013 - 2026, The pgAdmin Development Team
+// This software is released under the PostgreSQL Licence
+//
+//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+
+// keyboard.js reaches pgadmin.js by relative path, which skips the
+// sources/pgadmin alias that maps to the fake, so point it there explicitly.
+jest.mock('../../../pgadmin/static/js/pgadmin', () =>
+  jest.requireActual('../fake_pgadmin'));
+
+import pgAdmin from 'sources/pgadmin';
+import '../../../pgadmin/browser/static/js/keyboard';
+
+/* The Object Explorer shortcut is meant to put the keyboard into the tree, so
+ * that the arrow keys move between nodes. It focused the rc-dock tab pane
+ * around the tree, which is a plain div with no tabindex and therefore cannot
+ * take focus at all, so the shortcut only ever selected a node and left focus
+ * wherever it was. */
+describe('keyboardNavigation.bindLeftTree', () => {
+  let select;
+
+  const buildObjectExplorer = ({withTree = true} = {}) => {
+    const pane = document.createElement('div');
+    pane.id = 'id-object-explorer';
+    pane.className = 'dock-tabpane dock-tabpane-active';
+
+    let tree = null;
+    if (withTree) {
+      tree = document.createElement('div');
+      tree.className = 'file-tree';
+      // As react-aspen renders it: programmatically focusable, not tabbable.
+      tree.setAttribute('tabindex', '-1');
+      pane.appendChild(tree);
+    }
+
+    document.body.appendChild(pane);
+    return {pane, tree};
+  };
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    jest.useFakeTimers();
+    document.body.innerHTML = '';
+    select = jest.fn();
+    pgAdmin.Browser.keyboardNavigation.getTreeDetails = () => ({
+      t: {select}, i: 'some-tree-item',
+    });
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    jest.useRealTimers();
+    document.body.innerHTML = '';
+  });
+
+  it('moves focus into the tree', () => {
+    const {tree} = buildObjectExplorer();
+
+    pgAdmin.Browser.keyboardNavigation.bindLeftTree();
+    jest.runAllTimers();
+
+    expect(document.activeElement).toBe(tree);
+    expect(select).toHaveBeenCalledWith('some-tree-item');
+  });
+
+  it('falls back to the panel when there is no tree to focus', () => {
+    buildObjectExplorer({withTree: false});
+
+    expect(() => {
+      pgAdmin.Browser.keyboardNavigation.bindLeftTree();
+      jest.runAllTimers();
+    }).not.toThrow();
+    expect(select).toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it('does not throw when the Object Explorer is not in the DOM', () => {
+    expect(() => {
+      pgAdmin.Browser.keyboardNavigation.bindLeftTree();
+      jest.runAllTimers();
+    }).not.toThrow();
+  });
+});