Apache OpenOffice (AOO) Bugzilla – Issue 107100
Shortcut for Block Select for keyboards without numpad needed
Last modified: 2013-01-29 21:42:21 UTC
I encountered this misbehaviour on several platforms and operating systems, at the moment on a notebook with German keyboard: Ctrl + * does not select the block (current region). If the operation is assigned to another shortcut key combination, it works well.
I cannot confirm it. The shortcut works well in OOo3.1.1, OOo3.2Beta and DEV300 m64, all on WinXP. Do you use the * of the number pad? Please try the newest version of OOo. http://download.openoffice.org/
I am currently using the most up to date version 3.1.1. This behavious is reproducable since OOo 2.x - maybe even versions before that. If this should be a matter of "normal keyboard asterisk" vs "numpad asterisk", this issue has to be fixed asap for several reasons, the main reason being: There is no differentiation between those two keys in the keyboard shortcut dialog, which would indicate that one key is meant, but not the other. Hence - as long as there is no differentiation - there is no way to create misleading duplicate key bindings (one for keyboard, one for numpad), but the user simply expects that Ctrl +* will work. So this keybinding - and others maybe affected too - has to work no matter how you reach the special character that is involved. Everything else would be misleading and irritating. I raised the priority to P2 as it is a severe usability issue, which would hinder people on notebooks to work as they should.
It is a matter of keyboard. I cite the topic "Shortcut Keys for Spreadsheets" in the help: Ctrl + * where (*) is the multiplication sign on the numeric key pad Selects the data range that contains the cursor. A range is a contiguous cell range that contains data and is bounded by empty row and columns. It cannot work with a normal *, because you might have to use an additional shift to reach the normal * and that would be a different shortcut. If you will use that command on a notebook without numpad, you have to switch the notebook keyboard with NumLock or you can assign the command to another shortcut. You find the command "Select Data Area" in the "Edit" category. Please notice that such a problem is never a P2 issue. P2-issues are "crash during normal operations" or "data loss by normal operations" for example.
You cited the online help correctly, but nevertheless this is a severe usability issue as many people are working on notebooks and toggling the numpad status on and off counteracts the meaning of shortcuts. Besides that this shortcut is well-known from Microsoft Excel and we certainly do not want to aggrevate Excel user's lives, do we? The next good reason in changing this: As there is no means at all to assign Strg +Shift+Plus to this function, it will simply be inaccessible for notebook users the "usual" way. And please let me point out this little "glitch" again: as long as there is no differentiation in the shortcut assignment dialog, which clearly indicates that a certain key (numpad * vs normal *) is meant, this is really misleading and irritating. There certainly should be an option to assign both keys separately, but this would mean to rework the key binding dialog, thus, for the time being, it simply has to be asserted that if somebody chooses "*" or any other special character, he gets what he chooses. This should be IMHO no big deal to check the pressed shortcut key for it's analogon. Please feel free to change the subject and to forward this issue to someone in charge to solve this issue, but it is definitely an important matter. The same applies to the other "numpad only" shortcuts. BTW: I changed the priority to P2 as the descriptions says: A critical usability problem; e.g. a user interface which renders the underlying functionality incomprehensible for the majority of users which is IMHO clearly the case here ... but no need to argue about this one. :) Please just make sure that this issue is addressed properly, thank you very much for your patience and effort.
Predefine short cut Strg+Shift+Plus for 'Block Select'. Predefine short cuts for the other commands, which currently can be only used with numpad. Use those short cuts which are used by Microsoft Excel.
Ctrl+Shift+Plus is not available in the key bindings dialog and besides that this issue needs to be addressed in general. Please escalate it.