Bug 129698 - Freeze Rows and Columns context menu item not displayed for selected cell
Summary: Freeze Rows and Columns context menu item not displayed for selected cell
Status: RESOLVED WORKSFORME
Alias: None
Product: LibreOffice
Classification: Unclassified
Component: Calc (show other bugs)
Version:
(earliest affected)
6.3.3.2 release
Hardware: x86-64 (AMD64) All
: medium minor
Assignee: Not Assigned
URL:
Whiteboard:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2019-12-30 04:12 UTC by jdgoodrichjr
Modified: 2019-12-30 16:23 UTC (History)
0 users

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Description jdgoodrichjr 2019-12-30 04:12:47 UTC
Description:
I was working on updating a copy of my 2019 financial spreadsheets file for 2020 data, with both files open. I used the Freeze Rows and Columns entry of the context menu to unfreeze the first row and column of one of the sheets of 2020, in preparation for adding a new column, to be frozen with the first column, similar to other sheets in both 2019 and 2020 files. However, attempting to refreeze the first column with the second column as well as refreezing the first row (by selecting cell C2, if I recall correctly) was doomed to fail, as the Freeze Rows and Columns context menu entry was no longer visible.

Steps to Reproduce:
I do not have an exact step-by-step set of instructions for reproducing the problem. However, I did try multiple scenarios. Please see the Additional Information section for all the scenarios tried, with expected and actual results for each.

Actual Results:
Please see the Additional Information section for all the scenarios tried, with expected and actual results for each.

Expected Results:
Please see the Additional Information section for all the scenarios tried, with expected and actual results for each.


Reproducible: Always


User Profile Reset: Yes


OpenGL enabled: Yes

Additional Info:
Preliminary Search:
* DuckDuckGo resulted in more or less either help articles about freezing rows or columns, but not any reports.
* Found the Bugzilla instance, and looked a bit, settling on this search: https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/buglist.cgi?bug_status=UNCONFIRMED&bug_status=NEW&bug_status=ASSIGNED&bug_status=REOPENED&bug_status=NEEDINFO&component=Calc&f0=OP&f1=OP&f10=OP&f11=OP&f12=product&f13=component&f14=alias&f15=short_desc&f16=status_whiteboard&f17=content&f18=CP&f19=CP&f2=product&f3=component&f4=alias&f5=short_desc&f6=status_whiteboard&f7=content&f8=CP&f9=CP&j1=OR&j11=OR&o12=substring&o13=substring&o14=substring&o15=substring&o16=substring&o17=matches&o2=substring&o3=substring&o4=substring&o5=substring&o6=substring&o7=matches&product=LibreOffice&query_format=advanced&short_desc=freeze%20columns%20and%20rows%20missing%20from%20context%20menu&short_desc_type=anywords&v12=columns&v13=columns&v14=columns&v15=columns&v16=columns&v17=%22columns%22&v2=freeze&v3=freeze&v4=freeze&v5=freeze&v6=freeze&v7=%22freeze%22

Reports Reviewed:
* https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=117117
* https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=90998
* https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=109182 (META)
* https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=90961

After reviewing some of the results in Bugzilla, I was originally going to create a comment on 90961, but decided to just create a new bug report instead.

Environment:
* Linux: Pop!_OS 19.10
* LibreOffice Version: 6.3.3.2 (x64)
* No immediately-identifiable LibreOffice updates available (85 packages via apt update, at the time of the report)
* Spotify (in background)
* Files (Explorer-like program) navigated to the 2020 file
* Firefox 71.0 (64-bit) with a few tabs open (email, financial sites, et cetera)
* Both 2019 and 2020 files exist on an external 1 TB platter drive (USB 3.0 connection).

Steps to Reproduce:
* Unable to capture exact steps. Disbelief in the disappearance of the context menu item kind of blocked my memory of the exact steps I was taking at the time.
* I will attempt to reconstruct the actions I know I would have taken (first 2 resolution attempts below). The Reboot Computer resolution attempt is spot on, since I was in step-tracking mode for writing this report.

Resolution Attempt - Reopening 2020 File:
* Close the 2020 spreadsheet window [Calc closes the 2020 window. The 2019 file was still open in another Calc window.]
* Mouse over to top-right. [Activities overlay shows, displaying open windows, including the 2019 file.]
* Click on the Calc window for the 2019 file. [Calc shows the 2019 file.]
* Click on the File menu. [File menu displays.]
* Hover over the Recent Documents menu item. [Recent spreadsheets shown in side menu.]
* Click on the 2020 file in the side menu. [Calc opens the 2020 file.]
* Right-click on cell C2. [Context menu displays.]
+ Expected: Freeze Rows and Columns context menu item present.
- Actual: Freeze Rows and Columns context menu item missing.

Resolution Attempt - Restarting Calc:
* Close all open spreadsheets (I think I had 2019 left open at this time). [Calc "landing" screen shows, with recent spreadsheets.]
* Close Calc. [Calc closes.]
* Mouse over to top-right. [Activities overlay shows, including the 'launch bar' where I've favorited Calc.]
* Click on Calc. [Calc starts, opening a new spreadsheet.]
* Close new spreadsheet. [Calc doesn't ask for a name, just closes and shows the landing screen.]
* Click on 2020 file. [Calc opens the 2020 file to the last sheet opend/viewed.]
* Right-click cell C2. [Context menu displays.]
+ Expected: Freeze Rows and Columns context menu present.
- Actual: Freeze Rows and Columns context menu missing.

It was as this point I attempted to capture a Print Screen of the context menu. Unfortunately, it appears that since a context menu is displayed in an application (whether specific to LibreOffice, or imposed by Pop!_OS/Ubuntu), the Print Screen functionality was disabled. This included the Shift + Print Screen shortcut. Upon dismissing the context menu, I was able to use Print Screen as expected. This disappointed me, as I cannot capture the context menu with whatever selection is active (cell, column, &| row).

Resolution Attempt - Rebooting Computer:
* Reboot computer. [Login screen eventually shows - I use a platter drive at the moment.]
* Sign into only user. [Desktop shows.]
* Mouse over to top-right. [Activities overlay shows, including the 'launch bar' where I've favorited Calc.]
* Click on Calc. [Calc starts, opening a new spreadsheet.]
* Right-click cell B2. [Context menu displays.]
+ Expected: Freeze Rows and Columns context menu present.
- Actual: Freeze Rows and Columns context menu missing.

After I started writing this report, and after the Reboot Computer resolution attempt, I started exploring some more (what if I did have the column selected instead of the cell? Am I remembering the steps I took incorrectly?). Here's what I discovered, each after restarting Calc to use the new spreadsheet that is created when Calc opens.

Freeze Rows and Columns Item Present - Row Selected
* Right-click on row 2. [Context menu displays with the Freeze Rows and Columns item present and unchecked.]

Freeze Rows and Columns Item Present - Column Selected
* Right-click on column B. [Context menu displays with the Freeze Rows and Columns item present and unchecked.]

Interesting. So I need to select the entire row to freeze the row(s) above it, similarly for the column freezing. For example:
* Right-click on row 4. [Context menu displays.]
+ Expected: Freeze Rows and Columns context menu item is present.
+ Actual: Freeze Rows and Columns context menu item is present and unchecked.

* Click on the Freeze Rows and Columns context menu item.
+ Expected: Rows 1-3 are frozen.
+ Actual: Rows 1-3 are frozen.

* Right-click on row 3. [Context menu displays.]
+ Expected: Freeze Rows and Columns context menu item is present and now checked.
+ Actual: Freeze Rows and Columns context menu item is present and checked.

OK, let's push on to the next thing: unfreezing the 3 frozen rows above (I had dismissed the context menu at this point, to return to writing the steps above):
* Right-click on row 4. [Context menu displays.]
+ Expected: Freeze Rows and Columns context menu item is present and still checked.
+ Actual: Freeze Rows and Columns context menu item is present and checked.

* Click on Freeze Rows and Columns.
+ Expected: Rows 1-3 are frozen.
+ Actual: Rows 1-3 are frozen.

* Right-click on row 4. [Context menu displays.]
+ Expected: Freeze Rows and Columns context menu item is present and now unchecked.
+ Actual: Freeze Rows and Columns context menu item is present and unchecked.

So, what about freezing both mutliple rows and multiple columns? The context menu does read Freeze Rows and Columns... So, continuing from above:
* Right-click on row 4. [Context menu displays.]
+ Expected: Freeze Rows and Columns context menu item is present and still unchecked.
+ Actual: Freeze Rows and Columns context menu item is present and unchecked.

* Click on Freeze Rows and Columns.
+ Expected: Rows 1-3 are frozen.
+ Actual: Rows 1-3 are frozen.

* Right-click on column C. [Context menu displays.]
+ Expected: Freeze Rows and Columns context menu item is present and still checked.
+ Actual: Freeze Rows and Columns context menu item is present and checked.

* Click on Freeze Rows and Columns.
+ Expected: Rows 1-3 and columns A-B are frozen.
- Actual: Rows 1-3 are unfrozen.

That's not good (to me) - how am I supposed to freeze both multiple rows and columns? Well, I can select both a row and column, using the Ctrl key to select a row or column after selecting the other first:
* Click on row 4.
+ Expected: Row 4 is selected.
+ Actual: Row 4 is now selected.

* Holding the Ctrl key, click on column C.
+ Expected: Row 4 and column C are selected.
+ Actual: Row 4 remains selected, with column C now also selected. Side note: The grey '4' and 'C' cells on the edges are no longer selected, just the cells in the sheet.

* Right-click on column C. [Context menu displays.]
+ Expected: Freeze Rows and Columns context menu item is present and unchecked.
+ Actual: Freeze Rows and Columns context menu item is present and unchecked.

* Click on Freeze Rows and Columns.
+ Expected: Rows 1-3 and columns A-B are frozen.
- Actual: Only columns A-B are frozen.

Huh... let's try that again, but use row 4 this time (I restarted Calc here):
* Click on column C.
+ Expected: Column C is selected.
+ Actual: Column C is now selected.

* Holding the Ctrl key, click on row 4.
+ Expected: Column C and row 4 are selected.
+ Actual: Column C remains selected, with row 4 now also selected. Side note: The grey 'C' and '4' cells on the edges are no longer selected, just the cells in the sheet.

* Right-click on row 4. [Context menu displays.]
+ Expected: Freeze Rows and Columns context menu item is present and unchecked.
+ Actual: Freeze Rows and Columns context menu item is present and unchecked.

* Click on Freeze Rows and Columns.
+ Expected: Rows 1-3 and columns A-B are frozen.
- Actual: Only rows 1-3 are frozen.

Alright, so at this point, I am defintely at a loss as to how I was able to even get some of the sheets in the 2019 file to have the first 2 columns and the first row frozen in the first place, but of course, 2019 is nearly over, so maybe there has been some changes since I first started working on that file? I haven't dug around too much in the release notes (since I never needed to?). But wait, I used a Windows laptop (since I was on vacation). Perhaps that might provide some additional information? I didn't try to unfreeze-refreeze after adding a column on the laptop... How does, say freezing the first 3 rows, fare on Windows 10 with version 6.1.6.3 (x64) - a little dated, perhaps, but (without reading the release notes), sufficiently recent enough? Let's try to freeze those 3 rows:

* Right-click on row 4. [Context menu displays.]
+ Expected: Freeze Rows and Columns context menu item is present.
- Actual: Freeze Rows and Columns context menu item is not present.

Uh.. that's... um... what? Ok, maybe it's not recent enough? Ah, but the Freeze Rows and Columns is available on the View menu. Let's try that again with that instead of the context menu:

* Click on row 4.
+ Expected: Row 4 selected.
+ Actual: Row 4 now selected.

* Click on the View menu and subsequently the Freeze Rows and Columns menu item.
+ Expected: Rows 1-3 frozen.
+ Actual: Rows 1-3 frozen.

That's more like it! Now, how about multiple rows and multiple columns?

* Click on column C.
+ Expected: Column C is selected.
+ Actual: Column C is now selected.

* Holding the Ctrl key, click on row 5.
+ Expected: Column C and row 5 are selected.
+ Actual: Column C remains selected, with row 5 now also selected. Side note: The grey 'C' and '5' cells on the edges are no longer selected, just the cells in the sheet.

* Click on the View menu and subsequently the Freeze Rows and Columns menu item.
+ Expected: Columns A-B and rows 1-4 frozen.
- Actual: Only rows 1-4 are frozen.

Okay. So, maybe it's a little out of date - 6.3.4.2 for Windows is available. Let's install that (I selected the Typical installation, and unchecked creating a desktop shortcut) and see what happens:

* Click on column C.
+ Expected: Column C is selected.
+ Actual: Column C is now selected.

* Holding the Ctrl key, click on row 5.
+ Expected: Column C and row 5 are selected.
+ Actual: Column C remains selected, with row 5 now also selected. Side note: The grey 'C' and '5' cells on the edges are no longer selected, just the cells in the sheet.

* Right-click on row 5. [Sweet! The Freeze Rows and Columns item in the context menu is "back".]
+ Expected: Columns A-B and rows 1-4 frozen.
- Actual: Only rows 1-4 are frozen.

And that's as much as I can think of to try, for now. I've got some other chores to do before counting sheep. I don't know if this is sufficient enough documentation of the behavior for diagnosing the "bug" I am encountering. As I am writing this up, maybe freezing rows and columns aren't used that much anymore? Maybe it's not a bug, but an underused feature, so maybe some discussion was had I haven't seen, and the result was to discontinue the expected-by-me behavior? I'm not sure, but if the behavior was discontinued, I am definitely a little sad about it; however, eventually I'll adapt if this is the case.

As I am starting to unpack everything here into a new bug report, a couple of potential items of note:

* Restarting in Safe Mode did not resolve the issue (Freeze Rows and Columns context menu item does appear for a selected cell).
* I disabled mutli-threading for calculations on a different spreadsheet, but it appears that the setting applies to the application, not per file, as it is currently unchecked.
* OpenGL rendering (Use hardware acceleration) under the LibreOffice -> View settings is checked.
Comment 1 jdgoodrichjr 2019-12-30 16:23:12 UTC
I just found the Freeze Rows and Columns button on the toolbar. I think it's fair to downgrade to minor, as there is a workaround now (for me, anyways).

Test:
* Open 2020 file.
* Select a sheet with frozen columns and rows.
* Select the cell C2.
+ Expected: The FRaC button on the toolbar is active (darker background in dark mode).
+ Actual: The FRaC button on the toolbar is now active.

* Click the FRaC button on the toolbar.
+ Expected: Row 1 and columns A-B are unfrozen, and the FRaC button is inactive.
+ Actual: Row 1 and columns A-B are now unfrozen, and the FRaC button is now inactive.

* Click the FRaC button on the toolbar.
+ Expected: Row 1 and columns A-B are frozen, and the FRaC button is active.
+ Actual: Row 1 and columns A-B are now frozen, and the FRaC button is now active.

==

Whether or not the entry in the context menu returns, I am good to go again. I'll mark this bug as resolved and worksforme, with the workaround identified above.