Bug 168594 - Can't navigate special-char menubutton-dialog using arrow keys
Summary: Can't navigate special-char menubutton-dialog using arrow keys
Status: ASSIGNED
Alias: None
Product: LibreOffice
Classification: Unclassified
Component: LibreOffice (show other bugs)
Version:
(earliest affected)
unspecified
Hardware: All All
: medium enhancement
Assignee: Michael Weghorn
URL:
Whiteboard: target:26.8.0
Keywords: accessibility
Depends on:
Blocks: Special-Character
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Reported: 2025-09-28 22:26 UTC by Eyal Rozenberg
Modified: 2025-12-15 22:51 UTC (History)
3 users (show)

See Also:
Crash report or crash signature:


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Description Eyal Rozenberg 2025-09-28 22:26:18 UTC
If I press the arrow button part of the special char toolbar button - a mini-dialog expands.

It would be nice if one could navigate this dialog using the keyboard, specifically the arrow keys, rather than just the mouse.
Comment 1 Eyal Rozenberg 2025-09-28 22:30:55 UTC
Observed with:

Version: 26.2.0.0.alpha0+ (X86_64) / LibreOffice Community
Build ID: 432930279b5d2791efadf5d602fb426c59d10a48
CPU threads: 4; OS: Linux 6.12; UI render: default; VCL: gtk3
Locale: en-IL (en_IL); UI: en-US
Calc: CL threaded

also with the QT5 VCL.
Comment 2 V Stuart Foote 2025-09-29 00:41:32 UTC
The <Tab> and <Shift><Tab> work for keyboard movements on Windows builds.

Does feel odd that Cursor (U,D,L,R) don't control these split-button items.
Comment 3 Heiko Tietze 2025-09-29 08:22:59 UTC
Tab works with 

Version: 25.8.1.1 (X86_64) / LibreOffice Community
Build ID: 580(Build:1)
CPU threads: 32; OS: Linux 6.16; UI render: default; VCL: kf6 (cairo+xcb)
Locale: de-DE (en_US.UTF-8); UI: en-US
25.8.1-3
Calc: threaded
Comment 4 Eyal Rozenberg 2025-09-29 08:34:18 UTC
(In reply to Heiko Tietze from comment #3)

So, I understand you can confirm that the arrow keys don't work? :-(
Comment 5 Heiko Tietze 2025-09-29 08:55:42 UTC
I cannot confirm the issue "Can't navigate special-char menubutton-dialog using the keyboard" (but yes, while the arrow keys work in the dialog they doesn't for the widget).
Comment 6 Eyal Rozenberg 2025-09-29 09:00:22 UTC
(In reply to Heiko Tietze from comment #5)

Changed the title; how about now?
Comment 7 Volodymyr 2025-12-15 21:34:23 UTC
Tested on Windows 11, LibreOffice versions: 25.8.3.2 (X86_64) stable and 26.2.0.0.alpha0+ (X86_64) alpha

Keyboard navigation in mini-dialogs of split-buttons works as follows:

Tab / Shift+Tab → works perfectly, moves focus between elements.

Arrow keys (Up/Down/Left/Right) → behavior is inconsistent: in some mini-dialogs the arrows perform specific actions (e.g., switch color, select line style), but not in all dialogs. Overall, the dialog remains functional.

Result: Partially reproducible. Keyboard navigation works via Tab, while Arrow keys execute functions only in some dialogs.

Environment details: UI locale: uk-UA, VCL: win, IK: Skia/RASTER.

QA status: NOT FULLY REPRODUCED; main functionality works with Tab navigation.
Comment 8 Commit Notification 2025-12-15 22:50:25 UTC
Michael Weghorn committed a patch related to this issue.
It has been pushed to "master":

https://git.libreoffice.org/core/commit/7bbf805341d3ce839d00067a0d92cae9cb465555

tdf#168594 Move logic to show context menu out of SvxCharView

It will be available in 26.8.0.

The patch should be included in the daily builds available at
https://dev-builds.libreoffice.org/daily/ in the next 24-48 hours. More
information about daily builds can be found at:
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Testing_Daily_Builds

Affected users are encouraged to test the fix and report feedback.
Comment 9 Commit Notification 2025-12-15 22:50:27 UTC
Michael Weghorn committed a patch related to this issue.
It has been pushed to "master":

https://git.libreoffice.org/core/commit/e03a1ce190aae23ad98f321a66b103dcbbaa5e1b

tdf#168594 Simplify SvxCharView font update

It will be available in 26.8.0.

The patch should be included in the daily builds available at
https://dev-builds.libreoffice.org/daily/ in the next 24-48 hours. More
information about daily builds can be found at:
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Testing_Daily_Builds

Affected users are encouraged to test the fix and report feedback.
Comment 10 Michael Weghorn 2025-12-15 22:51:47 UTC
I've started looking into porting away from using the custom SvxCharView to a weld::IconView, which does support arrow key navigation out of the box.