Bug 168628 - Selecting objects across multiple visible pages defines a silly selection with nonsensical behavior
Summary: Selecting objects across multiple visible pages defines a silly selection wit...
Status: UNCONFIRMED
Alias: None
Product: LibreOffice
Classification: Unclassified
Component: Writer (show other bugs)
Version:
(earliest affected)
unspecified
Hardware: All All
: medium normal
Assignee: Not Assigned
URL:
Whiteboard:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks: Shapes
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Reported: 2025-09-30 23:04 UTC by Eyal Rozenberg
Modified: 2025-10-02 11:49 UTC (History)
2 users (show)

See Also:
Crash report or crash signature:


Attachments
Writer doc for reproducing the bug (9.36 KB, application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.text)
2025-09-30 23:04 UTC, Eyal Rozenberg
Details
LO 26.2 Writer showing the silly selection rectangle for the two shapes (78.46 KB, image/png)
2025-09-30 23:04 UTC, Eyal Rozenberg
Details
LO 26.2 Writer showing a different selection rectangle for the two shapes with different page layout (141.02 KB, image/png)
2025-10-02 11:47 UTC, Eyal Rozenberg
Details

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Description Eyal Rozenberg 2025-09-30 23:04:18 UTC
Created attachment 203059 [details]
Writer doc for reproducing the bug

Reproduction instructions:

1. Open the attached document. It has a triangle shape on page 1 and a rhombus shape on page 4.
2. Ensure the Drawing toolbar is visible.
3. Make sure the window size and zoom are such, that you see all four pages, in a 2 row, 2-per-row placement
4. Press the Select button on the Drawing toolbar
5. Select the two shapes
6. Aligh the horizontal centers of both shapes.

Expected result:
Actually, that's an interesting question. Perhaps a "logical rectangle" selection rectangle which extends downwards over all of pages 2 and 3, but narrowly tracks the center of the page.

Then, action (6.) has no effect.

Actual result:
A visual selection rectangle encompasses the shapes on both pages - including corners of pages 2 and 3 as though they weren't consecutive, but physically laid out on a work area as two rows of two pages each, with the four corners touching.

Then, action (6.) brings the shape-4 rhombus, to the left edge of page 4, and brings the triangle to the right edger of page 1.

Note: There's nothing special about the document, you can easily create it yourself with a few page breaks and some shape insertions. I had each shape aligned to the page center.


Observed with:

Version: 26.2.0.0.alpha0+ (X86_64) / LibreOffice Community
Build ID: 0d986755e4153230670c820dc52cc40cd72dfa87
CPU threads: 4; OS: Linux 6.12; UI render: default; VCL: gtk3
Locale: en-IL (en_IL); UI: en-US
Calc: CL threaded
Comment 1 Eyal Rozenberg 2025-09-30 23:04:58 UTC
Created attachment 203060 [details]
LO 26.2 Writer showing the silly selection rectangle for the two shapes
Comment 2 Heiko Tietze 2025-10-02 09:15:31 UTC
"Silly"? Word shows a frame around each object with the drawback that zooming in makes it unclear if more objects are selected. The nine-dots-frame becomes a three-dot-frame in Writer and it is very clear that more objects are selected.
Comment 3 Telesto 2025-10-02 09:34:28 UTC
(In reply to Heiko Tietze from comment #2)
> "Silly"? 
I don't you need to read too much into the phrasing. I also struggle with proper descriptive wording: Odd, weird, particular, unconventional, surprising, off

It looks 'off', although not sure what's the exact culprit

Not sure what I would expect
A) A blue selection rectangle around the whole selection, instead of dots-frame
B) Dotted frame around separate shapes, not a ' grouped' nine-dots-frame 

I think I opt for B
Comment 4 Eyal Rozenberg 2025-10-02 11:47:10 UTC
Created attachment 203106 [details]
LO 26.2 Writer showing a different selection rectangle for the two shapes with different page layout

Here's what the selection "rectangle" looks like when the pages appear in a 3-per-row layout in the Writer window: A narrow rectangle, skipping over pages 2 and 3 entirely.
Comment 5 Eyal Rozenberg 2025-10-02 11:49:02 UTC
(In reply to Heiko Tietze from comment #2)
> "Silly"?

I can rephrase that if you like. The point is that the selection does not really correspond to that rectangle at all. See the attachment for what this looks like with a different viewing layout.