Bug 169075 - The selected range by shortcut SHIFT+SPACE/ CTRL+SPACE doesn't seem to be truly desired
Summary: The selected range by shortcut SHIFT+SPACE/ CTRL+SPACE doesn't seem to be tru...
Status: UNCONFIRMED
Alias: None
Product: LibreOffice
Classification: Unclassified
Component: Calc (show other bugs)
Version:
(earliest affected)
26.2.0.0 alpha0+ master
Hardware: All All
: medium enhancement
Assignee: Not Assigned
URL:
Whiteboard:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks: Shortcuts-Accelerators
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Reported: 2025-10-26 11:58 UTC by Telesto
Modified: 2025-10-29 09:52 UTC (History)
3 users (show)

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Description Telesto 2025-10-26 11:58:55 UTC
Description:
The selected range by shortcut SHIFT+SPACE/ CTRL+SPACE doesn't seem to be truely desired

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Open Calc
2. Press SHIFT+SPACE (A1:XFD1) or CTRL+SPACE (selects A1:A1048576) or pressing CTRL+END. Click in margin on column/or row

Actual Results:
It selects the full range of a Jumbo sheet. 

Casual users don't truly make use of Jumbo sheet size. However the do want to copy/paste  a number of columns (say A-Z) or some range with content (row 1 to 500)
The lazy people use SHIFT+SPACE and CTRL+SPACE (see bug 169069 as example). So are moving insane ranges around where it's actually about 'small' area's the want to actually move. However it's quite an effort to define a small area (breaking workflow), so move large chuncks

With the potential side-effect of moving formatting and other stuff around too which is actually out of sight. 

This is causing also sorts of side-effects
* Large file sizes (if DF formatting being scattered across the sheet)
* slow pasting (way to large range)

I surely don't know what I have put onto the outer skirts of my sheet. I'm already happy when I can navigating a sheet with say column A-Z and 2000 rows

The the sheets supports it doesn't mean it's practical/useful.

Essence: LibreOffice has all sorts of shortcuts to reach the outer end of a sheet. With of risk of putting some thinking there. 

However this isn't desired for a 'normal' user, using Calc a spreadsheet instead of some large database.

This relates to bug bug 167674

Expected Results:
* The hard part. Limited the size: as bug 167674
* Incremental increases of the shortcut. CTRL+SPACE or SHIFT+SPACE increasing range incremental instead of all of nothing

Something else?


Reproducible: Always


User Profile Reset: No

Additional Info:
Version: 26.2.0.0.alpha0+ (X86_64) / LibreOffice Community
Build ID: 620(Build:0)
CPU threads: 4; OS: Windows 10 X86_64 (build 19045); UI render: Skia/Raster; VCL: win
Locale: nl-NL (nl_NL); UI: en-US
Calc: CL threaded
Comment 1 Telesto 2025-10-26 12:11:21 UTC
@Eyal,
This more an invitation for discussion. I still don't know how to improve this in a sensible manner. Bug 167674 might be starting point. However it can be still quite large for a mortal. This was already a problem with the non-jumbo sheets. Jumbo sized spreadsheets amplifying this.

Those large sheets are simply hitting on usability. I'm already surprised how a normal human being can navigate a A1048576 by XFD1048576 spreadsheet. I simply wouldn't have any oversight what it would contain. 

A spreadsheet was original design as spreadsheet for calculations on some data (at least in my perception.. Now it's being used for calculations on massive data sets :-(. Where the dataset itself as such being database material. Excepting a spreadsheet being easier to make the information productive (Graphs/calculations and so on).
Comment 2 Eyal Rozenberg 2025-10-26 20:20:25 UTC
(In reply to Telesto from comment #1)

You could argue, that the more easily-accessible commands, e.g. the shortcuts with fewer keystrokes etc., should avoid selecting beyond the range of columns and rows which are actually in use. And that in order to make the "jumbo selection" you have to indicate your intent more strongly. For example, shift+space would extend to the last column in use, and a double shift+space would extend to the edge of the jumbo sheet.

... and that's true whether the size limit is 256 columns, or 64 Ki columns; 64 Ki rows or 1 Mi rows; etc.
Comment 3 Heiko Tietze 2025-10-29 09:52:35 UTC
Shit/Ctrl+Space are assigned to .uno:SelectRow/.uno:SelectColumn resp. "Select Row/Column". Silly shortcut as shift+ctrl+arrow works fine. The column shortcut was added for bug 96969 "Change column selection keyboard shortcut to Ctrl+Space", the respective shortcut for rows exists forever.

I suggest to remove it.