Bug 169655 - Change behaviour for switching between tables with Ctrl + Tab
Summary: Change behaviour for switching between tables with Ctrl + Tab
Status: NEW
Alias: None
Product: LibreOffice
Classification: Unclassified
Component: Calc (show other bugs)
Version:
(earliest affected)
25.8.3.2 release
Hardware: All All
: medium enhancement
Assignee: Not Assigned
URL:
Whiteboard:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks: Sheet-Tabs-Bar
  Show dependency treegraph
 
Reported: 2025-11-24 10:00 UTC by BDF
Modified: 2025-12-16 09:40 UTC (History)
2 users (show)

See Also:
Crash report or crash signature:


Attachments
Notepad PlusPlus - switching tabs example (726.37 KB, video/mp4)
2025-12-15 11:31 UTC, BDF
Details

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Description BDF 2025-11-24 10:00:08 UTC
Description:
The suggestions is that Ctrl + Tab should work like Alt + Tab under Windows but with tables.

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Create/Open a calc file with multiple tables
2. Switch between them using Ctrl + Tab

Actual Results:
If you press Ctrl + Tab it always switches to the next table in the line (from table 1 to 2 to 3, etc.). If you want to go the other way you have to use Ctrl + Shift + Tab.
The same bahaviour is replicated with Ctrl + Page UP/Page DOWN.

Expected Results:
Ctrl + Tab would work like Alt + Tab under Windows and would always switch to the table edited before the current table.

If you press Ctrl + Tab and hold control it would bring up an overview of the existing tables so that you can select between them using Ctrl + TAB (multiple times) OR Ctrl + Tab (single press) and holding Ctrl would bring up the overview like on Windows that can be navigated using the arrow keys.


Reproducible: Always


User Profile Reset: No

Additional Info:
As the same bahaviour is already replicated with Ctrl + Page UP/Page DOWN, there is IMO no real need to have the same function on a key combination that is widely known to work in a different way on most systems and applications.

Therefore I think it would be a good idea to use this button combination as default for the described task.

I was looking for a solution online, but I seems that the suggested functionality does not even exist in LibreOffice.
Comment 1 Buovjaga 2025-12-09 07:02:35 UTC
(In reply to BDF from comment #0)
> As the same bahaviour is already replicated with Ctrl + Page UP/Page DOWN,
> there is IMO no real need to have the same function on a key combination
> that is widely known to work in a different way on most systems and
> applications.

But the change would disrupt the workflow of millions of existing users.
Comment 2 Heiko Tietze 2025-12-09 09:54:08 UTC
How do browsers like Edge or Firefox handle ctrl+tab on Windows?
Comment 3 V Stuart Foote 2025-12-09 12:49:44 UTC
(In reply to Heiko Tietze from comment #2)
> How do browsers like Edge or Firefox handle ctrl+tab on Windows?

<Ctrl>+<Tab> moves between the current active browsers open URI tabs, +<Shift> reverses the direction.

LO movement between sheets (not "tables" as in OP) .uno:JumpToNextTable and .uno:JumpToPrevTable with default shortcuts of <Ctrl>+<Tab>|<Ctrl>+<PgDn> or <Ctrl>+<Shift>+<Tab>|<Ctrl>+<PgUp> is well established norms on Windows and <Cmd ⌘>+<backquote `>|<Shift><Cmd ⌘>+<backquote `> do so on macOS, IIANM.

While <Alt>+<Tab> in Windows WDM/Explorer, and <Cmd ⌘>+<Tab> on macOS, open an application/window switcher. Its a crap shoot on the linux DEs.

No reason to do something here that has such potential to disrupt user expectations for a LO custom that is bound to be error prone. 

-1 and => WF, for this.
Comment 4 BDF 2025-12-09 18:12:22 UTC
(In reply to Buovjaga from comment #1)
> But the change would disrupt the workflow of millions of existing users.

I don't think so as this behaviour actually _is_ the default behaviour in many other programs. But you could also go the true FOSS round and give the users the choice to select their favourite way of working.

(In reply to Heiko Tietze from comment #2)
> How do browsers like Edge or Firefox handle ctrl+tab on Windows?

Depends on the settings and the browser.

- Firefox is 'next tab' by default and can be switched to 'switch to last tab'
- Opera default is 'switch to last tab'
- Edge I have to check

(In reply to V Stuart Foote from comment #3)
> No reason to do something here that has such potential to disrupt user
> expectations for a LO custom that is bound to be error prone. 
> 
> -1 and => WF, for this.

I'm not against having the current behaviour as default.
It would be nice though for the end user to let them decide what is the right or best for their workflow.

(WF?)
Comment 5 Heiko Tietze 2025-12-10 09:58:26 UTC
The behavior is implemented at many programs, and we could offer this option too. It either is done as an option "Tab switching order: (o) Sequentially ( ) Most recently used", or we introduce new UNO commands and let users customize ctr+tab.

What I cannot wrap my mind around, and why I dislike it, is the changed order when going back. 1,3,2,4,1 becomes 3,2,4,1,4 on ctrl+tab and 2,4,1,4,1 when pressed again (of course the order changes only on entering the tab and pressing ctr+tab twice goes back two steps). Me believes this has been introduced to make shift+ctrl+tab obsolete.
Comment 6 BDF 2025-12-15 11:31:59 UTC
Created attachment 204650 [details]
Notepad PlusPlus - switching tabs example

Example video how the requested feature works under Notepad++

This is the _ecxact_ behaviour I have meant: You use Ctrl+Tab to switch between sheets/tabs, but unlike now it is not the next tab, but the tabs used previously.
Comment 7 BDF 2025-12-15 11:33:29 UTC
(In reply to Heiko Tietze from comment #5)
> What I cannot wrap my mind around, and why I dislike it, is the changed
> order when going back. 1,3,2,4,1 becomes 3,2,4,1,4 on ctrl+tab and 2,4,1,4,1
> when pressed again (of course the order changes only on entering the tab and
> pressing ctr+tab twice goes back two steps). Me believes this has been
> introduced to make shift+ctrl+tab obsolete.

1,3,2,4,1 vs. 3,2,4,1,4 vs. 2,4,1,4,1

I am confused with what you mean here.
Assuming 1 - 4 are sheets: Why should sheet 4 come up twice in the list?
Or have you meant something different?
Comment 8 Heiko Tietze 2025-12-16 09:02:59 UTC
(In reply to BDF from comment #7)
> 1,3,2,4,1 vs. 3,2,4,1,4 vs. 2,4,1,4,1
> Assuming 1 - 4 are sheets: Why should sheet 4 come up twice in the list?

I might be wrong and the sequence handling is smarter but if you have a stack of recently visited tabs it is a consequence that an address appears multiple times.
Comment 9 BDF 2025-12-16 09:16:46 UTC
(In reply to Heiko Tietze from comment #8)
> (In reply to BDF from comment #7)
> > 1,3,2,4,1 vs. 3,2,4,1,4 vs. 2,4,1,4,1
> > Assuming 1 - 4 are sheets: Why should sheet 4 come up twice in the list?
> 
> I might be wrong and the sequence handling is smarter but if you have a
> stack of recently visited tabs it is a consequence that an address appears
> multiple times.

Maybe behind the scenes (which I wouldn't think so as there is not much use in ti), but not from a user point of view.

When you take a look at the video of the tab switcher of Notepad PlusPlus there are only a few tabs listed in the tab switcher. If you reached the 'end' of the tab list, you start at the top again.

Example:
* "(NBR)" = active sheet
- Tabs listing (1), 2, 3, 4, 5 -> selecting 3 (so Ctrl+Tab x2)
- New tabs listing (3), 1, 2, 4, 5 -> selecting 2 (so Ctrl+Tab x2)
- New tabs listing (2), 3, 1, 4, 5 -> selecting 5 (so Ctrl+Tab x4)
- New tabs listing (5), 2, 3, 1, 4

I would rather say that the tab selected to be the active one (on Ctrl release) is removed from the list in it's current position and placed at the very top of the stack.
Comment 10 Heiko Tietze 2025-12-16 09:40:20 UTC
(In reply to BDF from comment #9)
> I would rather say that the tab selected to be the active one (on Ctrl
> release) is removed from the list in it's current position and placed at the
> very top of the stack.
Yes , to *move* makes much more sense than ~copy~.