Bug 33201 - UI: Highlight (not select) current row and column in spreadsheet
Summary: UI: Highlight (not select) current row and column in spreadsheet
Status: CLOSED FIXED
Alias: None
Product: LibreOffice
Classification: Unclassified
Component: Calc (show other bugs)
Version:
(earliest affected)
Inherited From OOo
Hardware: All All
: high enhancement
Assignee: Sahil Gautam
URL: http://ask.libreoffice.org/en/questio...
Whiteboard: feature, reviewed:2022 target:24.2.0 ...
Keywords: difficultyInteresting, easyHack, skillCpp, topicUI
: 78682 93702 129545 155857 158611 (view as bug list)
Depends on:
Blocks: Calc-Enhancements
  Show dependency treegraph
 
Reported: 2011-01-17 02:33 UTC by Thomas
Modified: 2024-07-14 18:30 UTC (History)
47 users (show)

See Also:
Crash report or crash signature:


Attachments
Mockup of what this feature would look like. (102.22 KB, image/jpeg)
2014-09-23 10:41 UTC, Owen Genat (retired)
Details
Transparent rectangle for the current row & column (5.26 KB, image/png)
2020-08-25 20:49 UTC, Dan Dascalescu
Details
Screenshot (125.27 KB, image/png)
2023-11-18 13:27 UTC, m_a_riosv
Details
Screenshot of the proposed color. (29.03 KB, image/png)
2023-11-20 21:52 UTC, m_a_riosv
Details
Missing icon in Column/Row Highlight (107.34 KB, image/png)
2024-07-11 12:44 UTC, Romano Giannetti
Details

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Description Thomas 2011-01-17 02:33:45 UTC
On large screens in large spreadsheets, it is hard to track which cells are in the same row (or column). It should be at least optional that all cells in the same column/row should be highlighted, e.g. by being darker, lighter, or with some additional semi-transparent color.
Note: This is not the same as selecting rows/columns via Ctrl+Space or Shift+Space. My request is optical only, it does not change the content or functionality of a spreadsheet.
Comment 1 Kohei Yoshida 2011-01-21 07:09:34 UTC
Someone else had requested this before.  In fact, there was even a patch (though not implemented correctly).

I'll keep this meanwhile.
Comment 2 Thomas 2012-01-25 02:06:54 UTC
Happy anniversary!
Kohei: Any news about this bug?
If someone else requested this before, is there are a bug report on this? Where can I get the patch you are speaking of?
Comment 3 Joel Madero 2012-09-07 16:57:45 UTC
Any progress on this Kohei? This would be a really useful feature, I was actually looking for it in MS Office at my work today thinking "man that would be useful" from what I can see, they don't have it, it would be awesome if we did :) Let me know if there's something I can do to help - if you link to the old patch I might be able to see what I can do with it
Comment 4 Kohei Yoshida 2012-09-07 16:58:43 UTC
Unassign.  No time for this.
Comment 5 Joel Madero 2012-09-07 19:44:37 UTC
Thanks for the update. After I'm done moving measurements I might take a stab at this, until then I'll try to find someone else to pawn it off on :)
Comment 6 Joel Madero 2014-05-16 19:43:26 UTC
*** Bug 78682 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 7 Owen Genat (retired) 2014-09-23 02:54:27 UTC
Related AskLO thread: http://ask.libreoffice.org/en/question/40153/
Comment 8 Joel Madero 2014-09-23 03:53:23 UTC
Apparently this is quite difficult to implement...which is unfortunate. Maybe a decent GSoC idea for the next round
Comment 9 Owen Genat (retired) 2014-09-23 10:39:06 UTC
(In reply to comment #7)
> Related AskLO thread: http://ask.libreoffice.org/en/question/40153/

Sorry. That was a duplicate thread. Original AskLO thread and LO forum thread (which contains a clear mockup) added to URL field. My comments are info only (for clarity of others) and not a desire to see this issue pushed. @Joel, shame about the difficulty all the same as it does seem a decent feature.
Comment 10 Owen Genat (retired) 2014-09-23 10:41:55 UTC
Created attachment 106721 [details]
Mockup of what this feature would look like.

Mockup from LO forum thread added for ease of use.
Comment 11 putt1ck 2015-02-02 12:05:17 UTC
This would be a really great feature and plenty of users would vote for it if they only knew how they could - or that this RFE existed...
Comment 12 alejsek 2015-02-21 03:40:59 UTC
It is obvious no author of excel/calc really uses it for serious work with big tables, otherwise this feature would already be there. Sorry for OT, but it is like debating if we need graphical representation for cursor. In the end, You can just start writing and see where it is, or You can just click with mouse to ensure its location, so where is the problem?
Comment 13 Joel Madero 2015-02-21 07:12:19 UTC
Please refrain from adding useless comments that add nothing to getting the enhancement moving forward. http://joelmadero.wordpress.com/2014/10/11/user-expectations-and-the-reality-of-our-community/?sn=c&c=326#comment-326

Of course - if you have the skills (and aren't just demanding other people to put in time) - patches more than welcome
Comment 14 raal 2015-08-31 08:33:17 UTC
*** Bug 93702 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 15 marcostinez 2015-10-05 11:08:32 UTC
Just want to state that I personally think it would be a useful feature, if possible even with some sort of options menu where you can chose the kind of highlighting and whether to select the complete row column (like a cross +) or only the two sides related to the row column (L-form).
I am aware, depending on the implied work, this might be more or less prioritized, but it's one of those things that might make a positive impression on potential new users, encouraging LO usage.
Comment 16 Thomas 2016-01-18 06:02:14 UTC
Happy 5th anniversary!
So, most agree that this is a good idea. Anyone actually working on it?
Comment 17 Joel Madero 2016-01-18 07:22:02 UTC
No - we don't give ETAs or guarantees. A volunteer with some pretty serious skills would have to take an interest and put in the time. Talking to one of the experienced developers...it's no trivial task. It might never be implemented, really just depends on if a volunteer wants to do it.
Comment 18 Romano Giannetti 2016-10-09 15:33:00 UTC
It seems a quite popular request even in Excel, where there is a (commercial) extension set that does it, and a series of hacks with VBA. 

Just saying --- I'd love to have the skill for implementing it, so I will not whine ;-).

See https://www.extendoffice.com/documents/excel/1494-excel-highlight-active-row-and-column.html
Comment 19 Igal 2017-10-31 20:19:11 UTC
I can take a swing at this issue if given a starting point by someone more familiar with the project.

Are there any instructions on how to set up the project in an IDE like Eclipse or IntelliJ IDEA?
Comment 20 Dan Dascalescu 2017-11-26 04:19:12 UTC
Sad to hear it's not a trivial task to highlight the current row.
Comment 21 Jan Pospíšil 2017-12-09 16:20:46 UTC
I completely agree, the VBA macro for excel is something like 25 lines of code, pretty sparse code In fact it just dynamically sets the background color property of all cells in active row/column. Is it really so difficult to implement something similar in LibreOffice that it takes several years?
Comment 22 horus 2018-09-01 10:58:22 UTC
Oh, how I really hope time travel would be real.  Because I am pretty sure that given 30 years, LO or OO or whatever succeeds them will have this function implemented natively without the use of macro.  Or maybe Microsoft Office would be totally free and there's no need to use OO or LO.  So I just need to go to 2048 and grap a copy of the software!
Comment 23 business 2018-11-03 09:49:39 UTC
I am not a programmer, but this lack of a feature has always baffled me for its seemingly simple solution, and the lack of it has made working from a spreadsheet much more tedious (when calling hundreds of phone numbers from a contact list, for example.) I've never understood why this is such a difficult task, considering so many other programs, like gnucash, are able to highlight (or put a temporary border) around the row and/or column last clicked on. 

It sees to me, and this is for anyone who does have the notion for programming it in, that it should be as simple as duplicating the routines in the select row/column action that cause the selected row/column to highlight. It is obvious this routine analyzes the position of the cell, figures out which column and row it is in, determines which cell in that row is the first one in the sheet that is actively being displayed on the screen, and then paints a background color in that originating cell, and continues +1 until all actively displayed cells in the row/column are painted. 

Couldn't a duplicate of this routine be created for a highlighting function (turned on and off in a menu item?) The only difference would be using a different color. This routine also wouldn't select the first cell in the column/row you select, as you would be selecting a cell first, and calling the routine to highlight second.
Comment 24 cpohle 2019-01-15 13:59:00 UTC
+1!
Comment 25 Rich 2019-04-03 20:14:20 UTC
I have a vision problem that makes going across a row difficult some days to follow. This is just what I need. While I cannot code I would be willing to test such a patch.
Comment 26 Ben 2019-07-29 11:54:02 UTC
+1 Similar to Rich with the vision. Having the highlight would be of a big help.
Comment 27 Gaurang 2019-10-06 07:10:54 UTC
+1 i really need this feature.
Comment 28 m_a_riosv 2019-12-22 18:12:13 UTC
*** Bug 129545 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 29 Konstantin 2020-01-15 09:16:40 UTC
+1 similar to Rich and Ben
Comment 30 pshute 2020-02-22 23:49:15 UTC
I can understand this might be difficult to implement. A compromise could be a function to momentarily select the row and/or column of the current cell.

It could be a shortcut you press to highlight the row and/or column for one second, or it could highlight the row/column for an instant each time you press the left/up or right/down arrow.
Comment 31 lore 2020-04-04 09:51:48 UTC
Instead of changing the behaviour of the software can this perhaps be implemented with a sort of modifier keys? 

The user selects the cell and the behaviour is unchanged but if the user uses key+click to select the cell that highlights the row and the column. 

Would this be easier to implement?

Sorry for not being able to bring a bigger contribution to this.
Comment 32 ilpaleo 2020-05-29 10:29:31 UTC
+1
Comment 33 bugzilla2 2020-06-27 11:24:56 UTC
Hello there...

Seems like no user of OOo 1 has read this bug so far, because that feature was already in OOo (or was it Star Calc?) before. And yes, it was EXTREMELY helpfull!! I think it vanished when Windows XP arrived, because there was a problem with the new Theme back then. But that is ages ago ;)

Count me in to the people that want that feature (back) in LibO. It really is so hard to copy lines to paper by hand, if there is no visual highlight of the current line/row... I started to select the line that I'm working on right now, but thats more of a workaround, not a permanent solution...
Comment 34 bugzilla2 2020-07-10 12:29:12 UTC
Feature still missing in 6.4.5.2
Comment 35 Dan Dascalescu 2020-08-25 20:49:29 UTC
Created attachment 164684 [details]
Transparent rectangle for the current row & column
Comment 36 Dan Dascalescu 2020-08-25 20:49:47 UTC
Maybe there's an easy way to implement this in v7!

I saw in the LO 7 release notes[1] that there's now support for transparent text in Writer and other components.

Can that code be reused to apply a transparent rectangle over the current row and column, as illustrated at https://superuser.com/questions/899479/how-to-highlight-whole-row-and-column-under-cursor-in-openoffice-calc?

[1]: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/ReleaseNotes/7.0
Comment 37 Dan Dascalescu 2020-08-28 07:22:55 UTC
Actually, this SHOULD be easy to implement - just do exactly what clicking a row or column header does (or Shift+Space), but with a different color.
Comment 38 Wojciech 2020-10-01 09:15:09 UTC
+1

I also need this feature for work with long and wide spreadsheets.

It seems such feature is present in Windows version? Or is it only system feature there? I am a Linux user (KDE), have only seen it by other people.
Comment 39 bugzilla2 2020-10-01 09:58:49 UTC
(In reply to Wojciech from comment #38)
> It seems such feature is present in Windows version?

I wish that would be so... Don't worry, Linux users are not disadvantaged here, there is currently no highlight, on any OS.
Comment 40 bugzilla2 2020-10-01 10:03:25 UTC
(In reply to Dan Dascalescu from comment #37)
> Actually, this SHOULD be easy to implement - just do exactly what clicking a
> row or column header does (or Shift+Space), but with a different color.

Thanks for the hint on Shift + Space. That makes the situation already a bit better ;)
Comment 41 Tamás Éliás 2021-06-20 09:21:52 UTC
All. This feature request is more then ten years old now. It is funny that we are still in the same shame.

+1, this should be an extremely helpful feature.

CTRL+SPACE and Shift+Space does not work for me on 

Version: 7.1.4.2 / LibreOffice Community
Build ID: 10(Build:2)
CPU threads: 8; OS: Linux 5.8; UI render: default; VCL: gtk3
Locale: hu-HU (hu_HU.UTF-8); UI: hu-HU
Ubuntu package version: 1:7.1.4~rc2-0ubuntu0.20.04.1~lo1
Calc: threaded

Ctrl+space OR shift+space alone itself are working, but cannot highlight the current cell as a +, due to the complete sheet gets highlighted upon pressing the second set of keyboard shortcuts.
Comment 42 Heiko Tietze 2021-07-07 07:34:13 UTC
Sounds like a good enhancement. We should make it optional in both on/off and color. Tools > Options > Calc > View: "[x] Highlight col/row <Blue>" (default color ideally taken from the system theme). And it requires an entry under the View main menu and a good shortcut. Perhaps alt+space since ctrl/shift+space select the col/row. A selection overwrites the highlighting, of course.
Comment 43 Romano Giannetti 2021-07-07 07:45:20 UTC
It could be a highlight (transparent shade of color) or even a border (similar to selection highlight in another color, maybe, or just a colored border making a "cross" row-column).

I use to have to explore big student data spreadsheets (thousands of rows and around one hundred columns) and this would be a life safer --- now I sometimes have to select a column and use an on-screen horizontal ruler to be sure to pick the right spot.

Heiko's suggestions seem spot on!
Comment 44 Heiko Tietze 2021-07-08 07:59:48 UTC Comment hidden (no-value)
Comment 45 Eike Rathke 2021-07-17 21:45:00 UTC
(In reply to Heiko Tietze from comment #42)
> Sounds like a good enhancement. We should make it optional in both on/off
> and color. Tools > Options > Calc > View: "[x] Highlight col/row <Blue>"
> (default color ideally taken from the system theme).
Marked selection is already blue, so that should be something different.

> shortcut. Perhaps alt+space
No, because Alt+Space opens the window menu in at least GNOME and other window managers.


(In reply to Heiko Tietze from comment #44)
> Was looking into the code but it seems to be a tricky thing. We could use
> either ScOutputData::DrawBackground() or ScOutputData::DrawGrid()
Anything ScOutputData would be wrong because it's not related to data at all, nor styles. It also wouldn't be a background.

Take a look at ScTabView::MarkRows() and ScTabView::MarkColumns(), which are called for .uno:SelectRow and .uno:SelectColumn, it would be almost the same (without the actual mark and selection of course) and should be a HighlightOverlay added to the OverlayManager, similar to the SelectionOverlay that is updated from InitBlockMode() as ScGridWindow::UpdateSelectionOverlay(), e.g. like UpdateHighlightOverlay() and so on. They could share a great portion of code.
Comment 46 bugzilla2 2021-07-18 10:35:07 UTC
Thanks Heiko and Eike for working on this :)

(In reply to Eike Rathke from comment #45)
> (In reply to Heiko Tietze from comment #42)
> > Sounds like a good enhancement. We should make it optional in both on/off
> > and color. Tools > Options > Calc > View: "[x] Highlight col/row <Blue>"
> > (default color ideally taken from the system theme).
> Marked selection is already blue, so that should be something different.

I just played with colors:
- Color only on the Border (as someone suggested) → In my opinion too subtle to be really helpful in crowded tables.
- Blue highlight → I tried it with less opaque versions of the "selection blue" and indeed that doesn't work, as the “selection blue” is already quite light, and you can't really go much lighter. Darker is also bad because you lose contrast to the content then. So Eike is right, it has to be another color then the "selection blue".
Comment 47 Heiko Tietze 2021-09-29 13:19:29 UTC
Too difficult for me. ScTabView::MarkColumns() and *Rows() take a lot of conditions into account such as merged cells (not perfectly correct though), other selection, and many more situations that are not clear to me.

I also wonder if adding a selection is the right way. We could do it on-the-fly in ScGridWindow::UpdateSelectionOverlay(), and perhaps only if nothing else is selected. The range would be from 0 to max_view (GetScrSize()?) with GetCurX/Y() by cell width (no idea how to calculate the width/height in px) and has to respond to ScGridWindow::CursorChanged() but also resize and scroll.

Bayram, is this something for you?
Comment 48 Bayram Çiçek 2021-10-01 08:32:34 UTC
(In reply to Heiko Tietze from comment #47)

> 
> Bayram, is this something for you?

I'm not sure, but I'll work on it as soon as possible.
Comment 49 Phil 2022-04-28 13:53:09 UTC
Any progress?
For LO 7.4 beta1?
Comment 50 Bayram Çiçek 2022-04-29 17:37:04 UTC
(In reply to Phil from comment #49)
> Any progress?
> For LO 7.4 beta1?

no progress so far.
Comment 51 Romano Giannetti 2022-04-30 18:06:31 UTC
In the meanwhile, I discovered that (at least on Gnome Shell) I can use the "Universal access" hairline zoom feature, which helps a lot.

There is an explanation here: https://askubuntu.com/a/1095983/16395 --- if you choose a very transparent color for the airline cursor and a default zoom factor of 1.00, you can then use the keyboard (by default super+alt+8, but you can change it) to superpose to the mouse cursor a full-screen crossline. 

Clearly not the same thing, because it follows the mouse and not the active cell, but it's better than nothing on very big sheets.
Comment 52 Mark 2022-09-16 16:18:37 UTC Comment hidden (me-too)
Comment 53 Rafael Lima 2022-09-29 19:03:20 UTC Comment hidden (me-too)
Comment 54 Yauheni 2022-11-10 10:48:30 UTC
Can suggest a half-measure - highlight the mouse cursor when hovering over the desired row/column. Maybe it's easier to implement?
Comment 55 Romano Giannetti 2022-11-10 15:45:44 UTC
@Yahueni, I do not understand what you mean by "desired row/column".

Here: https://i.stack.imgur.com/Ly5sO.png you can see what I have using the "hack" I explained in my comment #51. Without the airline cursor lines, it is very difficult to find at a glance which row/column the cursor is in. The problem with my hack is that it's gnome-specific, it's slow, and follows the mouse, not the active cell.
Comment 56 Yauheni 2022-11-11 06:51:39 UTC
Let's say cell X100 is currently active. Now, if the mouse cursor is anywhere in row 100 or anywhere in column X, it takes on a different shape or color
Comment 57 Bruce McCoy 2022-12-31 21:50:35 UTC Comment hidden (me-too)
Comment 58 Joe Abraham 2023-01-21 00:58:24 UTC Comment hidden (off-topic)
Comment 59 Joe Abraham 2023-01-21 16:40:57 UTC Comment hidden (off-topic)
Comment 60 Joe Abraham 2023-01-21 16:42:20 UTC Comment hidden (off-topic)
Comment 61 mtness 2023-02-15 12:07:56 UTC
First of all,
Happy 12th birthday, bugno 33201!

This feature would be highly desireable, indeed -
since MSO doesn't have this, too, it would be a significant advantage if this would be done.

Is there anybody here who can point me in the right direction were to look for the right place to do this in the sources?


@Joe Abraham:
IMHO we should wait until this feature has been developed before we ask for further enhancements ...

Best regards, MT
Comment 62 Rafael Lima 2023-02-15 23:34:09 UTC
(In reply to mtness from comment #61)
> Is there anybody here who can point me in the right direction were to look
> for the right place to do this in the sources?

Se Comment #45 in this bug ticket.

I would start here:
https://opengrok.libreoffice.org/xref/core/sc/source/ui/inc/gridwin.hxx
https://opengrok.libreoffice.org/xref/core/sc/source/ui/view/gridwin.cxx
https://opengrok.libreoffice.org/xref/core/sc/source/ui/view/gridwin4.cxx

To implement this, one will have to add a new sdr::overlay::OverlayObjectList to handle this new highlight overlay.
Comment 63 Wolfgang Jäger 2023-02-16 12:36:16 UTC
When the bug (feature request) was exatly 10.5 years old a first useful comment stated the relevant fact concerning overlays and now we get more detail about this.

The requested feature is concerning a very plausible wish of quite a lot of users, and a good way to offer another advantage of Calc compared to commercial competitors, without compromising the existing compatibility. 
However, it seems to me that the implementation does not amount to an "easy hack". Conflicts with conditional formatting must be carefully avoided. Well, I don't really understand any of this...

Who might assign him(f/m)self to this?
Comment 64 Mark 2023-03-23 19:29:33 UTC Comment hidden (me-too)
Comment 65 m_a_riosv 2023-06-15 22:16:10 UTC
*** Bug 155857 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 66 Massimiliano Vessi 2023-07-15 23:14:53 UTC
I need this feature too. Is possible to fund/pay for this feature?
Comment 67 Buovjaga 2023-07-16 04:49:23 UTC
(In reply to Massimiliano Vessi from comment #66)
> I need this feature too. Is possible to fund/pay for this feature?

You could ask Andreas:
https://blog.documentfoundation.org/blog/2023/04/25/want-new-features-in-libreoffice-help-to-fund-developers/
Comment 68 bugzilla2 2023-07-17 08:07:18 UTC
@Massimiliano:

If you found a developer who is able to implement this and costs would be too high: Post it back here and maybe we can setup some kind of crowdfunding. I'm sure there are several people here that would donate something to get this feature.
Comment 69 Dung.Saga 2023-09-06 10:41:14 UTC
I would love to have this kind of highlight. It's much better than using Ctrl+Space or Shift+Space all the time.
Comment 70 Dung.Saga 2023-09-06 10:47:16 UTC
Some hints for development are posted at https://dev.blog.documentfoundation.org/2023/08/10/highlight-the-current-row-and-column-in-calc-difficulty-interesting-easyhack/

They said has a difficulty of "Intersting EasyHack". Maybe someone can solve it before the 15th-year anniversary.
Comment 71 Novaes 2023-10-25 17:24:17 UTC Comment hidden (no-value)
Comment 72 Commit Notification 2023-11-17 16:35:51 UTC
Sahil Gautam committed a patch related to this issue.
It has been pushed to "master":

https://git.libreoffice.org/core/commit/487e30bec174342fff07f1f8cc76c9beed4c4843

tdf#33201 Highlight current row and column in spreadsheet

It will be available in 24.2.0.

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 73 Rafael Lima 2023-11-17 19:45:52 UTC
(In reply to Commit Notification from comment #72)
> Sahil Gautam committed a patch related to this issue.

Thanks Sahil for this contribution! This is looking great!

I've just tested it and it is working as requested.

Do you plan to do anything else about this issue? I would only suggest you add a Uno command to easily toggle Highlight On/Off. Then this could be added to the menu and toolbars/notebookbars.
Comment 74 Sahil Gautam 2023-11-17 19:54:24 UTC
Somethings ->
* For tiling window managers like mine, if the tile is suddenly zoomed into(i.e. changed to fullscreen, then the highlight doesn't update then and there.)
For others (desktop environments like kde, gnome etc, please confirm).

About the Shortcut definitely (would be nice to have).

[Screen Status]?
when not maximized, enable highlighting, and then dragging the corner of the window, increase the window size.
Comment 75 m_a_riosv 2023-11-18 13:27:32 UTC
Created attachment 190899 [details]
Screenshot

Looks too light for me with 'Standard spreadsheet theme'
Scheme 'Automatic' 'System theme'/'Light'
Version: 24.2.0.0.alpha0+ (X86_64) / LibreOffice Community
Build ID: 8369765ec5be151082a6e31c16e2ab2b0df13f5c
CPU threads: 16; OS: Windows 10.0 Build 22631; UI render: Skia/Raster; VCL: win
Locale: es-ES (es_ES); UI: en-US Calc: CL threaded Jumbo
Comment 76 Commit Notification 2023-11-19 12:45:33 UTC
Sahil Gautam committed a patch related to this issue.
It has been pushed to "master":

https://git.libreoffice.org/core/commit/b05905dc2da404fd307b4589ca2df424b1bb4d65

tdf#33201 Make Row/column highlight usable

It will be available in 24.2.0.

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 77 elmau 2023-11-20 17:27:36 UTC
Do I need to do something? Because I don't see any change.

Version: 24.2.0.0.alpha0+ (X86_64) / LibreOffice Community
Build ID: baecfd21797310bb15ab98ca3962445d99e397db
CPU threads: 16; OS: Linux 6.6; UI render: default; VCL: gtk3
Locale: en-US (en_US.UTF-8); UI: en-US
Calc: threaded
Comment 78 m_a_riosv 2023-11-20 21:13:45 UTC
(In reply to elmau from comment #77)
> ...
Edit the expert configuration,
search for 'ColumnRowHighlighting'
change to true.
Comment 79 elmau 2023-11-20 21:22:21 UTC
(In reply to m.a.riosv from comment #78)
> (In reply to elmau from comment #77)
> > ...
> Edit the expert configuration,
> search for 'ColumnRowHighlighting'
> change to true.

Thank... like you, is very light in my default system, but, is a great tool.
Comment 80 Sahil Gautam 2023-11-20 21:26:45 UTC
The light color will be fixed ASAP. Please give some color preferences like make it dark black, or green etc.. or use this hex value instead.. etc.
Comment 81 m_a_riosv 2023-11-20 21:52:09 UTC
Created attachment 190925 [details]
Screenshot of the proposed color.

I like a light rose fff5f5, a color not used on other parts.
Comment 82 Heiko Tietze 2023-11-21 06:07:21 UTC
(In reply to Sahil Gautam from comment #80)
> Please give some color preferences...
The cell frame is drawn with the accent color. I'd use rStyleSettings.GetAccentColor() and make it 75% lighter/darker depending on the theme; and let the user override the default to allow light rose or pink.
Comment 83 Sahil Gautam 2023-11-21 06:23:06 UTC
Patch will be up soon..
Comment 84 Romano Giannetti 2023-11-21 09:49:09 UTC
This is quite a killer feature, thanks! Effectively, the shade is basically invisible now, but I'm confident it will be changed ;-).

A suggestion: if you make it configurable, it would be better to have a couple of colors, for light and dark mode, to take into account the systems that switch automatically.
Comment 85 Commit Notification 2023-11-27 11:57:19 UTC
Sahil committed a patch related to this issue.
It has been pushed to "master":

https://git.libreoffice.org/core/commit/b6f274f3d0a415e84cda45f5929d89130974ee2d

tdf#33201 Change default HighlightOverlay color

It will be available in 24.2.0.

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 86 elmau 2023-11-27 17:13:01 UTC
This is great... work fine in:

Version: 24.2.0.0.alpha1+ (X86_64) / LibreOffice Community
Build ID: c8f7408db73d2f2ccacb25a2b4fef8dfebdfc6cb
CPU threads: 16; OS: Linux 6.6; UI render: default; VCL: gtk3
Locale: en-US (en_US.UTF-8); UI: en-US
Calc: threaded
Comment 87 Romano Giannetti 2023-11-28 13:03:33 UTC
Wow, that's perfect! Thank you a lot!

Now, the only missing thing it's the possibility to bind the on/off to a key combo and/or to a toolbar icon and/or an item in the "View" menu (maybe after the show hidden row/columns?)

A doubt --- 24.2 means that it will be in the version released next February? I have 7.6.3.2 now...
Comment 88 Commit Notification 2023-12-04 15:23:29 UTC
Sahil Gautam committed a patch related to this issue.
It has been pushed to "master":

https://git.libreoffice.org/core/commit/a4d11d07fbace142cba82c30ecb09ff99b9bbb6f

tdf#33201 Checkbox Implementation for Col/row Highlight

It will be available in 24.2.0.

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 89 BogdanB 2023-12-04 20:23:48 UTC
Checkbox is working well in
Version: 24.2.0.0.alpha1+ (X86_64) / LibreOffice Community
Build ID: bc95ece0618b9886890d9c758b9d0ebc0fc41c69
CPU threads: 16; OS: Linux 6.2; UI render: default; VCL: gtk3
Locale: ro-RO (ro_RO.UTF-8); UI: en-US
Calc: threaded

Tools - Options - LibreOffice Calc - View - Column/Row highlighting
Comment 90 Heiko Tietze 2023-12-05 05:25:47 UTC
(In reply to BogdanB from comment #89)
> Checkbox is working well in
Thanks for testing.
Comment 91 Eike Rathke 2023-12-05 21:17:24 UTC
(In reply to Romano Giannetti from comment #87)
> 24.2 means that it will be in the version released next
> February?
Yes. See also https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/ReleasePlan
Comment 92 bugzilla2 2023-12-06 11:00:02 UTC
First of all, a BIG THANK YOU to Sahil for implementing this :)

But there is always a but :D

In my opinion, this is a first class killer feature, that sets LibO ahead of MS-Office, but we seem to want to hide it as good as possible :( Even after knowing that there is that ominous checkbox "somewhere", it took me quiet a while to find it. I'd wish there would be an Entry in the View-Menu and a button in the Toolbar.

That would make this feature much mire visible and approachable, then a very good hidden checkbox deeply buried in the options.
Comment 93 temp_user 2023-12-06 11:49:13 UTC
I totally agree with you. I hope we see the additional features you suggest implemented soon. Otherwise, as soon as the new version is published, new bug/issue will be opened.
Comment 94 Romano Giannetti 2023-12-06 21:14:02 UTC
Well... to be honest, I still have to find the checkbox... I still activate it with the "advanced settings" thing.
Comment 95 Commit Notification 2023-12-07 11:04:14 UTC
Sahil committed a patch related to this issue.
It has been pushed to "master":

https://git.libreoffice.org/core/commit/0e942c11e074244224a9968046da105dc62656e8

tdf#33201 Move Cell position logic inside the function

It will be available in 24.2.0.

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 96 m_a_riosv 2023-12-07 14:13:43 UTC
(In reply to Romano Giannetti from comment #94)
> Well... to be honest, I still have to find the checkbox... I still activate
> it with the "advanced settings" thing.

Menu/Tools/Options/LibreOffice Calc/ Column/Row highlighting
Comment 97 Rafael Lima 2023-12-07 19:42:02 UTC
(In reply to bugzilla2 from comment #92)
> Even after
> knowing that there is that ominous checkbox "somewhere", it took me quiet a
> while to find it. I'd wish there would be an Entry in the View-Menu and a
> button in the Toolbar.
> 
> That would make this feature much mire visible and approachable, then a very
> good hidden checkbox deeply buried in the options.

I agree with this... we need a Uno command linking to this feature, making it possible to add this to the menubar and the Tabbed UI.

This way, it will be very easy to toggle highlighting whenever it is necessary.

Is this already planned?
Comment 98 Sahil Gautam 2023-12-07 19:44:50 UTC
> Is this already planned?

Yes it is.
Comment 99 Commit Notification 2023-12-12 21:19:03 UTC
Sahil committed a patch related to this issue.
It has been pushed to "master":

https://git.libreoffice.org/core/commit/d981ee6256a905eb8a45557869288a06eb5ae0fc

tdf#33201 Add UNO command for Column/Row Highlighting

It will be available in 24.8.0.

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 100 bugzilla2 2023-12-13 09:32:54 UTC
A pity that we missed the feature freeze for 24.2.0 by a couple of days. That would mean that users will have to wait almost another year to have this feature available to the average user.

Not sure though, but freeze for 24.2.1 is in February. Is this UNO/GUI thing a too big change to bring it into the first minor-release?
Comment 101 Buovjaga 2023-12-13 09:38:51 UTC
(In reply to bugzilla2 from comment #100)
> A pity that we missed the feature freeze for 24.2.0 by a couple of days.
> That would mean that users will have to wait almost another year to have
> this feature available to the average user.
> 
> Not sure though, but freeze for 24.2.1 is in February. Is this UNO/GUI thing
> a too big change to bring it into the first minor-release?

As the feature itself is in 24.2, the later stuff can be backported to it just fine.
Comment 102 bugzilla2 2023-12-13 09:41:35 UTC
(In reply to Buovjaga from comment #101)
> As the feature itself is in 24.2, the later stuff can be backported to it
> just fine.

Great news :)
Sahil's "It will be available in 24.8.0." scared me :D
Comment 103 Heiko Tietze 2023-12-13 10:41:13 UTC
(In reply to bugzilla2 from comment #102)
> Sahil's "It will be available in 24.8.0." scared me :D
The CI tool Jenkins adds these messages to Bugzilla (if the summary has a tdf#12345 info). And meanwhile Xisco cherry-picked this patch for 24.2, see https://gerrit.libreoffice.org/c/core/+/160641.
Comment 104 Romano Giannetti 2023-12-13 12:01:45 UTC
This is great news. I hope it will be shown in the release notes!
Now, add the missing array functions (xlookup, filter &co), and LO calc will be ahead of Excel and Sheets!

Thanks a lot for the feature.
Comment 105 Commit Notification 2023-12-15 08:02:01 UTC
Sahil committed a patch related to this issue.
It has been pushed to "libreoffice-24-2":

https://git.libreoffice.org/core/commit/4dc019cc752013692b74df7d110f415533f4dd12

tdf#33201 Add UNO command for Column/Row Highlighting

It will be available in 24.2.0.0.beta2.

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 106 marcusfb@gmail.com 2023-12-21 13:50:57 UTC Comment hidden (off-topic)
Comment 107 Buovjaga 2023-12-21 13:57:52 UTC Comment hidden (off-topic)
Comment 108 ady 2024-01-09 09:57:14 UTC
(In reply to Romano Giannetti from comment #104)
> I hope it will be shown in the release notes!

Not there ATM (FWIW).
Comment 109 Buovjaga 2024-01-14 12:56:34 UTC
Sahil: would you like to add this to https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/ReleaseNotes/24.2 ? Thanks.
Comment 110 Sahil Gautam 2024-01-14 14:18:26 UTC
DoneG(In reply to Buovjaga from comment #109)
> Sahil: would you like to add this to
> https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/ReleaseNotes/24.2 ? Thanks.

Done.
Comment 111 haroldcordero 2024-06-18 04:54:09 UTC Comment hidden (spam)
Comment 112 haroldcordero 2024-06-18 04:55:57 UTC Comment hidden (obsolete, spam)
Comment 113 Buovjaga 2024-06-19 08:27:13 UTC
*** Bug 158611 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Comment 114 helgaella99 2024-07-11 09:38:56 UTC Comment hidden (spam)
Comment 115 bugzilla2 2024-07-11 09:52:23 UTC
Heiko Tietze closed this issue a few minutes ago, but the Toolbar-Button to quickly toggle this function on/off is still missing. Is there another bugreport for that? Otherwise it might be better to keep that in this bugreport and reopen it?
Comment 116 Buovjaga 2024-07-11 09:58:00 UTC
(In reply to bugzilla2 from comment #115)
> Heiko Tietze closed this issue a few minutes ago, but the Toolbar-Button to
> quickly toggle this function on/off is still missing. Is there another
> bugreport for that? Otherwise it might be better to keep that in this
> bugreport and reopen it?

View - Column/Row Highlighting

You can add it to toolbars via Tools - Customize - Toolbars.
Comment 117 Romano Giannetti 2024-07-11 12:44:44 UTC
Created attachment 195236 [details]
Missing icon in Column/Row Highlight

In my case (24.2.4 from the fresh Ubuntu PPA) the problem is that there is no icon for the action, so adding it to the taskbar is quite awkward...
Comment 118 Buovjaga 2024-07-11 13:15:39 UTC
(In reply to Romano Giannetti from comment #117)
> Created attachment 195236 [details]
> Missing icon in Column/Row Highlight
> 
> In my case (24.2.4 from the fresh Ubuntu PPA) the problem is that there is
> no icon for the action, so adding it to the taskbar is quite awkward...

In the Customize dialog after adding the command to a toolbar: Modify - Change Icon.
Comment 119 Romano Giannetti 2024-07-13 10:17:24 UTC
Hmmm... yes, I can select another icons, but then it doesn't really work correctly --- for example, the state selected/unselected is not really following the real state of the options. 

Anyway, the menu option is simple to reach, so no problem.
Comment 120 Romano Giannetti 2024-07-13 10:21:23 UTC
...and by the way, enabling/disabling the option from the menu does not change the status immediately, you have to click on a different cell to see it. Maybe both things are related?
Comment 121 bugzilla2 2024-07-14 17:02:54 UTC
(In reply to Romano Giannetti from comment #117)
> In my case (24.2.4 from the fresh Ubuntu PPA) the problem is that there is
> no icon for the action, so adding it to the taskbar is quite awkward...

Yes, there is none. We can add another Ion that somehow represents that action, but there is no "perfect one".

> Hmmm... yes, I can select another icons, but then it doesn't really work
> correctly --- for example, the state selected/unselected is not really
> following the real state of the options.

I can confirm this. The Icon is always "on", no matter if the function is enabled or not.

> ...and by the way, enabling/disabling the option from the menu 
> does not change the status immediately, you have to click on a different
> cell to see it. Maybe both things are related?

I can confirm this too.

Thanks to Buovjaga for giving the hint, that the Ion can be changed :)

Nevertheless I think that an appropriate icon in the toolbar should be "built in". The average user will not add a custom toolbar icon. But I still think this is a great function, so users should be able to toggle it right from the toolbar, with an built-in toolbar-button. And the highlight should be immediately visible when toggling the switch and the toolbar-button should also respect the on/off-state of the function.
Comment 122 Romano Giannetti 2024-07-14 18:30:39 UTC
(In reply to bugzilla2 from comment #121)
> ... But I still think this is a great function ...

You can bet it --- I have fellow workers who are Excel-only who are installing LibreOffice just to use Calc to browse big, complex tables. It's a killer feature.