[Libreoffice-bugs] [Bug 121967] New: Can't select/pick multiples shapes or images in Writer/Calc/Impress/Draw with CTRL key

[b***@bugs.documentfoundation.org]

https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=121967

Bug ID: 121967
Summary: Can't select/pick multiples shapes or images in
Writer/Calc/Impress/Draw with CTRL key
Product: LibreOffice
Version: 3.3.0 release
Hardware: All
OS: All
Status: UNCONFIRMED
Severity: normal
Priority: medium
Component: UI
Assignee: libreoffice-***@lists.freedesktop.org
Reporter: ***@gmail.com

Created attachment 147362
--> https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/attachment.cgi?id=147362&action=edit
Microsoft Office Powerpoint, press Ctrl select multiple objects

Can't select multiple objects like shapes or images in
Writer/Impress/Calc/Draw.

Step to reproduce:

1) insert an object (shape, image, table, etc),
2) Press CTRL and left mouse clic, the first object is selected,
3) keep CTRL key pressed and try to select another object,
4) The previously selected object does not remain selected.

One observation: it's possible to use Shift to perform this action. However, in
every other software out there Ctrl is the default key for selecting multiple
objects.
Furthermore, Ctrl does not have a function assigned to it in LO. Users are used
to using Ctrl to select multiple objects in most other software programs in use
today and also in the most used office suites of the competition.

Proposal: change the key binding to selecting multiple objects from Shift to
Ctrl.

[b***@bugs.documentfoundation.org]

https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=121967

Pedro <***@gmail.com> changed:

What |Removed |Added
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
See Also| |https://bugs.documentfounda
| |tion.org/show_bug.cgi?id=53
| |300

[b***@bugs.documentfoundation.org]

https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=121967

Pedro <***@gmail.com> changed:

What |Removed |Added
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
See Also| |https://bugs.documentfounda
| |tion.org/show_bug.cgi?id=12
| |1076

[b***@bugs.documentfoundation.org]

https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=121967

Durgapriyanka <***@gmail.com> changed:

What |Removed |Added
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Status|UNCONFIRMED |NEW
Ever confirmed|0 |1

--- Comment #1 from Durgapriyanka <***@gmail.com> ---
Thank you for reporting the bug. I can confirm that the bug is present in

Version: 6.1.3.2
Build ID: 86daf60bf00efa86ad547e59e09d6bb77c699acb
CPU threads: 2; OS: Windows 6.1; UI render: default;
Locale: en-US (en_US); Calc: group threaded

[b***@bugs.documentfoundation.org]

https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=121967

V Stuart Foote <***@utsa.edu> changed:

What |Removed |Added
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
CC| |libreoffice-ux-***@lists
| |.freedesktop.org,
| |***@utsa.edu
Severity|normal |enhancement
Ever confirmed|1 |0
Keywords| |needsUXEval
Status|NEW |UNCONFIRMED

--- Comment #2 from V Stuart Foote <***@utsa.edu> ---
It makes no sense to adopt <Ctrl> based selection--that is simply not the
legacy we have inherited

Otherwise--how is this a "bug", it functions as implemented? Confirmed NEW in
error... to UX-Advise

The Draw objects manipulated on Impress or Draw slide/page are different than
controls provided to manipulate Draw objects on Writer canvas or in Calc cells.

There is no magic wand to wave making <Ctrl> + selection function like it does
in other applications--it all would have to be developed. IIRC it is down in
the guts of VCL and the various edit shells. A whole lot of work to break
legacy behavior that is not wrong.

I'm not convinced this merits the effort.

[b***@bugs.documentfoundation.org]

https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=121967

--- Comment #3 from Pedro <***@gmail.com> ---
Using "legacy" as a reason to not adapt Ctrl selection is simply not valid
sorry.
Otherwise we would not fix or adapt anything in LibreOffice, we would not have
Sidebar or Tabbed UI or new icons.
We would keep things as legacy. LO is a evolving software.

It's normal that users EXPECT Ctrl to be used for multiple icon selection when
it's used by text editors, Office suites, web-browsers, e-mail clients, etc.
If LO does it different, then it's a bug not a feature.

I write this with no intention to offend, nor did I have that intention when I
opened my bug report. Considering the multiple issues with Ctrl selection in LO
(check See Also bugs), this is clearly not a good legacy.

If this indeed requires a lot of effort for low visible reward then I agree
with you that it won't merit the effort. That to me is a good valid reason
because this bug in itself is not very serious indeed.

But when you compound this bug, with the other two related bugs (non-contiguous
cell selection in chart creation in Calc, selecting multiple lines/rows in
tables in Writer and Impress) then this probably merits someone to look into
all these related issues.

All the best.

[b***@bugs.documentfoundation.org]

https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=121967

Pedro <***@gmail.com> changed:

What |Removed |Added
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
See Also| |https://bugs.documentfounda
| |tion.org/show_bug.cgi?id=12
| |1534

[b***@bugs.documentfoundation.org]

https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=121967

--- Comment #5 from Pedro <***@gmail.com> ---
Thank you for the vote Heiko. Now it depends if it's picked up or not.

I also find the idea of selecting objects via the Navigator. This can be
especially useful if one has multiple objects overlaping each other and a very
high number of objects.

[b***@bugs.documentfoundation.org]

https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=121967

Heiko Tietze <***@gmail.com> changed:

What |Removed |Added
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Status|UNCONFIRMED |NEW
Ever confirmed|0 |1

--- Comment #4 from Heiko Tietze <***@gmail.com> ---
You can use shift to select/unselect more objects in Draw/Impress. What users
expect is Ctrl instead as known from list views where Ctrl works on single
entries and Shift for the range. So I vote for changing this.

There should also be the alternative way of doing this by the Navigator (no
multi selection at all). And the same is expected in Writer/Calc, see bug
121534 and bug 120721.

[b***@bugs.documentfoundation.org]

https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=121967

--- Comment #6 from Heiko Tietze <***@gmail.com> ---
(In reply to Pedro from comment #5)

Post by b***@bugs.documentfoundation.org
I also find the idea of selecting objects via the Navigator.

More ideas to rework it are here
https://design.blog.documentfoundation.org/2016/07/31/how-the-navigator-may-support-object-handling-in-libreoffice-draw/
(we have many tickets around the Navigator but that's off topic on this thread)