Spread Windows Forms 12.0 Product Documentation
Default Keyboard Navigation
Spread Windows Forms 12.0 Product Documentation > Developer's Guide > Managing Keyboard Interaction > Default Keyboard Navigation

The default behavior for end-user keyboard action is summarized in these tables.

Default Behavior on a Sheet

The default behavior for end-user keyboard action on the sheet is summarized in this table.

Key Code Action Action Name
Escape If edit mode is on, previous cell value replaces new value and edit mode is turned off CancelEditing
F2 If edit mode is on, clears the active cell value ClearCell
Ctrl+C or Ctrl+Insert Copies the selection to the Clipboard ClipboardCopy
Ctrl+X or Shift+Delete Cuts the selection to the Clipboard ClipboardCut
Ctrl+V or Shift+Insert Pastes the data and formatting from the Clipboard ClipboardPasteAll
F3 If edit mode is on, places the current date and time in a date-time cell DateTimeNow
Ctrl + Shift + Home Extends the selection to include the first cell ExtendToFirstCell
Shift + Home Extends the selection to include the first column ExtendToFirstColumn
Shift + Home Extends the selection to include the first item in a list ExtendToFirstItem
Ctrl + Shift + End Extends the selection to include the last cell ExtendToLastCell
Shift + End Extends the selection to include the last column ExtendToLastColumn
Shift + End Extends the selection to include the last item in a list ExtendToLastItem
Shift + Right Arrow or Ctrl + Shift + Right Arrow Extends selection right one column by index ExtendToNextColumn
Shift + Right Arrow or Ctrl + Shift + Right Arrow Extends selection right one column by visual ExtendToNextColumnVisual
Shift + Down Arrow Extends selection down one row ExtendToNextItem
Ctrl + Shift + Page Down Extends selection right one page of columns ExtendToNextPageOfColumns
Shift + Page Down Extends selection right one page of items ExtendToNextPageOfItems
Shift + Page Down Extends selection down one page of rows ExtendToNextPageOfRows
Shift + Down Arrow or Ctrl + Shift + Down Arrow Extends selection down one row ExtendToNextRow
Shift + Left Arrow or Ctrl + Shift + Left Arrow Extends selection left one column by index ExtendToPreviousColumn
Shift + Left Arrow or Ctrl + Shift + Left Arrow Extends selection left one column by visual ExtendToPreviousColumnVisual
Shift + Up Arrow Extends selection left one item ExtendToNextItem
Ctrl + Shift + Page Up Extends selection left one page of columns ExtendToPreviousPageOfColumns
Shift + Page Up Extends selection up one page of items ExtendToPreviousPageOfItems
Shift + Page Up Extends selection up one page of rows ExtendToPreviousPageOfRows
Shift + Up Arrow or Ctrl + Shift + Up Arrow Extends selection up one row ExtendToPreviousRow
Ctrl + Home Moves active cell to first row, first column MoveToFirstCell
Home Moves active cell to the first cell in the row MoveToFirstColumn
Home Moves active cell to the first item in the list MoveToFirstItem
Ctrl + End Moves active cell to last row, last column MoveToLastCell
End Moves active cell to the last cell in the row MoveToLastColumn
End Moves active cell to the last item in the list MoveToLastItem
Right Arrow or Ctrl + Right Arrow Moves active cell right one column by index MoveToNextColumn
Right Arrow or Ctrl + Right Arrow Moves active cell right one column MoveToNextColumnVisual
Tab Moves the active cell to the next column and wraps at the end of the row. (The Tab key skips hidden columns automatically.) MoveToNextColumnWrap
Down Arrow Moves to the next item in the list. MoveToNextItem
Ctrl + Page Down Moves active cell right one page of columns MoveToNextPageOfColumns
Page Down Moves down one page of items MoveToNextPageOfItems
Page Down Moves active cell down one page of rows MoveToNextPageOfRows
Down Arrow Moves active cell down one row MoveToNextRow
Down Arrow or Ctrl + Down Arrow Moves active cell down one row MoveToNextRow
Left row or Ctrl + Left Arrow Moves active cell left one column by index MoveToPreviousColumn
Left Arrow or Ctrl + Left Arrow Moves active cell left one column by visual MoveToPreviousColumnVisual
Shift + Tab Moves the active cell to the previous column and wraps at the end of the row. (The Tab key skips hidden columns automatically). MoveToPreviousColumnWrap
Ctrl + Left Arrow Moves to previous item in the list MoveToPreviousItem
Ctrl + Page Up Moves active cell left one page of columns MoveToPreviousPageOfColumns
Page Up Moves up one page of items MoveToPreviousPageOfItems
Page Up Moves active cell up one page of rows MoveToPreviousPageOfRows
Up Arrow or Ctrl + Up Arrow Moves active cell up one row MoveToPreviousRow
Ctrl + Y Moves active cell up one row Redo
Ctrl + Home Scrolls to display the first cell ScrollToFirstCell
Home Scrolls to display the first column ScrollToFirstColumn
Ctrl + End Scrolls to display the last cell ScrollToLastCell
End Scrolls to display the last column ScrollToLastColumn
Right Scrolls to display the next column by index ScrollToNextColumn
Right Scrolls to display the next column by visual ScrollToNextColumnVisual
Ctrl + Page Down Scrolls to display the next page of columns ScrollToNextPageOfColumns
Page Down Scrolls to display the next page of rows ScrollToNextPageOfRows
Down Scrolls to display the next row ScrollToNextRow
Left Scrolls to display the previous column by index ScrollToPreviousColumn
Left Scrolls to display the previous column by visual ScrollToPreviousColumnVisual
Ctrl + Page Up Scrolls to display the previous page of columns ScrollToPreviousPageOfColumns
Page Up Scrolls to display the previous page of rows ScrollToPreviousPageOfRows
Up Arrow Scrolls to display the previous row ScrollToPreviousRow
Ctrl + spacebar Selects the column containing the active cell SelectColumn
Home Selects the first item in the list SelectFirstItem
End Selects the last item in the list SelectLastItem
Down Selects the next item in the list SelectNextItem
Page Down Selects the next page of items in the list SelectNextPageOfItems
Up Arrow Selects the previous item in the list SelectPreviousItem
Page Up Selects the previous page of items in the list SelectPreviousPageOfItems
Shift + spacebar Selects the row containing the active cell SelectRow
Ctrl + Shift + spacebar Selects the current sheet SelectSheet
F4 If edit mode is enabled in a date cell, spreadsheet displays a pop-up calendar to let you choose a date.

If the edit mode is enabled in a formula text box or in a cell containing formula and a cell reference or range is selected, pressing the F4 key will show up various combinations of absolute and relative references.

For example, let's say you have entered a formula "=A1" in a cell. Now, everytime the F4 key is pressed, the formula will change as per this cycle : A1 -> $A$1 -> A$1 -> $A1 -> A1

ShowSubEditor                


SwitchReferenceType

Enter or Backspace Begins editing; stops editing if edit mode is on. StartEditing or StopEditing
= Begins editing formula StartEditingFormula
Alt + = Calculates sum of rows and/or columns. AutoSum
Ctrl + Z Moves active cell up one row Undo

Keyboard navigation is defined by default maps, that map user keyboard actions with Spread component actions. For example, by default, pressing Tab moves the active cell to the next column. You can customize any or all of the keyboard actions by mapping them to Spread component actions.

The built-in keyboard actions (for example, MoveToNextRowWrap) treat a cell span as existing in both columns or rows. You can enter the span by navigating down either column or row. When leaving the span in a backwards direction (for example, MoveToPreviousRowWrap), the built-in action uses the upper left corner of the span for computing the previous column or row. When leaving the span in a forwards direction (for example, MoveToNextRowWrap), the built-in action uses the lower right corner of the span for computing the new column or row.

For the Ctrl+PageUp and Ctrl+PageDown keys, if you want your application to mimic the behavior found in Excel (that is, move left or right one sheet regardless of number of sheets) then rebind the keystrokes to the MoveToPreviousSheet and MoveToNextSheet actions.

Actions that extend, move, or scroll to the next or previous column use the visual layout of the screen by default. The previous column is a column that is visually left of the active column and the next column is column that is visually right of the active column. In Spread Windows Forms 2.5, cell coordinates were used. In cell coordinates, the previous column is the active column - 1 and the next column is the active column + 1. The cell coordinate actions are still available and are listed in the SpreadActions class.

Default Behavior for Shapes on a Sheet

The default navigation keys for shapes on a sheet are used with all operation modes and can be changed with the SetInputMapWhenShapeHasFocus method. The default navigation keys for shapes are listed in the following table.

Key Code Action Action Name
Tab Moves to next shape ActivateNextShape
Shift + Tab Moves to previous shape ActivatePreviousShape
Ctrl + C or Ctrl + Insert Copies shape ClipboardCopyShape
Ctrl + X or Shift + Delete Cuts shape ClipboardCutShape
Ctrl + V or Shift + Insert Pastes shape ClipboardPasteShape
N/A Cuts data only ClipboardCutDataOnly
Escape Deactivates shape DeactivateShape
Ctrl + Up Arrow Decreases shape height DecreaseShapeHeight
Ctrl + Left Arrow Decreases shape width DecreaseShapeWidth
Delete Deletes shape DeleteShape
Ctrl + Down Arrow Increases shape height IncreaseShapeHeight
Ctrl + Right Arrow Increases shape width IncreaseShapeWidth
Down Arrow Moves shape down MoveShapeDown
Left Arrow Moves shape left MoveShapeLeft
Right Arrow Moves shape right MoveShapeRight
Up Arrow Moves shape up MoveShapeUp
Alt + Right Arrow Rotates shape clockwise RotateShapeClockwise
Alt + Left Arrow Rotates shape counter-clockwise RotateShapeCounterClockwise

For more information about shapes, refer to Customizing Drawing.

Default Behavior for Child Controls on a Sheet

The default navigation keys for child controls on a sheet are used with all operation modes and can be changed with the SetInputMapWhenChildHasFocus method. The default navigation keys for child controls on a sheet are listed in the following table.

Key Code Action Action Name
Tab Moves to next control ActivateNextChild
Shift + Tab Moves to previous control ActivateNextShape
Escape Deactivates control DeactivateChild
Ctrl + Up Arrow Decreases control height DecreaseChildHeight
Ctrl + Left Arrow Decreases control width DecreaseShapeWidth
Delete Deletes control DeleteChild
Ctrl + Down Arrow Increases control height IncreaseChildHeight
Ctrl + Right Arrow Increases control width IncreaseChildWidth
Down Arrow Moves control down MoveChildDown
Left Arrow Moves control left MoveChildLeft
Right Arrow Moves control right MoveChildRight
Up Arrow Moves control up MoveChildUp

For more information about controls, refer to Placing Child Controls on a Sheet.