It's the little things, isn't it.
In OpenOffice.org Calc, you have to press Backspace to delete cell contents instead of pressing Delete like in Excel.
Press Delete in Calc, and you get a Delete window that lets you delete formats, text, formulas and/or other elements, a very useful feature. It just might not be quite what you expect.
Some folks note this as one of the issues with OpenOffice, like the Delete key thing. That blog certainly isn't the only one; I'm just listing it as an example and to....well, just keep reading. I think Greg C's point in the blog is just that the Delete-versus-Backspace is an unnecessary difference from MS Office.
Would it make sense to set up the OpenOffice defaults to be the opposite way around? Sure. Did Novell swap it around in their version? Yes. Is it still a good idea to consider switching to OpenOffice to save thousands or millions of dollars, even if your users will have to change how they do some tasks? Yes.
But honestly, is having to learn to press a different key all that big a deal? Really?
Besides. Can you change OpenOffice so that when you press Delete, the contents of the cell(s) are just plain deleted, like you expect? Yes.
Either follow these steps, or skip to the end and download the configuration file. Load it according to the instructions at the end.
1. Choose Tools > Customize, Keyboard tab.
2. Be sure that the Calc radio button is selected.
3. In the Shortcut Keys area of the window at the top, select Delete as shown. In the Functions area of the window at the bottom: under Category select Edit, and under Function select the FIRST of the two "Delete Contents" items. This is the one that just deletes, bam, with no window.
4. Click Modify. You'll see Delete now listed as a key.
5. If you don't want Backspace to delete contents, then select Backspace in the Keys list in the lower right corner and click the Delete button.
6. Now scroll through the Shortcut Keys list at the top and find a function you want to use to bring up the Delete window. It can be Backspace, or Ctrl 8, or whatever you want.
Then in the lower part of the window, as before, under Category select Edit and under Function select the SECOND "Delete Contents" item.
7. Click Modify. Your new selection will be the one that brings up the interactive Delete window.
8. If you want to share this configuration with others, click Save and name the file in the window that appears. Here's mine--right-click on that link and choose to save the link target to your computer.
Loading the Configuration File Give the configuration file to your friends. They should choose Tools > Customize, Keyboard tab, and click Load to load that file. Then they'll be happily pressing Delete, as well.
How can you modify OpenOffice Calc so that the + key on the keyboard can start the input of numbers rather than the = key?
Posted by: Mikey | January 14, 2008 at 08:55 AM
Mikey: You can't modify it, but the next version has it built in.
http://qa.openoffice.org/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=20496
http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/OOoRelease24
Posted by: Huw | January 15, 2008 at 03:46 AM
Hi Huw,
Thanks! I appreciate your giving the answer. I know that's been something that's been brought up by transitioning users.
Solveig
Posted by: Solveig | January 15, 2008 at 07:43 AM
No bother, thanks for all the articles!
I notice your help links on the left of the main page don't link to the new OpenOffice forums at http://user.services.openoffice.org/
Posted by: Huw | January 16, 2008 at 03:28 AM
Just read the instructions above concerning the delete key in Calc and thought I'd give it a try. Not sure what version this refers to but in my version of Calc (2.2.1) the delete key does delete the contents and it's the backspace key that brings up the dialogue box.
BTW Thanks for a brilliant site :-)
Regards
Dave Le Huray
Posted by: Dave Le Huray - Guernsey - Channel Islands | January 17, 2008 at 06:09 AM
So, how can I get the Enter key to return to the beginning of the group of columns I just entered only one row down (as happens in Xcel)?
Thanks!
Posted by: Jim Mitchell | January 23, 2008 at 05:49 PM
Hi Jim,
You can't do that per se but you do have some control under Tools > Options > Calc > General.
If you hit Enter (which takes you down one line by default without going under Tools > Options) and then press Home, that will take you all the way to the left of the new row. So you can get there with two keys.
Solveig
Posted by: Solveig | January 23, 2008 at 06:56 PM
Is there a way to split a cell at a specific insertion point in the cell?
Thanks!
Posted by: Rob | January 25, 2008 at 09:05 AM
Sorry Rob, no. You can split previously merged cells but not a plain cell. I've gotten this question a few times -- I'm not sure if it's on the list of features to vote on at OpenOffice.org's development site.
Solveig
Posted by: Solveig | January 25, 2008 at 09:14 AM
I'm trying to create a setup where:
1.
Four different users are entering Data into four different Calc spreadsheets and
2.
Management has a 'master' spreadsheet that will show various data from each of the User sheets. Data in the Management spreadsheet has to update automatically.
Is this possible?
Thanks!
Posted by: R Sengupta | January 31, 2008 at 12:59 PM
Hi,
If you copy from one spreadsheet, then choose Edit > paste special, and select the Link option, then any changes in the copied-from spreadsheet will show up in the copied-to spreadsheet.
Solveig
Posted by: Solveig | January 31, 2008 at 01:20 PM
Hi
My Nmae is Tarun,
Before i was work in MS Office. but now i m working in Opne office. I have 20 MB calc file and this file take time for open 7 to 8 Minits so give me the solution...
Thanks,
Tarun
Posted by: Tarun Patel | May 20, 2008 at 11:24 PM
Thanks for this - I did it before on OO 2.4 but forgot about it then it was lost when I upgraded to 3.0. Another minor annoyance...
Posted by: Don C | October 17, 2008 at 03:16 PM
Oh pooh, I had hoped that they would have switched that in 3.0.
Posted by: Solveig | October 17, 2008 at 05:40 PM
Hello Solveig,
SHIFT + Delete is also an option in Calc to delete all cell content immediately. It avoids the usage of the Backspace button (and with it the confusion). This keyboard shortcut is readily available in Calc. I teach this feature when I'm giving OOo courses.
Kind regards
Posted by: Michael | February 05, 2009 at 08:29 AM
Thanks a lot. It helped me a lot. Otherwise I was really getting frustrated by this Delete dialogue box.
Posted by: Prashant | March 10, 2009 at 02:24 AM
Thank you!!!! I always avoided using Calc because I hated having to confirm everytime I wanted to delete something. I didn't even know backspace was different than delete. And I couldn't figure out how to turn it off since I was looking under options. Who knew there was a second options menu called customize?
Posted by: Ben McCann | April 05, 2009 at 09:35 PM
Thank you sincerely for "correcting" what I consider a "flaw" in Open Office.
Posted by: Jason | October 27, 2009 at 10:30 PM