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 by visual	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 Arrow 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 on in a date cell, spreadsheet displays a pop-up calendar to let you choose a date	ShowSubEditor
Enter or Backspace	Begins editing; stops editing if edit mode is on.	StartEditing or StopEditing
=	Begins editing formula	StartEditingFormula
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 as you want.

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 actions 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 actions uses the lower right corner of the span for computing the new column or row.

For the Ctrl+PageUp and 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 for 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 Customizing Drawing.

Return to the overview of Managing Keyboard Interaction.

Spread Windows Forms 6.0 Product Documentation
Default Keyboard Navigation
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