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Basic operations in tables

The current cell in the table is indicated by a depression of the grey cells at the top and left of the table. When navigating around the table the current cell is also indicated by a bold border around the cell. When editing a cell the cursor flashes at the current position in the cell ('edit mode'). Basic navigation and entry of data in tables is as follows.

Moving around the table is done by using the arrow keys, Tab, Return, mouse clicks or the Edit > Go to (Ctrl+G) menu command.

Ctrl+Home and Ctrl+End move the current cell to the first and last cell in the table, respectively.

Page up and Page down move the current cell a window-full of records up and down, respectively.

Simply navigating to a cell does not put the cell into edit mode.

Editing​

The following actions change a cell to edit mode:

  • Typing in the cell, to cause the existing data to be replaced by what is typed.
  • Press F2, to highlight the existing data. Subsequent typing will replace any highlighted data.
  • Press Home or End, to place the cursor at the beginning or end of the existing data, respectively.
  • Clicking in the current cell, to place the cursor at the clicked position.

After editing, the contents of the cell must be registered by doing one of the following:

  • Press Return or Tab, to move to the next cell.
  • Press Up or Down, to move row.
  • Press the Left or Right when the cursor is at the left-most or right-most positions, to move to the adjacent cell.
  • Click on another cell.

In all cases the contents of the cell are validated and if invalid input is detected it must be corrected before moving.

The Esc key can be used to undo an edit.

Selection​

To select all the cells containing data, use the Edit > Select all (Ctrl+A) menu command or click on the grey box at the very top left of the table. The selection is highlighted in inverted colours (as with any block selection)

Select records or fields (rows or columns) of cells by clicking on their headers in the grey area.

To select any particular set of cells there are three options:

  • Use the Edit > Select menu command, which displays a dialogue box where a set of cells can be defined in terms of records and fields.
  • Drag a box around them using the mouse.
  • Click on the start cell of the proposed block, then click on the final cell while holding down shift.

To cancel a selection, use Edit > Select none menu command or click anywhere in the table.