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Function keys

The most important group of keys are certainly the function keys. There are typical ways of function known to users of different applications and systems and thus it is necessary to find identities, similarities and differences between the function groups.

As function keys are used in connection with modifiers resulting in a group of similar function key bindings, these keys are predestined for groups of similar functionalities.

Example: OpenOffice.org

To illustrate the concrete application of the theoretically formulated key bindings each section is followed by an exemplary table and additional comments. Due to the different nature of applications – writing, calculating, presenting and drawing to name a few – the assignments are distinguished through the following colour scheme:

• Violet for general / global key bindings
• Blue for writer applications like OpenOffice.org Writer
• Green for spreadsheets like OpenOffice.org Calc
• Orange for presentation / graphic like OpenOffice.org Impress / Draw

F1 – Help

The function key F1 is well known for help. For this reason, an ideal key binding would be

	F1	Shift+F1	Ctrl+F1	Ctrl+Shift+F1
General	Help	Context Help	Active Help	–

F2 – Edit

Editing seems to be the main purpose of F2 regarding other well known spreadsheet applications and – under Windows, admittedly – for any kind of object that is selected and edited. As editing is a frequently used function, it is natural to promote this key accordingly.

Module	F2	Shift+F2	Ctrl+F2	Ctrl+Shift+F2
General	Edit	Insert function	Toggle display changes	Record changes
Writer	Insert formula	Insert function	Toggle display changes	Record changes
Calc	Toggle edit mode	Insert function	Toggle display changes	Record changes
Draw / Impress	Edit	–	Toggle display changes	Record changes

F2 basically edits content, but the objects vary from module to module. In Writer everything is editable all the time, thus "insert formula" is a good choice, as users of Calc will recognize the similarity between those two modules. F2 edits objects like text boxes in Draw / Impress, which is finally similar to the behaviour of Calc too, as the user has to press F2 in order to change the content of the selected object (cell, text box).

Shift+F2 inserts a function. There are functions in Writer like conditional text and of course in Calc. In Draw are no functions available.

Ctrl+F2 is used to toggle the display of changes on and off. Ctrl and a function key are often used to toggle the display of something on and off. And finally changes also have to do something with the basic content and its editing.

Ctrl+Shift+F2 turns the recording of changes on and off and is easy to memorize through the functionality of Ctrl+F2.

F3 – Reference

Now it is time to abstract a little bit and to let the mind fly. Remember: In this first step it is important to find the general "feeling" the user should have about a certain key, which means pressing any modifier with F3 should always result in a similar or even expected result.

F3 without any modifiers is for many users well known to "find again" a result of a search that has previously been run. One way to use this key might lie in the domain of search and replace … but this is a matter of discussion.

Spreadsheets often handle F3 in the context of names. Names are used in spreadsheets to replace references, i. e. 'TotalAmount' is used instead of $B$7. Analogously I thought of an equivalent in text processing and found that References have a similar functionality, as they deliver for example the chapter number, if a reference is given and inserted.

There is no similar elaborated function in Draw / Impress.

Module	F3	Shift+F3	Ctrl+F3	Ctrl+Shift+F3
General	Find again	Insert field	Define field	–
Writer	Find again	Insert field	Define field	–
Calc	Find again	Insert name	Define name	Create names
Draw / Impress	Find again	Insert field	–	–

F3 – as stated above – is often used to repeat the last search. This functionality is negotiable though.

Shift+F3 inserts a field or name. Fields are available in every module, except in Calc, which is a pity, but this is another story. Fields and names (in Calc) are similar and thus the function key is assigned accordingly. Draw and Impress do know only a few fields, which can be inserted.

Ctrl+F3 Defines a field or name. In Writer the Field dialog is to be invoked, in Calc it is the dialog for managing names. As there is no similar dialog in Draw / Impress, this option is not available but might be assigned to another static field.

Ctrl+Shift+F3 is not associated with a certain function, but would be a useful assignment to "create names" in Calc, as this is a frequently used functionality.

F4 – Window

Windows users might know that F4 manipulates windows. Ctrl+F4 closes a window, Alt+F4 quits the application. Therefore I think that this function key should be left untouched (though unified) like F1.

Module	F4	Shift+F4	Ctrl+F4	Ctrl+Shift+F4
General	–	–	Close window	–
Writer	–	–	Close window	–
Calc	–	–	Close window	–
Draw / Impress	–	–	Close window	–

F4 is used in a well known spreadsheet calculation for toggling the relative and absolute references, this could be a useful keybinding in Calc as well.

Shift+F4 is used under Windows for arranging windows horizontally or vertically. As OpenOffice.org handles each document in its own window, an assignment is not possible.

Ctrl+F4 is well known and thus unchanged.

Ctrl+Shift+F4 has no standard assignments.

F5 – Table, Page

Some applications use F5 for "goto". I think that this is not suitable for modern applications and decided to ignore this. I named the general functionality "Table, Page" as nowadays' applications usually contain multiple documents and it is more important to insert and handle sheets or pages.

Module	F5	Shift+F5	Ctrl+F5	Ctrl+Shift+F5
General	Insert table, page	Properties table, page	Delete table, page	–
Writer	Insert table	Table properties	Delete table	Table to text (if available)
Calc	Insert sheet	Rename sheet	Delete sheet	–
Draw / Impress	Insert page	Page template	Delete page (if available)	–

F5 inserts a suitable object. In case of Writer it is a table – inserting a page would not be very useful, as it is easily be done by hitting Ctrl+Enter –, in Calc it is a new sheet and in Draw / Impress it is a new page.

Shift+F5 alters the properties of the according object. In Writer pressing this shortcut invokes the table properties, Calc renames the current sheet and as Draw and Impress lack a similar functionality, the dialog for page templates is displayed.

Ctrl+F5 deletes the object. Writer deletes the current table, Calc the selected sheet and Draw / Impress should do so as well, if a suitable function was available.

Ctrl+Shift+F5 could provide further functionality like Writer's "table to text" feature, if available.

F6 – Document, Output

While windows users might know F6 as function key for documents (Ctrl+F6 for next and Ctrl+Shift+F6 for previous document in an MDI), this is somehow obsolete, as most applications bind this functionality to keys like TAB and Page up and down.

I assigned the category "Document, Output" for this, as it is handy to have all features like document properties and preview at hand. There are no specific reasons for choosing the shortcuts in this section. The choice is arbitrary, although I always associate Shift in collaboration with a function key to properties.

Module	F6	Shift+F6	Ctrl+F6	Ctrl+Shift+F6
General	Zoom	Document properties	Print preview	Printer setup
Writer	Zoom	Document properties	Print preview	Printer setup
Calc	Zoom	Document properties	Print preview	Printer setup
Draw / Impress	Zoom	Document properties	Print preview	Printer setup

F6 could display the dialog for adjusting the zoom factor of the current document.

Shift+F6 will display the document's properties.

Ctrl+F6 could show the print preview of the current document.

Ctrl+Shift+F6 will show the printer setup for the current document.

F7 – Tools

F7 invokes complex functions, which usually reside in the Tools menu. Complex functions include all higher level functions that for example require user interaction or display dialogs like spell checking.

Module	F7	Shift+F7	Ctrl+F7	Ctrl+Shift+F7
General	Spellchecking	Hyphenation	Thesaurus	AutoCorrection
Writer	Spellchecking	Hyphenation	Thesaurus	AutoCorrection
Calc	Spellchecking	Hyphenation	Thesaurus	AutoCorrection
Draw / Impress	Spellchecking	Hyphenation	Thesaurus	AutoCorrection

F7 invokes the spellchecking facility, as it does in other well known office suites.

Shift+F7 invokes hyphenation, as it does in other well known office suites.

Ctrl+F7 could invoke the Thesaurus, if available.

Ctrl+Shift+F7 could raise the the AutoCorrection dialog.

F8 – Insert object

In the "good old days" F8 toggled insertion modes, thus a re-dedication in the form of inserting complex objects seemed to be a consequent approach. The key should always insert some kind of object regardless whether it is a graphic or another OpenOffice.org object or even some foreign format.

Module	F8	Shift+F8	Ctrl+F8	Ctrl+Shift+F8
General	Insert OLE object	Insert graphic	Toggle display marks / values	Gallery
Writer	Insert OLE object	Insert graphic	Toggle display marks	Gallery
Calc	Insert OLE object	Insert graphic	Toggle display values	Gallery
Draw / Impress	Insert OLE object	Insert graphic	–	Gallery

F8 inserts an OLE object. This is a universal function and worth to be assigned to a function key without modifier.

Shift+F8 inserts a graphic from a file as it is also used quite often, but more limited than the insertion of an OLE object.

Ctrl+F8 toggles the display of marks or values respectively.

Ctrl+Shift+F8 displays the gallery.

F9 – Update

"Update" does not intuitively reveal the purpose of this function key group. I would summarize this functionality as group of functions, which update information or results.

Module	F9	Shift+F9	Ctrl+F9	Ctrl+Shift+F9
General	Update	Unconditional update	Toggle display field	–
Writer	Update	Unconditional update	Toggle display field	–
Calc	Update	Unconditional update	Toggle display field	–
Draw / Impress	Update	Unconditional update	Toggle display field	–

F9 manually updates information or results.

Shift+F9 does the same like F9 does, except the fact, that it is done unconditionally.

Ctrl+F9 toggles the display of fields, if possible. Draw and Impress differ regarding this functionality.

Ctrl+Shift+F9 is not assigned.

F10 – Menu

This function key can be used under Windows for invoking the menu bar and with the shift modifier to display the context sensitive menu. Although these functions are rarely used, it might still be a good idea to stick to these conventions.

The functionality of cycling through the visible bars (menus and controls) is very helpful, but I think that it is misplaced with F6 and should more logical be assigned to F10, as it retains F10's basic function and simply widens the functionality.

Module	F10	Shift+F10	Ctrl+F10	Ctrl+Shift+F10
General	Cycle bars	Context menu	Toggle display control characters	–
Writer	Cycle bars	Context menu	Toggle display control characters	–
Calc	Cycle bars	Context menu	Toggle display control characters	–
Draw / Impress	Cycle bars	Context menu	Toggle display control characters	–

F10 cycles through the bars – menues, commands etc. – and by this retains the basic F10 functionality to invoke the menu bar.

Shift+F10 displays the context sensitive menu.

Ctrl+F10 toggles the display of the control characters like ¶ on and off. This has not necessarily to do something with menues, but some of the Ctrl-combinations are assigned to toggle display functions and as there is no further need for Ctrl+F10 to do something else, which might be important, it is a good choice to "vertically" stick to the convention that Ctrl and a function key in case of doubt toggles some display.

Ctrl+Shift+F10 is not assigned.

F11 – Format

F11 is very handy in a well known spreadsheet application to quickly insert a diagram. But as this feature is in most cases not part of the daily work, it leaves room for a different assignment. F11 is – in OpenOffice.org 2.0   well assigned: It provides access to the format dialog and with the control modifer the dialog which allows modifications to the formats is invoked. While I personally would switch the assignments, this is still a good approach.

Module	F11	Shift+F11	Ctrl+F11	Ctrl+Shift+F11
General	Format font, format cell	Format paragraph, conditional format	Format template catalog	Format template from selection
Writer	Format font	Format paragraph	Format template catalog	Format template from selection
Calc	Format cell	Conditional format	Format template catalog	Format template from selection
Draw / Impress	Format font	Format paragraph	Format template catalog	Format template from selection

F11 invokes the most basic formatting functionality, which is in case of most modules the format of characters, in case of Calc the format of a cell including number format.

Shift+F11 consequently shows the format dialog for the next higher level kind of formatting, which is the format of the surrounding paragraph in most modules and in case of Calc the conditional format.

Ctrl+F11 still displays the format template catalog.

Ctrl+Shift+F11 could be assigned to creating a format template based on the current selection.

F12

F12 has always been assigned to enumeration (plain) and itemization (Shift) in Writer. This is very handy, but other modules lack this explicit functionality or need to do so. The question is, if there is a good common assignment.

It might be a suitable approach to leave this group open to individual assignments. On the other hand it could also be a good idea to assign most useful functions, in order to demonstrate the user how nice it is to have those functions at hand.

Module	F12	Shift+F12	Ctrl+F12	Ctrl+Shift+F12
General	–	–	–	–
Writer	Enumeration	Itemization	Chapter enumeration	–
Calc	AutoFilter	Sort	Data Pilot	–
Draw / Impress	Presentation mode	–	–	–

© Vince