L&F mapping JTable

Question

The look and feel values chosen for the JTable under windows do not feel right to me (albeit that I cannot find many examples of tables under windows).
I am trying to provide some workarounds that follow what most people expect to happen but am a little unclear on what should happen on some key presses for the JTable in windows look and feel
Space handling
From one of the MS windows books it suggests that the space key is a selection key, thus when you press space a row in a table should be selected (and when you press again it should deselect the row?)
The JList has functionality for the space key
q1) JTable should have space bar handling out of the box?
(space, CTRL+space, shift+space)
I have not seen this raised as a bug.
Enter handling
The enter key press is supposed to activate the default button
or commit a text field under edit.
F2 puts a field under edit
q2) Should the enter key put an editable cell under edit (same mouse action as single or double click to edit)?
q3) if not should the first enter key stop cell editing and a second press activate the default button, with only a single enter to activate default button if a cell is not under edit
Escape handling
The escape key will cancel editing of a cell that is under edit.
q4) should the event not be passed on when editing has been cancelled so that dialogs with a canel button can be dismissed
or
q5) should the first escape cancel editing while the second escape will action the escape action of the window.
Any links to "highly regarded" useability/look and feel sites would be helpful - sun does not appear to provide much on this subject
I've read both their l&f and advanced l&f books and they just scratch the surface of look and feel without much realworld appliance to real gui issues.
Might be useful to others: Some of the code that I was trying to create goes like....
import java.awt.BasicStroke;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Component;
import java.awt.Event;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Graphics2D;
import java.awt.Window;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ComponentAdapter;
import java.awt.event.ComponentEvent;
import java.awt.event.KeyEvent;
import java.math.BigDecimal;
import javax.swing.AbstractAction;
import javax.swing.Action;
import javax.swing.CellEditor;
import javax.swing.InputMap;
import javax.swing.JComponent;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JTable;
import javax.swing.JViewport;
import javax.swing.KeyStroke;
import javax.swing.ListSelectionModel;
import javax.swing.RootPaneContainer;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
import javax.swing.UIManager;
import javax.swing.border.Border;
import javax.swing.border.LineBorder;
import javax.swing.table.TableColumn;
import javax.swing.table.TableColumnModel;
import javax.swing.table.TableModel;
/** Provides utility methods for the JTable and JCSortableTable classes
* @author  */
public final class JTableUtil
      * Constructor for JCTableUtil.
     private JTableUtil()
          super();
     /** will resize the last column of a table to fill the gap
      * if the width of the columns is narrower than the width of the
      * table
      * @param table to act upon
     static void resizeLastColumn(final JTable table)
          TableColumn lastColumn = getLastVisibleColumn(table);
          if (lastColumn != null)
               int gap = getLastColumnGap(table);
               if (gap > 0)
                    int newLastColumnWidth = gap + lastColumn.getWidth();
                    lastColumn.setWidth(newLastColumnWidth);
                    lastColumn.setPreferredWidth(newLastColumnWidth);
                    redrawTable(table);
      * Determines if there is a gap between the last column in a table
      * and the border of the table.
      * Works if the table is drawn on the page or is in the
      * viewport of a scroll pane.
      * @param table to act upon
      * @return the gap in pixels between last column and table edge.
     static int getLastColumnGap(final JTable table)
          int widthTable = getTableWidth(table);
          int lastVisColIndex = getLastVisibleColumnIndex(table);
          TableColumnModel columnModel = table.getColumnModel();
          int widthColumns = columnModel.getTotalColumnWidth();
          final TableColumn lastColumn = columnModel.getColumn(lastVisColIndex);
          // gap is number of pixels from right hand edge of last column
          // to right hand edge of the table
          int gap = widthTable - widthColumns;
          return gap;
      * Determines the width of a table returning the table width if
      * table is painted onto a panel, but if the table is painted
      * into a scroll pane then it is the scroll pane viewport width that is returned
      * This is to capture that the width of the table may be less than the
      * width of the viewport - ie if there is a gap after the last column in a table.
      * @param table to act upon
      * @return the width of the table in pixels
     static int getTableWidth(final JTable table)
          int widthTable = table.getWidth();
          Object tableParent = table.getParent();
          JViewport tableViewPort = null;
          if (tableParent instanceof JViewport)
               tableViewPort = (JViewport) tableParent;
               widthTable = tableViewPort.getWidth();
          return widthTable;
     /** Cause the table to redraw wether table is painted on a panel
      * or in a scroll pane
      * @param table to act upon
     static void redrawTable(final JTable table)
          Component tableRegion = table;
          Component tableParent = table.getParent();
          if (tableParent instanceof JViewport)
               tableRegion = tableParent;
          tableRegion.invalidate();
          tableRegion.validate();
     /** Determines the last (right most) column in a table with a width
      * greater than 0
      * @param table to act upon
      * @return index (0 based) of the last visible column.
     static int getLastVisibleColumnIndex(JTable table)
          TableColumnModel columnModel = table.getColumnModel();
          boolean found = false;
          int columnIndex = columnModel.getColumnCount();
          while (!found && columnIndex > 0)
               columnIndex--;
               if (columnModel.getColumn(columnIndex).getWidth() != 0)
                    found = true;
          return columnIndex;
     /** Determines the last (right most) column in a table with a width
      * greater than 0
      * @param table to act upon
      * @return TableColumn - the last visible column.
     static TableColumn getLastVisibleColumn(JTable table)
          TableColumnModel columnModel = table.getColumnModel();
          return columnModel.getColumn(getLastVisibleColumnIndex(table));
      * Add the currency symbol to a JCTable/JCListTable column header
      * e.g. 'Salary' becomes 'Salary (�)'
     public static void addCurrencySymbol(JTable table, Object columnKey)
          //@todo - update to work with JTable
          TableColumnModel columnModel = table.getTableHeader().getColumnModel();
          int columnIndex = columnModel.getColumnIndex(columnKey);
          TableColumn column = columnModel.getColumn(columnIndex);
          Object object = column.getHeaderValue();
          if (object instanceof JLabel)
               JLabel columnLabel = (JLabel) object;
               SlacCurrency.getInstance().addCurrencySymbol(columnLabel);
          else
               // @todo log here ???
          // is above correct - need to get the JLabel rendered from the table
          // in the scroll pane?          
     /** Provides a sum of a column of BigDecimals
      * @param tableModel model containing column that you wish to sum
      * @param column the column that you wish to be summed, must contain numeric values and not strings
     public static BigDecimal calculateTotalForColumn(final TableModel tableModel, final int column)
          int numRows = tableModel.getRowCount();
          BigDecimal total = new BigDecimal("0");
          for (int row = 0; row < numRows; row++)
               Object value = tableModel.getValueAt(row, column);
               if (value instanceof BigDecimal)
                    BigDecimal decimalValue = (BigDecimal) value;
                    total = total.add(decimalValue);
               else
                    //Logger.logGeneralFailure("", ErrorCodes.GUI_ERROR, this);
          return total;
      * Provides the swing setting JTable.AUTO_RESIZE_OFF.
      * <p>
      * In this situation if the width of the columns is smaller than the width
      * of the table then there will be a gap after the last column.
      * <p>
      * This method will add a ComponentListener to the table and or
      * scroll pane viewport so that there is no gap after the last column.
      * @param table to act upon
     public static void configureAutoResizeOff(final JTable table)
          table.setAutoResizeMode(JTable.AUTO_RESIZE_OFF);
          Component tableParent = table.getParent();
          JViewport tableViewPort = null;
          ComponentAdapter gapFiller = new ComponentAdapter()
               public void componentResized(ComponentEvent e)
                    super.componentResized(e);
                    JTableUtil.resizeLastColumn(table);
          table.addComponentListener(gapFiller);
          if (tableParent instanceof JViewport)
               tableViewPort = (JViewport) tableParent;
               tableViewPort.addComponentListener(gapFiller);
     /** Method provides fixes to provide standard handling for keyboard and mouse usage
      * <ul>
      *    <li> spacebar - selection handling of rows that have focus emphasis see fixSpacebarHandling()
      *    <li> initial focus handling - table should give visual feedback when gaining focus
      *    <li>
      * </ul>
      * @param table - the table to add standards handling to
     public static void setupKeyboardMouseHandling(JTable table)
          fixTableGainsFocusOnFirstEntry(table);
          fixSpacebarHandling(table);
          fixCtrlSpacebarHandling(table);
          fixShiftSpacebarHandling(table);
          fixCtrlUpDownHandling(table);
          fixFocusHighlight();
          fixEscEnter(table);
     /** Add fixes to the look and feel handling for a JTable
      * Enter on a table will do different things depending on the mode of the table
      * <p>
      * if a cell is being edited then
      * Enter will do what normally happens to a field under edit - ie stop the editing and commit
      * Escape will cancel the editing
      * <p>
      * if a cell is not under edit then
      * Enter will activate the default button
      * Escape will activate the default cancel button (see FrameUtil.addEscapeKeyAction())
     static void fixEscEnter(final JTable table)
          final RootPaneContainer root = (RootPaneContainer)SwingUtilities.windowForComponent(table);
          final String escapeKey = "escapeAction";
          Action escapeAction = new AbstractAction(escapeKey)
               public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent actionEvent)
                    if(table.isEditing())
                         CellEditor editor = table.getCellEditor(table.getEditingRow(), table.getEditingColumn());
                         editor.cancelCellEditing();
                    else
                         Window parentWindow = SwingUtilities.windowForComponent(table);
                         Action windowEscapeAction = FrameUtil.getEscapeKeyAction(root);
                         windowEscapeAction.actionPerformed(actionEvent);
          final String enterKey = "enterAction";
          Action enterAction = new AbstractAction(enterKey)
               public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent actionEvent)
                    if(table.isEditing())
                         CellEditor editor = table.getCellEditor(table.getEditingRow(), table.getEditingColumn());
                         editor.stopCellEditing();
                    else
                         root.getRootPane().getDefaultButton().doClick();
          InputMap inputMap = table.getInputMap(JComponent.WHEN_ANCESTOR_OF_FOCUSED_COMPONENT);
          table.getActionMap().put(escapeKey, escapeAction);
          table.getActionMap().put(enterKey, enterAction);
          inputMap.put(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_ESCAPE, 0), escapeKey);          
          inputMap.put(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_ENTER, 0), enterKey);          
     static void fixFocusHighlight()
          Border focusCellHighlightBorder = new DashedLineBorder(Color.BLACK);
          UIManager.put("Table.focusCellHighlightBorder", focusCellHighlightBorder);
     /** If you do not setup a table to have a row selected then there is a bug where for example
      * you use an accelerator key to put focus in the table and you get no visual feedback that
      * the table has focus - ie no focus emphasis - dashed box
      * @param table - the table to fix
     static void fixTableGainsFocusOnFirstEntry(JTable table)
          // for first time tabbing to table make sure that first cell has focus
          // don't seem to need this fix under windows XP
          table.getSelectionModel().removeSelectionInterval(0, 0);
     /** fix spacebar handling
      * java standards does not mention spacebar handling on a JTable but this is a windows
      * standard feature and is also a feature on JList.
      * Without spacebar handling on a JTable there would be no other keyboard handling that
      * would allow you to select the current row.
      * <p>
      * Trying to follow windows standards since java does not list space bar handling for JTable.
      * The following bahaviour can be seen in IBM code in project Java build path - tab libraries
      * and in microsoft code in the administrative tools control panel dialog in windows XP
      * <p>
      * spacebar - select the current row without deselecting any others
      * <p>
      * handling should be fixed in merlin release 1.5
      * see bug report http://developer.java.sun.com/developer/bugParade/bugs/4303294.html
     static void fixSpacebarHandling(JTable table)
          KeyStroke ksSpace = KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_SPACE, 0, true);
          final String ACTION_SPACE = "SPACE";
          Action spaceAction = new AbstractAction(ACTION_SPACE)
               public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent actionEvent)
                    ListSelectionModel selectModel =
                         ((JTable) actionEvent.getSource()).getSelectionModel();
                    int currentRowIndex = selectModel.getAnchorSelectionIndex();
                    selectModel.addSelectionInterval(currentRowIndex, currentRowIndex);
          table.getInputMap().put(ksSpace, ACTION_SPACE);
          table.getActionMap().put(ACTION_SPACE, spaceAction);
     /** fix ctrl + spacebar handling
      * java standards does not mention spacebar handling on a JTable but this is a windows
      * standard feature and is also a feature on JList.
      * Without spacebar handling on a JTable there would be no other keyboard handling that
      * would allow you to select the current row.
      * <p>
      * Trying to follow windows standards since java does not list space bar handling for JTable.
      * The following bahaviour can be seen in IBM code in project Java build path - tab libraries
      * and in microsoft code in the administrative tools control panel dialog in windows XP
      * <p>
      * ctrl + spacebar - toggle selection on the current row without deselecting any others
      * <p>
      * handling should be fixed in merlin release 1.5
      * see bug report http://developer.java.sun.com/developer/bugParade/bugs/4303294.html
     static void fixCtrlSpacebarHandling(JTable table)
          KeyStroke ksCtrlSpace = KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_SPACE, Event.CTRL_MASK, true);
          final String ACTION_CTRL_SPACE = "CTRLSPACE";
          Action ctrlSpaceAction = new AbstractAction(ACTION_CTRL_SPACE)
               public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent actionEvent)
                    ListSelectionModel selectModel =
                         ((JTable) actionEvent.getSource()).getSelectionModel();
                    int currentRowIndex = selectModel.getAnchorSelectionIndex();
                    boolean isCurrentRowSelected = selectModel.isSelectedIndex(currentRowIndex);
                    if (isCurrentRowSelected)
                         selectModel.removeSelectionInterval(currentRowIndex, currentRowIndex);
                    else
                         selectModel.addSelectionInterval(currentRowIndex, currentRowIndex);
          table.getInputMap().put(ksCtrlSpace, ACTION_CTRL_SPACE);
          table.getActionMap().put(ACTION_CTRL_SPACE, ctrlSpaceAction);
     /** fix shift + spacebar handling
      * java standards does not mention spacebar handling on a JTable but this is a windows
      * standard feature and is also a feature on JList.
      * Without spacebar handling on a JTable there would be no other keyboard handling that
      * would allow you to select the current row.
      * <p>
      * Trying to follow windows standards since java does not list space bar handling for JTable.
      * The following bahaviour can be seen in IBM code in project Java build path - tab libraries
      * and in microsoft code in the administrative tools control panel dialog in windows XP
      * <p>
      * shift + spacebar - extend the selection from the anchor to the lead index.
      * this might still be a bit funny in java 1.4.2 and code may need to be changed slightly
      * <p>
      * handling should be fixed in merlin release 1.5
      * see bug report http://developer.java.sun.com/developer/bugParade/bugs/4303294.html
     static void fixShiftSpacebarHandling(JTable table)
          KeyStroke ksShiftSpace = KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_SPACE, Event.SHIFT_MASK, true);
          final String ACTION_SHIFT_SPACE = "SHIFTSPACE";
          Action shiftSpaceAction = new AbstractAction(ACTION_SHIFT_SPACE)
               public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent actionEvent)
                    ListSelectionModel selectModel =
                         ((JTable) actionEvent.getSource()).getSelectionModel();
                    int currentRowIndex = selectModel.getAnchorSelectionIndex();
                    int startRowIndex = selectModel.getLeadSelectionIndex();
                    selectModel.setSelectionInterval(startRowIndex, currentRowIndex);
          table.getInputMap().put(ksShiftSpace, ACTION_SHIFT_SPACE);
          table.getActionMap().put(ACTION_SHIFT_SPACE, shiftSpaceAction);
     /** fix ctrl + down or up handling - move focus emphasis up or down accordingly
      * <p>
      * handling should be fixed in merlin release 1.5
      * see bug report http://developer.java.sun.com/developer/bugParade/bugs/4303294.html
     static void fixCtrlUpDownHandling(JTable table)
          final String ACTION_UP = "CTRLUP";
          KeyStroke ksCtrlUp = KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_UP, Event.CTRL_MASK, true);
          KeyStroke ksCtrlDown = KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_DOWN, Event.CTRL_MASK, true);
          Action ctrlUpAction = new CtrlUpDownAction(ACTION_UP, true);
          final String ACTION_DOWN = "CTRLDOWN";
          Action ctrlDownAction = new CtrlUpDownAction(ACTION_DOWN, false);
          table.getInputMap().put(ksCtrlUp, ACTION_UP);
          table.getActionMap().put(ACTION_UP, ctrlUpAction);
          table.getInputMap().put(ksCtrlDown, ACTION_DOWN);
          table.getActionMap().put(ACTION_DOWN, ctrlDownAction);
* Action for moving focus emphasis up or down
class CtrlUpDownAction extends AbstractAction
     private boolean m_isUp = true;
     /** Ctor controlling direction of focus emphasis
      * @param name of the action
      * @param isUp - true if dirction of action is up, else false
     public CtrlUpDownAction(String name, boolean isUp)
          super(name);
          m_isUp = isUp;
     /** Moves the focus emphasis
      * @param actionEvent - see javax.swing.AbstractAction class for details
     public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent actionEvent)
          JTable table = (JTable) actionEvent.getSource();
          ListSelectionModel selectModel = table.getSelectionModel();
          int nextRowIndex =
               getNextRowIndex(table.getRowCount(), selectModel.getAnchorSelectionIndex());
          if (selectModel.isSelectedIndex(nextRowIndex))
               selectModel.addSelectionInterval(nextRowIndex, nextRowIndex);
          else
               selectModel.removeSelectionInterval(nextRowIndex, nextRowIndex);
     /** Gets the index of the next row depending on direction up or down
      * @param rowCount - number of rows in the table
      * @param currentRowIndex - index of the row that has focus emphasis
      * @return the index of the next row
     private int getNextRowIndex(int rowCount, int currentRowIndex)
          int nextRowIndex = -1;
          if (m_isUp && currentRowIndex > 0)
               // emphasis moving up one row
               nextRowIndex = currentRowIndex - 1;
          else if (!m_isUp && currentRowIndex < (rowCount - 1))
               // emphasis moving down one row
               nextRowIndex = currentRowIndex + 1;
          return nextRowIndex;
/** Draws a dashed line (well more of a dotted line)
* Used for eg drawing focus emphasis rectangle
* Class draws a rectangle of chosen colour overlaid with a dashed white line.
class DashedLineBorder extends LineBorder
     private BasicStroke m_lineStroke = new BasicStroke();
     private BasicStroke m_dashStroke =
          new BasicStroke(
               m_lineStroke.getLineWidth(),
               BasicStroke.CAP_BUTT,//m_lineStroke.getEndCap(),
               m_lineStroke.getLineJoin(),
               m_lineStroke.getMiterLimit(),
               new float[] { 1,1,1 },
               0);
      * Constructor for DashedLineBorder.
      * @param color
     public DashedLineBorder(Color color)
          super(color);
      * Constructor for DashedLineBorder.
      * @param color
      * @param thickness
     public DashedLineBorder(Color color, int thickness)
          super(color, thickness);
      * Constructor for DashedLineBorder.
      * @param color
      * @param thickness
      * @param roundedCorners
     public DashedLineBorder(Color color, int thickness, boolean roundedCorners)
          super(color, thickness, roundedCorners);
     /** Similar to LineBorder's method but draws a line in the chosen colour
      * before drawing a white dashed line on top of it
      * @see javax.swing.border.Border#paintBorder(Component, Graphics, int, int, int, int)
     public void paintBorder(Component c, Graphics g, int x, int y, int width, int height)
          Color oldColor = g.getColor();
          int i;
          Graphics2D g2 = (Graphics2D) g;
          g2.setStroke(m_lineStroke);
          g.setColor(lineColor);
          drawRect(g, x, y, width, height);
          g2.setStroke(m_dashStroke);
          g.setColor(Color.WHITE);
          drawRect(g, x, y, width, height);
          g.setColor(oldColor);
      * @see javax.swing.border.Border#paintBorder(Component, Graphics, int, int, int, int)
     private void drawRect(Graphics g, int x, int y, int width, int height)
          // extracted from Java LineBorder.paintBorder
          int i;
          /// PENDING(klobad) How/should do we support Roundtangles?
          for (i = 0; i < thickness; i++)
               if (!roundedCorners)
                    g.drawRect(x + i, y + i, width - i - i - 1, height - i - i - 1);
               else
                    g.drawRoundRect(
                         x + i,
                         y + i,
                         width - i - i - 1,
                         height - i - i - 1,
                         thickness,
                         thickness);
import java.awt.Component;
import java.awt.Container;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.Frame;
import java.awt.Image;
import java.awt.Insets;
import java.awt.Rectangle;
import java.awt.Toolkit;
import java.awt.Window;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ComponentAdapter;
import java.awt.event.ComponentEvent;
import java.awt.event.KeyAdapter;
import java.awt.event.KeyEvent;
import java.awt.image.ImageProducer;
import java.io.IOException;
import javax.swing.AbstractAction;
import javax.swing.Action;
import javax.swing.ActionMap;
import javax.swing.InputMap;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JComponent;
import javax.swing.JDialog;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.KeyStroke;
import javax.swing.RootPaneContainer;
* Provides static utility methods for JFrames.
public final class FrameUtil {
    * No instances allowed. Just use the static methods.
   private FrameUtil() {
      super();
    * Sets the button that is "activated" when the escape key is used.
    * A bit like
    * SwingUtilities.getRootPane(this).setDefaultButton(myButton);
    * @param jFrame The JFrame or JDialog for which the escape key button should be set.
    * @param button The button which should be clicked automatically when the escape key is pressed.
   public static void setEscapeKeyButton(final RootPaneContainer jFrame, final JButton button) {
      addEscapeKeyAction(jFrame, new AbstractAction() {
         public void actionPerformed(final ActionEvent evt) {
            button.doClick();
    * Adds an action to the jframe's  action map that is triggered by the Escape key.
    * (If you just want to simulate a button click when the escape key is pressed then
    * use setEscapeKeyButton.)
    * A bit like
    * SwingUtilities.getRootPane(this).setDefaultButton(myButton);
    * @param jFrame The JFrame or JDialog for which the escape key action should be set.
    * @param action The action that is executred when the escape key us pressed,
   public static void addEscapeKeyAction(final RootPaneContainer jFrame, final Action action) {
      String actionKey = "escapeAction";
      KeyStroke escape = KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_ESCAPE, 0);
      // using getRootPane rather than getContentPane, content pane doesn't work in all
      // scenarios
      InputMap inputMap = (jFrame.getRootPane()).getInputMap(JComponent.WHEN_IN_FOCUSED_WINDOW);
      inputMap.put(escape, actionKey);
      ActionMap actionMap = (jFrame.getRootPane()).getActionMap();
      actionMap.put(actionKey, action);
    * Finds the escape action for the given frame or dialog if one was added
    * @param jFrame The JFrame or JDialog for which the escape key action should be set.
   public static Action getEscapeKeyAction(final RootPaneContainer jFrame)
      InputMap inputMap = (jFrame.getRootPane()).getInputMap(JComponent.WHEN_IN_FOCUSED_WINDOW);
      KeyStroke escapeKeyStroke = KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_ESCAPE, 0);
      ActionMap actionMap = (jFrame.getRootPane()).getActionMap();
      Object actionKey = inputMap.get(escapeKeyStroke);
      Action escapeAction = null;
      if(actionKey != null)
         escapeAction = actionMap.get(actionKey);
      return escapeAction;

Answer 1

From one of the MS windows books.....Going by the books, eh?
Well, apparently MS doesn't do so with Excel... Pressing space will simply trigger an edit!
q1) JTable should have space bar handling out of the box?
(space, CTRL+space, shift+space)
I have not seen this raised as a bug.A bug, no... a feature, maybe. Anyway, JTable provides most of the features needed for creating a table -- it's far from perfect..... adding support for CTRL+SPACE and SHIFT+SPACE is not all that hard to do.
q2) Should the enter key put an editable cell under edit and
q3) if not should the first enter key stop cell editing and a second press activate the default buttonIMHO, a good answer to your question can be found by running MS Excel and see how it's done.
The escape key will cancel editing of a cell that is under edit.and q4, q5
It should, as in Excel. But then, in Lotus 1-2-3, first escape will clear the edit buffer (unless it's empty) and the second escape will cancel editing. Who'is more programmatically correct (I don't know)?
;o)
V.V.