Enter Data Through a Selected Region in Gnumeric

Preselecting a rectangle lets Gnumeric keep manual data entry inside that region. With Enter Moves Selection set to down, Enter works down a column before moving to the next column. Tab works across a row before moving to the next row. This is not the same as filling every selected cell with one value.

Scope: Gnumeric 1.12.62 GTK desktop, English interface labels, based on its released source and packaged manual. The coordinate sequences below are independently checked expectations, not native keyboard-test results. No screenshot, accessibility-keyboard test or saved-workbook execution is claimed.

Set a reproducible starting state

Use a new practice sheet. Keep all rows and columns visible, cells unmerged and the sheet unprotected. Use ordinary editable cells without validation rules, and do not select multiple disjoint areas. Hidden cells, merged cells and protection can change which cells the selection walker visits.

1. Open Edit → Preferences → Tools. Record the existing Enter Moves Selection setting, then choose down for this exercise. Do not assume the default or a previous user’s preference.
2. Close Preferences. Put the number 999 in C6 and F4. These are outside the first practice rectangle and will serve as boundary markers.
3. Make sure C4:E5 is empty. Drag from C4 to E5 with the primary mouse button, selecting exactly that two-row, three-column rectangle. Start the drag in C4 so it is the active starting cell.
4. Confirm both the selected rectangle and active starting cell before typing. Do not click C4 again after selecting, because that would collapse the selection to a single cell.

Use the cell grid, not a dialog or a formula-editing subfield, for these plain numeric entries. Use ordinary Enter and Tab without Ctrl or Alt modifiers.

Enter down columns

Type 11, press Enter, type 12, press Enter, and continue with 13, 14, 15, 16, committing each value with Enter. Keep the rectangle selected throughout and stop typing immediately after committing 16.

Entry number	Cell receiving it	Number typed	Active cell after Enter
1	C4	11	C5
2	C5	12	D4
3	D4	13	D5
4	D5	14	E4
5	E4	15	E5
6	E5	16	C4

The second Enter should wrap from C5 to D4, not descend into C6. After the sixth entry the active cell returns to C4. A seventh typed value would start replacing the first entry; wrapping does not mean Gnumeric has created another empty block.

After stopping, inspect the grid. Its top row C4:E4 should read 11, 13, 15 and its bottom row C5:E5 should read 12, 14, 16. C6 and F4 must still contain 999. The six entered numbers sum to 81, but the total alone cannot prove that each number went into the intended cell.

Compare Tab on a separate rectangle

Leave the first exercise intact. Put 999 in H6 and K4, then select the empty rectangle H4:J5 by dragging from H4 to J5. Confirm H4 is active.

Type 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, pressing Tab after each value, including the last. Stop typing after 26.

Entry number	Cell receiving it	Number typed	Active cell after Tab
1	H4	21	I4
2	I4	22	J4
3	J4	23	H5
4	H5	24	I5
5	I5	25	J5
6	J5	26	H4

Here the third Tab wraps from J4 to H5. The top row H4:J4 should read 21, 22, 23, and the bottom row H5:J5 should read 24, 25, 26. H6 and K4 must still be 999; the six entered numbers sum to 141.

Do not mix Enter and Tab during either sequence. A mixed sequence is a different navigation exercise, and single-cell Tab-then-Enter behavior is not the selected-rectangle workflow taught here.

Verify, recover and restore

Check all twelve cell/value pairs and all four markers, not only totals. If you want worksheet totals after inspecting the layout, place =SUM(C4:E5) and =SUM(H4:J5) in spare cells outside the examples: expect 81 and 141. These totals deliberately test values, not ordering.

• Enter does not move: inspect Enter Moves Selection. The reviewed code allows a no-movement direction; this exercise requires down.
• Enter moves across instead of down: recheck that preference before starting a fresh rectangle. Changing it halfway through does not rearrange already entered numbers.
• The cursor leaves the rectangle or overwrites a marker: stop. Check whether you collapsed the selection, started in another cell or selected the wrong endpoints. Restore any altered marker from its known value, then repeat in a new empty practice rectangle rather than continue a misaligned sequence.
• Some cells are skipped: inspect hidden rows/columns, merges and sheet protection. The released selection code explicitly considers these conditions; this example excludes them.
• The first value is replaced after completion: you continued typing after wraparound. Restore the intended cell value from the table, then verify every cell again. Do not infer correctness merely because the selection still looks right.
• A cell refuses the entry: stop and check editability or validation. This guide assumes unrestricted numeric input, not a rejected edit.

Finally, restore the original Enter Moves Selection preference. Discarding the practice workbook does not itself restore application preferences. If the installed interface or behavior differs from this guide, retain the observed version and failed step rather than claiming a successful test.

For generated rather than manually typed sequences, use Fill series and copy a model. To inspect an already selected block, see Check selected values with status calculations.

First-party evidence and limits

Reviewed 2026-10-22: the packaged Advanced Data Entry manual, Enter/Tab event handling, selection traversal implementation, and Preferences implementation. These establish a narrowly scoped source-based procedure, not tested parity with older versions, imported workbooks, alternate frontends or every keyboard configuration.