[Bug 162965] Cell merge not possible if cells already merged

[bugzilla-daemon at bugs.documentfoundation.org]

https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=162965

--- Comment #1 from ady <adylo811517 at gmail.com> ---
Two clicks are needed when using the Toolbar icon ("Merge and Center Cells");
the first click un-merges the (partially) merged area – this is the normal
use-case when the user wants the merged area to be unmerged – and the second
click merges the selected area.

The error message does not appear when using the aforementioned "Merge and
Center Cells" toolbar icon.

When using the context menu items ("Merge Cells" and "Unmerge Cells"), or the
two equivalent items under the menu "Format > Merge and Unmerge Cells", then
the error message will show up.

The two specific items ("Merge Cells" and "Unmerge Cells") are aimed at a range
of cells that are either in one status or the other, not mixed. The reason is
that, when merging, additional options are available (e.g. when merging, what
exactly should happen with the content of each cell in the selected area).

When the additional options are not relevant, and users really want to "expand"
the merged area, the simpler and effortless procedure is to select the "new
target" range and click once on "Merge and Center Cells", followed by a second
one-click on the same toolbar icon.

Changing the current behavior of the two specific actions ("Merge Cells" and
"Unmerge Cells") could have negative effects.

First, the potential introduction of bugs in the additional merging options
(which is an advantage of Calc over other spreadsheet tools that only support a
partial set of options). Since the content of the "other" merged cells is not
directly visible by the user, introducing bugs here could lead to loss of data,
without users knowing it until it is too late.

The second potential problem is related to automated actions (macros). If an
already-existing macro includes either of the "(Un)Merge Cells" actions,
changing the result of that same action should be avoided (especially when the
user would not know about any potential problem until it is too late).

I think that the only way to safely change the current behavior would be by
introducing newly-named actions, producing the "expected behavior" described in
comment 0.

Considering the existence of such a simple and direct workaround (i.e. using
the "Merge and Center Cells" toolbar icon, which shows no error message as
desired, and clicking twice on the same exact place cannot be considered an
exceptional effort), I doubt that changing the current behavior of the
individual specific "Merge Cells" and "Unmerge Cells" actions is worth the
time/resources.

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