Ctrl+; doesn't insert date into cell in Calc on Dell XPS 13 Plus

Oddly, Control-Shift+; does insert the time. Control+; inserts e, typing again removes the e. I am perplexed.

I have been using Calc on various tower PCs for quite awhile. This Dell laptop is the first time I’ve seen this quirk. Many laptops have quirks in their keyboards. I believe this issue is specific to Dell laptops.

I suppose it is depends on the layout of the keyboard (key count, locale), and the type+version+locale of the operating system. If the specific key conbination is not free at the time of installation of the LO, then the LO can not use it as “date hotkey”.

Are these properties diffferent on your Desktops and laptops?

Maybe similar or related to this reddit post, https://www.reddit.com/r/Dell/comments/dd70o9/xps_13_ctrl_fn_have_swapped/

This is definitely a LibreOffice issue. I connected a bluetooth Logitech K480 keyboard and have the same issue. I had submitted a support ticket to Dell Tech Support, and in the process of troubleshooting, I discovered this. I know I can insert the date using Date on the Insert menu, but I am used to using Control+;. The menu item on Insert does show Control+; as the hotkey.

If the operating system (or some background process) uses the specific key combination for some general function, then the LO can not use it. Try to redirect the function to an another hotkey ba usage the Customize function.
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I have Hungarian keyboard, and Hungarian locale settings. There are many accentual letters on the Hun keyboard. The ; character available by usage the AltGr key. Therefore the LO uses the Ctrl+. (dot) key for the Date inserting function…

Which version od the LO are you using?

I FOUND it. ibus-setup was using it for inserting emoticons. I deleted it and now LO sees the hotkey and inserts the date into a cell.

I don’t understand ibus-setup. It appears it defined TWO hotkeys for inserting emoticons, Control-period and Control-semicolon. I have no idea why they would define TWO. I don’t use emoticons so I just deleted the hotkey Control-semicolon in ibus-setup.

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Thank you for sharing the solution here.