Non-contiguous selections and selection changes are not reported correctly in Word

[cary-rowen]

Steps to reproduce:

1. Open ms word and insert a 3x3 table filled with numbers from 1 to 9;
2. Navigate to the upper left cell, which is filled with the number '1'.
3. Press ctrl+shift+F8;
4. Press the down arrow twice;
5. Press NVDA+Shift+S;

Actual behavior:

1. Perform step 4 NVDA report '1';
2. Perform step 5, NVDA reports "1 Selected".

Expected behavior:

1. Perform step 4 and NVDA should reports the selected cells.
2. Perform step 5, and NVDA should reports "1,4,7 selected".

NVDA logs, crash dumps and other attachments:

log.txt

System configuration

NVDA installed/portable/running from source:

installed

NVDA version:

alpha-26628

Windows version:

Windows 10 21H2 (x64) build 19044.2006

Name and version of other software in use when reproducing the issue:

ms365, 2208 Build 16.0.15601.20148) 64 Bit

Other information about your system:

None

Other questions

Does the issue still occur after restarting your computer?

Yes

Have you tried any other versions of NVDA? If so, please report their behaviors.

None

If NVDA add-ons are disabled, is your problem still occurring?

Yes

Does the issue still occur after you run the COM Registration Fixing Tool in NVDA's tools menu?

Yes

[CyrilleB79]

This issue is broader than only tables. It impacts anytext selection in Word.

Actually, there are two issues here:

Issue 1

NVDA does not report modification of the selection when in selection extension mode (step 4.)

STR

1. In word type "abcdefgh" and home to turn back to beginning of the line.
2. Press ctrl+shift+F8
3. Press right arrow many times

Actual result

At step 3, "A" is reported on each arrow press.

Expected result

"A selected", "B selected", "C selected"... should be reported when right arrow is pressed.

Issue 1

NVDA does not report non-contiguous selection (step 5)

STR

1. In word type "abcdefgh" and home to turn back to beginning of the line.
2. With shift+rightArrow 2 times, select "ab"
3. Press control key and hold it down
4. With mouse, select "fg"
5. Release control key
6. Press NVDA+shift+upArrow to read selection

Actual result

At step 6, NVDA reports "fg" selected.

Expected result

At step 5, NVDA should report information on the whole selection, e.g.:

• "ab" and "fg" selected
• or "multiple selection made of 2 parts; double press to read the selection"
• etc.

Additional notes

• I have done my tests with Word without UIA and desktop keyboard layout
• @cary-rowen has probably done his tests with laptop layout

See also

#3293, #3563

[cary-rowen]

Thanks to @CyrilleB79 for the additional clarification, great.
Also, the behavior of Shift+Alt+Home/End and Shift+Alt+PageUp/PageDown for continuous selection in a table does not correctly report selected cells.

[CyrilleB79]

Same cause as #12190: disjoint selection is not correctly reported.