Shift+Del broken

Shift-Del no longer working as it used to and should according to the Windows standards.

It still copies the selected part but doesn't remove it from the field.

Very annoying.

Probably caused by the new shortcut to edit list #60411) but it really needs a fix or some other shortcut.

I happens when in a field, say 'Artist' a part is selected and Shift+Del pressed.

I had to revert to version 3.18f in order to use the otherwise great application..

I doubt that the function is broken as this key combination was added as a new combination.

Well, Shift-Del is not a new shortcut but a classic windows shortcut that works in any other application. (Go to Notepad or any other editor and try it!) Using it for a new function is ok but it must not override the original one.

Note that the original function is for editing text in a text field, not items in a list.

Surely a coding error that has creeped in and broken what used to work; in fact this functionality is built-in in the framework and usually works without adding any code. These things happen.. I hope it gets fixed so I can use the newer releases.

As it stands I can't properly edit text and so the newer versions are useless for me.

Can you explain what the expected action is in your use case, when using the Shift+ Delete shortcut? As this undocumented “feature” was working for you previously, some scope would help to clarify what actions may be needed to possibly restore this, now that the key combination has been given an official function in mp3tag as of v3.20.

I found this page that lists 141 programs that use the function:

... and most of them have special functions. So I doubt that it is a standard shortcut.
As the simple Del removes text (as it did before) - I wonder what you need as a function to delete text.

Ah, just thought of this:

You may have noticed that the fields in the tag panel are combo boxes which feature lists.
Onyl if you change the size to "biggest" you get a non-combo box.
So perhaps your irritation comes from this difference.

I am guessing in this case the Shift+Delete shortcut is being used as “Cut the selected text and move to the clipboard.”

However this has long been replaced by the Ctrl+X shortcut as part of the trilogy cut/copy/paste X C V keys found side by side on the keyboard.

MS made this change long ago when XP was introduced. The Shift+Delete shortcut has since been used as an option to delete a file, without sending it to the recycle bin. I don’t think this is the intended use here.

I am guessing in this case the Shift+Delete shortcut is being used as “Cut the selected text and move to the clipboard.”

However this has long been replaced by the Ctrl+X shortcut

Well, not really replaced. It still works. Everywhere. Before you reply, please test it in the very field where you want to put your reply. So it has not been 'replaced' but just appended.

Big difference. MS did not break the old UI.

Of course I know about Ctl-X, but as a left-handed person the 'new' shortcuts always were very unpractical, as I use my mouse with the left hand and would have to let it go to use them..

I won’t speak for the decisions MS made, but it clearly isn’t documented in their own list of shortcuts.

Regardless, mp3tag is not an MS application and has it’s own usage for many keyboard shortcuts that apply. No different than 100’s of other programs. Perhaps armed with the knowledge that this particular shortcut was useful to some, perhaps it can be “fixed” in an update to allow it to continue to work as it did prior, except in those fields where it now has a defined function?

At this time there aren’t assignable shortcuts in mp3tag, and I don’t know if @Florian has any plans to add them in the future. Maybe this is an alternative solution long term?

@Florian It seems there are a few “hidden” shortcut combos that remain undocumented in Windows. The Cut/Copy/Paste sequence that is clearly optimized for right handed mouse users are duplicated on the right end of the keyboard with the Shift, Ctrl, Delete, and Insert keys for those using the mouse on the left side.

Am I correct in understanding that there are no plans to restore the system-wide function of the Shift-Del shortcut as “cut selected text”? That's too bad; in that case, I'm sticking with version 3.19.

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This topic is more than 3 years old. Many more changes and improvements have come since then as mp3tag is at version 3.36 as of October 2026. If v3.19 works for you as-is then stick with it. But you will probably be giving up more usable features and fixes.

There are hundreds of key combinations in use by the OS. Some are repurposed within applications where there is a greater use case or redundancy.

Microsoft no longer defines this one in their own table as a text function as they have clearly made it a specific function for moving files directly to permanent delete status.

It works perfectly in all the other applications I use, including those included in the Windows operating system itself. And the keyboard shortcut has always behaved differently depending on whether you’re working with text or files. So Microsoft’s statement doesn’t contradict my point.

I understand your point of view, but I can’t quite see it—especially since mp3tag is otherwise really great. (For a left-hander like me, who holds the mouse in the left hand, that’s just sad.)

I can understand the desire to have the keyboard shortcuts working, especially for a left-hander.

I'll think about a possible solution, which would probably either change the existing keyboard shortcut to delete the entry from a list or have a dedicated configuration option (which seems disproportionate at the moment).

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I've changed the keyboard shortcuts to add and remove history entries to Shift+Ctrl+Return and Shift+Ctrl+Del with Mp3tag v3.37-beta.1.

Shift+Del is no longer broken.

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That sounds great - thanks a lot. Good things come to those who wait; so I'll finally update my old version :slight_smile:

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Hello @Florian,

I’ve been following all the discussions on this topic. I have Mp3tag version v3.36 and decided to run some tests on both Windows 7 and Windows 10, since I hadn't experienced this issue with that version...

With that version, I can use (Left Shift+Ctrl+) + Return and (Left Shift+Ctrl+) + Delete without any problem...

I can also use (Right Shift+Ctrl+) + Retrun and (Right Shift+Ctrl+) + Delete without any problem...

Sorry, I made a mistake; I've corrected this text:

However, with the Mp3tag-beta 2 version (tested on Windows 7 and 10), I can only use (Left Shift+Ctrl+) + Return and (Left Shift+Ctrl+) + Delete;
I can no longer use (Right Shift+Ctrl+) + Return and (Right Shift+Ctrl+) + Delete...

Thank you very much for implementing the change so quickly.

I cannot reproduce on all supported Windows versions.

Hello @Florian,

Thanks for running those tests. Following your tests, I ran some of my own using three computers with Mp3tag version v3.36; I didn't encounter any issues—it works on all of them...

However, with Mp3tag v3.37-beta.2, I’m having a problem on my Windows 7 machine. I also tested it on two Windows 10 systems, but only one of the Windows 10 machines refuses to work with the (Right Shift+Ctrl+) + Return and (Right Shift+Ctrl+) + Delete key combinations...

I don't understand why ? :thinking: