The real problem isn't that a keyboard shortcut is missing. It's that the tool itself forces you to hunt for one. A user on Reddit asks how to select an item in a Mac dropdown without reaching for the mouse. They can open the menu with Option + Down. They can tab through options. But Space and Enter do nothing. That isn't a quirk to memorize. It's a sign that the interface was designed for a different era, one where the mouse was the default and keyboard navigation was an afterthought.
The answer, for anyone still reading, is that you press the Space bar while the dropdown is open. But the fact that this isn't obvious, and that a user has to ask a forum, tells you everything about how legacy spreadsheets treat their users. They assume you will switch between keyboard and mouse dozens of times per minute. They assume you will tolerate inconsistency. And they assume you will adapt to them, rather than the other way around. That is not a design philosophy that respects your time.
What this exchange really reveals is a deeper friction. A user who wants to stay on the keyboard, who wants speed, flow, and focus, is stopped by a single, silent command. That small interruption adds up. Over a day, it becomes a rhythm breaker. Over a week, it becomes a reason to avoid certain workflows altogether. The spreadsheet should be the place where data moves as fast as your thinking. Instead, it makes you slow down for the machine.
This is exactly the kind of moment where a better tool makes itself known. An AI-native spreadsheet doesn't just add shortcuts; it rethinks the interaction. It predicts what you want to select. It surfaces options without requiring a dropdown at all. It lets you express intent in plain language and handles the rest. The question "how do I select an item without the mouse" becomes irrelevant when the spreadsheet understands what you mean before you finish typing. That is the shift worth exploring. Not a workaround for a broken menu, but a tool that doesn't need one.