Columns populate as they please

Please see the image

The blue selected columns are actually empty, no content, no formulas.

When I select+SUM the left column, it populates itself with values from the column to its left.

When I select+SUM the right column, it populates its first cell from the 2015 year above it, then proceeds cumulatively summing up each cell on the way down.

What’s happening and how to get rid of it?

P. S. I select/SUM the columns one at a time; I showed them both selected just for illustration.

@librenewbie, LibreOffice tries to guess what cells do you want to sum. If this guessing is wrong, you can correct it.

It is no clear what cells do you need to sum, but in the second selected column of your sample, after clicking on the Select Function button (Σ), when LibreOffice guess that the range to sum is the year and title above, you need to select desired cells by click and drag. Or you can select the cells to be added, then click on the Select Function button.

See LibreOffice Help on Select Function.

Tested with LibreOffice 6.4.7.2 (x86); OS: Windows 6.1.


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