Calc: Reference list of filter criteria operators?

[rlaggren]

In creating filters, “Advanced” allows use of a table of criteria. Each criteria is defined using an “operator” such as “=” or “<” which precedes some value to create the criteria.

Where can I find a complete list of available criteria operators? I am looking for single character operators or simple functions of the form Function() where the (single) specific criteria value is placed in the (). I am not looking for macros at this time. I would like to fully utilize any “built-in” capabilities in calc before spending lots of time learning and implementing macros.

I have spent 45 minutes on google and have found no reference list, just simple examples using one or two operators. This seems a very noticeable hole in the docs.

Thanks for any help.
Rufus

[Lupp]

There is LibreOffice: com::sun::star::sheet Module Reference, and in some cases it’s not difficult how to enter an operator into a cell configuring an advanced filter. In other cases I don’t know how. As far as I can see, the most recent Calc guide (V6.4) alos doesn’t give the available keys systematically. Maybe writing a macro is faster in this case than to try all the ideas that may come to us.

[Lupp]

I used some time to search for additional documentation concerning the question how to represent the less common filter operators (and their relations to operands) in the describing range of an advanced filter.
I failed and came to the conclusion that the interface XSheetFilterableEx may only consist of a few lines of code like exemplified in http://wiki.openoffice.org/wiki/Documentation/DevGuide/Spreadsheets/Filtering (which is the link under “Developers Guide” for the mentioned interface). If you want to use all the operators enumerated under the API constants enumeration, in specific indices 9 through 12, you may need to write your own version of a createFilterDescriptorByObject() method. it shouldn’t be too complicated.
We may assume the mentioned operators were introduced later, when the “advancement of the advcanced filters” had already stopped.
If you manage to study the source code for more clarity, please report here.

[rlaggren]

@Lupp. Thx for the link. It shows what might potentially be available (about what I had hoped) but not what keywords or operators should be used in the individual criteria string (maybe the “enumerator” can be used with the right syntax?). If my need gets heavier I may try to figure out what exactly Calc wants in its AdvFilter criteria table elements, but right now getting an alpha version of the sheet presentable takes priority and the qwik-kludge is king… I’m doing the selection and adding flags in the database extract.

Rufus

[Lupp]

I also reconsidered the topic, and would like to point to the fact that the operators dropdown misnamed “Condition” in the UI dialog for configuring a standard filter, already contains 6 items not listed in the mentioned enumeration. We may suppose that “compatibility requests” by users lead to implementations unmirrored by the LibO API, and probably incompatible with some of its basic concepts. (Kind of Q&D implementation?) We have a similar (and worse) situation concerning CondtionalFormatting for some time now.
Quo vadis, …? As I already hinted in different places, the struggle for compatibility may endanger the advantages in fundamental quality of FLOSS. “Competitors” may know that, and exploit it as a “vulnerability”.