inserting fractions in the calc cell [closed]

edit

Go to the "Format Cells" as shown by Alex Kemp. Then select Fractions on left side. You will see in the middle column 2 predefined formats: # ?/? and # ??/??. select the second one ( where it says now General you will see it) and modify it to # ??/???.

Then you get your right display.

ADDON: My solution is only good for the actual session. LO does not save the fraction anywhere, so it gets lost after saving and reopening. Although it saves other user-defined formats (had some phone number saved in the test file and there were still ok). I might have to write a bugreport.

2.ADDON: There is already a bug#88657 filed beginning of 2015. One workaround found and confirmed by me is to use

"# ???/???" as format. This works to and is saved.

Hi GA316

The normal reason for wrong display of numbers containing a slash ('/') as reported in ask.libo is that the default for Calc for the questioner is to format as a date. The reason in your case is a variant upon that, and for me has revealed a truly abominable piece of coding...

Try to Remember:

With Calc, each cell is rather like a human being:- there is the body & there are the clothes (display). Sometimes one matches the other, and sometimes not. Also, small boys have a habit of hiding things in their pockets (preciousss).

With the cursor within the cell containing '9/100', try the following:

1. (menu):Format→Clear Direct Formatting (Ctrl+M)
   (from now on you will see the default format)
2. (menu):Format→Cells (Ctrl+1)
   (what is the value in Format code?)
   (mine was Number→General, and the display showed for me as "9/100")
   
   That previous result was because Calc silently inserted a hidden ' (U+0027) APOSTROPHE within the cell before the 9/100; the APOSTROPHE could be seen in the input line of the Formula Bar only after changing the format to Fraction; it was always hidden within the cell, and otherwise hidden within the Formula Bar; I removed the APOSTROPHE and tried again (lo-5.0.0.5 Debian 6.0)
   
   (changing format to Fraction→"# ??/??" then showed your result of 8/89 - hooray!)
   
3. Modify Format code to "# ??/???"
   (display now returns to 9/100) (thanks horst)
   

If this helps then please tick the answer (✔)
...and/or show you like it with an uptick (∧)

Additionally to answer by @horst:

You can also choose an Fractionsformatcode like # ??/100 to fix the denominator for some Reasons

(Edited) You ( @GA316 ) had formatted the respective cell(s) using a format code like "# ?/??" or "# ?/#?" for fractions up to 2 digits for the denominator. 8/99 is the best approximation for 9/100 available if the denominator is limited to 2 digits.

Generally you shouldn't expect reliable results displayed using 'Fraction' format. The arithmetic is always 'Double'. Applying an algorithm of continued fractions afterwards is kind of a hoax. If you need exact fractional arithmetic you have to use mathematics software. (Maxima is free now.)

The fact that the number format 'Fraction' set for a cell also causes the "recognition" of "9/100" as not text can be seen as an inconsistency. This behaviour may get in conflict with a 'date acceptance pattern'. Presently it will even override it. Did anyone at anytime specify the bahaviour of such toys?

(Editing again:)

@horst may have a look into the attached example. I did, however, not yet demonstrate similar effects with non-fractional formats. (No examples stored formerly) ask59529FractionTests.ods