Before making a feature request on Bugzilla, I wanted to run this by AskLO.
There seems to be a long-standing acceptance that LibreOffice Calc simply ignores a request to copy a selected range of cells if that range includes part, but not all, of the result of an array formula.
Excel has no similar limitation. Selecting a portion of an array formula result allows for copying as normal, whether pasting as formula or as values-only. [It is true that copying cells from an array formula with relative references may result in some less-than-obvious references if pasting as formula.]
Does anyone have a solution for Calc? I tried the “Copy Visible Only” extension just to see. It doesn’t help. I do a lot of small data set manipulation, and being able to copy part of an array result would be great. Yes, it is possible to create another range using an array formula addressing the subrange of the result desired, then copying all of that range. Example: if B4:D8 is the desired subrange, use {=B4:D8} somewhere else on the sheet then copy that result. But that’s a long way to go if you ask me.
On Bugzilla I found
114559
which might be related and
146972
which mentions the current no-copy behavior.
Everyone sees a system differently, but I’ve always thought that silently ignoring a user request for something as fundamental as copying a selected region is something of a gaping hole in functionality for a spreadsheet program.