LibreOffice Calc automatically converts gene names like DEC1, MARCH7, SEP1 into date format, i.e. 12/01/16
This type of behavior was recently documented to introduce tons of errors into the scientific literature.
“Gene name errors are widespread in the scientific literature”
From the paper: "Automatic conversion of gene symbols to dates and floating-point numbers is a problematic feature of Excel software. The description of this problem and workarounds were first highlighted over a decade ago [1]—nevertheless, we find that these errors continue to pervade supplementary files in the scientific literature. To date, there is no way to permanently deactivate automatic conversion to dates in MS Excel and other spreadsheet software such as LibreOffice Calc or Apache OpenOffice Calc. "
The existing corrections for this problem must be done on a cell-by-cell formatting basis, which has been historically insufficient, as is evident from the linked paper.
I am requesting a an option to disable automatic date conversion. For Science!