Formatting all over the place in Calc

English
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#1

I just want to format the first column to do nothing.

No numbers, no dates, just text, same as everything else, same as all the other unformatted columns

But no matter how many times I set the font to verdana 8pt, as soon as I click in the column it is formatted for Liberian sans 26pt. No matter how many times I format the column to range left, it reverts to range right. No matter how many times I set the column to ‘general’ it is reformatting dates and numbers that I don’t want changed in any way.

So how do I disable calc from deciding to format my cells in any way other than those which I have already set. It’s a simple database - no numbers, no calculations or formulas, NOTHING. It’s just a list of garden plants with numbers. Can anyone suggest how I stop the pointless behaviours and formulas, fonts and settings I haven’t actually set up?? Thanks so much.

#2

Please paste here the information on Menu/Help/About LibreOffice (There is an icon to copy)

#3

Version: 25.2.1.2 (X86_64) / LibreOffice Community
Build ID: d3abf4aee5fd705e4a92bba33a32f40bc4e56f49
CPU threads: 8; OS: macOS 11.7.10; UI render: Skia/Raster; VCL: osx
Locale: en-GB (en_GB.UTF-8); UI: en-US
Calc: threaded

#4

I guess you don’t want ‘general’ but ‘Text’. So I’d say Calc is working as commanded by you and planned by designers of spreadsheets.
.

That one is more interesting. Do you also see different colours?
Then you are in a mode where colour and position shows you the the type of cells. Your formatting will be shown when you leave this mode.

The usual way is to tell this Calc before you enter any data. For example you mark the whole table, select “format cells” from context menu of one cell and set all to text. So you switch of the auto-detection of Calc for input.
I do this usually for Phone-Numbers, Zip-Codes or Bank-accounts.
.
Maybe it is easier to create a new sheet and copy the current data over without formatting by using paste special than “repairing” your file, because ther is one rule: Formatting don’t change types. So if you have a number, it will stay a number and just ignore your formatting for text.

If you insist on “I haven’t actually set up” use any programming language and start coding. That’s exactly, what programmers do: setting everything set up themselves.
.
It was your choice to use a program named for Calculations for something else. (And please try to convince Microsoft to rename their Excel to ‘Pointless’ :wink: )
In case you missed it: LibreOffice contains a module named Base, intended for databases.

You are wrong twice here: Nothing is an empty sheet, or even no file at all. Again: You mean Text as type of your columns.
And the the only person, who knows your data wrote:

So you may have numbers in you list. If you want to sort by number sometimes, be warned ‘text’ is behaving different then:
1
12
2
3
is correct sorting for numbers as text.

1 Like
#5

Thanks for your input.

Looks like your presumption is, that I did’t try anything to resolve the problem before posting, and it’s ‘my fault for using the programme’. Maybe the latter is true. But the second guessing is unnecessary - Since I didn’t ‘command’ it to do anything - it is a new Calc document.

I tried the module called Base but that is simply creating an advanced database oneself, and having problems with an existing database, that doesn’t seem too practical as an option, or within my skillset. But thanks for that.

#6

list_of_plants_with_numbers.ods (42.9 KB)
Can you tell me, what is wrong with a list of plants with numbers?

#7

If you read the post again, all will be revealed to you. That is what is wrong.

#8

I can not reproduce anything you have written. In the document I’ve attached, I can apply all kinds of installed fonts, sizes, borders, colors to any selection of cells.

1 Like

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