How to have Calc calculate automatically

[Anduma22]

I’m trying to better figure out how to have Calc calculate the total automatically after I add a new row to the worksheet rather than having to adjust the information in the cell where I’ll like the total to be.
Feel free to share your thoughts sometime and let me know if you need more information if so.
Thank you.

If this helps in the meantime, I already have =SUM(A1:A5)for instance in the Total field from when I first made the sheet and have added a new row to the bottom of A5 hence A6 in between A5 and the row where the total field is.
I’m not too sure of how to get the Total field information updated automatically with the new rows I added and will add at some point rather than double clicking on the cell then dragging the transparent box down every time.
Hope this helps.

[erAck]

Feel free to provide a working example of what you’re trying to achieve so we don’t have to guess.

Please edit your question to give details, do not use the Answer field. Thanks.

[anon73440385]

If you want a range (e.g. A1:A5 in your example) being automatically adapted, you need to insert row within the range and not outside the range (i.e. before row 1 or after row 5). Having said this: Let your sum run through A1:A6 where row 6 is an empty row and if adding a new row select row 6 and Right click -> Insert Rows Above and you will see range of SUM() being adapted to A1:A7. If you have contiguous ranges (no empty cells within the range to sum) you may use: =SUM(INDIRECT("A1:A" & MATCH(1;ISBLANK(A:A);0)))

[erAck]

You can activate the reference expansion under Tools → Options → Calc → General, Expand references when new columns/rows are inserted; though that behaviour some (most) times is unwanted, hence an option.

Easier would be to leave one blank row (i.e. row 6) at the bottom but include that in the formula, like =SUM(A1:A6) in A7. Inserting rows before row 6 (thus within the referenced range) then automatically adjusts the formula references.

[Lupp]

Totals on top, items starting below, youngest on top, new row inserted above the most recent entry already present.
That’s what I would recommend.
That a sequence of entries must be continued at the bottom is paper-think. That a total should be below the entries is paper-think. Everything should be where it’s most handy. Most relevant things always shown.
See example reasonableRowInsertion.ods .

[Anduma22]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts as in how I can get around the issue I wrote my question about which makes sense with either leaving a blank row in the cell part of the formula and for the example as well which I appreciate hearing your input on.

[newbie-02]

@Lupp: did you look into my sheets? you copy my ideas … i feel honoured
@Anduma22: @Lupps tips are! very! good!, the earlier one starts to use the possibilities of spreadsheets the better results he achieves
using named ranges for the item list is sometimes good as well, and placing the subtotals in another column enables subtotals of ‘sub-ranges’ without messing up the grand total … takes some time to adapt to ideas like that …