Simple formula question

[user_three]

I am using calc for a simple spreadsheet. I have been away from the world of spreadsheets for a long while. I am trying to enter an “if function” that evaluates a cell containing a text character:

=IF(F6="c",10,20)
edit by @karolus : put Formula into ``````backtics

This function does not work. When I hit the enter key I do not get a result: the resulting cell only outputs the function text: =IF(F6="c",10,20). If I replace the condition with a number, say 3, the function will output the correct condition (in this case, 20). Can anyone help?

[EarnestAl]

@user_three

“c”

Your formula is displaying typographic quotes, they don’t work in formulas. If you start entering a formula in Calc with = you won’t get typographic quotes.
If you copy from, say Writer, it might have automatically changed the standard quotes (").
You can turn off typographic quotes in Tools > AutoCorrect options > Localised Options and untick double quotes, and single if wanted too.

[karolus]

@EarnestAl

Your formula is displaying typographic quotes,

the original Formula is ok, it needs only to be quoted in ``````backtics

[LeroyG]

@user_three

I am trying to enter an “if function”

How did you do that? Just typing?

For me this starts with a formula copied from a text formatted cell and pasted special (Ctrl+Shift+V) with the default setting in a number formatted cell (only @user_three could tell).
If this is so, edit the cell content (F2), add and delete a space, and press Enter (or select the cell and choose menu Data - Text to Columns… - OK).

[LeroyG]

@EarnestAl

Your formula is displaying typographic quotes

When this happen, just edit the question, and copy the formula in edit mode. And since you are there, press Ctrl+Shift+C to convert the formula to preformatted text, this will put the grave accent around the selected text.

EDIT after next @EarnestAl comment: Excuse me for having sounded a bit rude. My comment was not intended agaist anyone, and much less against you, although I quoted from your first comment to put the context to my own.

Quotes (“a”), if not preformated ("a"), are (and will be) a problem here, especially to newcomers, because they (quotes) are not seen as typographic in edit mode.
By the way, just discovered that between parentheses (""), and without text/number content, they behave different.

[EarnestAl]

I feel a need to defend my comment from criticism and alteration by others.
I was looking at the described symptoms and the 3 substitution; my comment fits all of them, except that the OP said the cell output the formula. But was that in the formula bar? Maybe the cell itself displayed Err: 501?
It was a comment, not a solution only because of that question. It might not be right, but unless there is a better solution that fits all the criteria please just ignore my comment.

[user_three]

@EarnestAl

Your formula is displaying typographic quotes, they don’t work in formulas. If you start entering a formula in Calc with = you won’t get typographic quotes.
If you copy from, say Writer, it might have automatically changed the standard quotes (").

This answered my question.

[karolus]

@user_three : Switch off
→→View→→Show Formula
and use ;semicolon instead ,comma

[eeigor]

@user_three

If I replace the condition with a number, say 3, the function will output the correct condition (in this case, 20).

So it can only be in quotes.

[karolus]

there no typografic quotes in the original formula, for me I need to replace comma with semicolon

[eeigor]

No, because for the questioner this example works with a comma. Somewhere @mikekaganski wrote that US users use a comma as a parameter separator, and Calc understands it.

How to get last non-empty cell in row(line)

Use comma instead of ; It is never necessary. All locales accept the standard ; argument separator; some also use other separators, like en-US, but they still accept ; when typing (and will themselves “change” it to ,).

True, the meaning is slightly different: you can use a semicolon, even if the separator is a comma.