Uncheck the "Include Format" in the sort options by default

[Volth]

I’m starting to think this is not possible.

So just to give an idea of what I’m trying to do, I’m currently working on a spreadsheet for my books.

As you can see in the image, column C and D are merged after the first two rows, same for E/F and G/H. Now, my problem is that the sorting option is a bit annoying. Because of the merged cells, if I try to sort the cells with the little button next to “Series”, “Authors”, etc. I get the “Ranges containing merged cells can only be sorted without format” error.

Now, I can bypass that by going into the sort options and manually untick the “Include Format” option, but I have to do it everytime I want to sort my list because it always rechecks itself automatically. I was wondering if there was a way to just disable that “Include Format” option permanently so that I can easily sort my list with the buttons.

I know I could just unmerge the cells and try another configuration, but I like how it all looks right now, that sorting problem is the only annoying thing that I can’t figure out.

I hope my question is clear, I’ve been working on this for a while and my brain’s a bit fried.

[Villeroy]

If you want a fully functional spreadsheet, just abstain from merging cells except for mere text lables and captions.

[Villeroy]

The merged cells on your screen shot are A1:B2 with the top level heading “Book List”. They have nothing to do with the actual list. The list starts with the column labels in row 3 and ends with the last record in row 7.
Since a spreadsheet has no concept of “tables”, “fields” nor “records” (these are database terms), Calc treats the entire range of adjacent cells as a table when you sort and filter. There is no artificial intelligence separating a list from all the other sheet cells.

2 different solutions to separate the functional list from the decoration:

1. Insert a new empty row above row 3 and hide the empty row.
2. Select the whole list A3:X7 (X is the last column), call menu:Data>Define… and give a name to the list.
   You can combine both methods. Check “Contains column headers” und er “More Options”. Click [Add] and then [OK]

[Volth]

Damn, it was so simple… Thanks a lot, I really appreciate your help!

[Villeroy]

Unfortunately, it is far from being simple. The office component which makes sorting of records in a table fool proof and simple is Base. Unforturnately, 99% of office users use spreadsheets as databases.