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Open Office Calc Question
Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 1:34 pm
by Hobbes
Hi chaps, is there any way of getting =|0 into an open office cell without
it going weird? It automatically seems to expect a SUM. If I overwrite SUM with the cell name D123 I still get problems.
<=|0 seems OK as a work around.
Thanks, Chris
Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 4:14 pm
by Primasprit
If you format he cell as text prior entering "=|0" it will not be interpreted as equation.

Cheers
Norbert
Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 4:46 pm
by Hobbes
Many thanks Norbert!
Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 5:46 pm
by lodilefty
Also can enter as [color="Red"]'[/color]=|0
Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 6:02 pm
by Primasprit
lodilefty wrote:Also can enter as '=|0
This is better!

Haven't known that.
Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 6:13 pm
by Pocus
it works for excel too, when you want to start something with = and excel bothers you: "hey, it is a formula???"
Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 7:03 pm
by Hobbes
I must say that's interesting because I have had problems copying and pasting from other scenarios where dates have a ' as a prefix.
Weird things seemed to happen to the dates I copied - or at least I thought something weird was happening as I kept seeing the ' before the date and the date format was changing. Something I should ignore in future maybe.
I thought I could work this out for myself but sometimes it's worth posting for advice like this as you can end up learning more than you expect to.
Maybe we should have a Calc and Excel hints and tips thread!
Thanks for the info.
Chris
Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 7:22 pm
by Hobbes
Hmm. I just tried both methods and I'm still having problems.
If I try Format/Cells/Text and then type =|0 I still get a SUM.
If I type ' before the = it seems OK but I noticed that when the ' is used in
date formats in other scenarios the ' then disappears until I copy it.
When I use '=|0 I can still see the ' in the cell.
Am I still messing this up?
Thanks, Chris
Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 7:47 pm
by lodilefty
You're OK I think.
Date format is wierd. Iusually type two single quotes to be sure. End up editing a lot anyway
I've never had a problem copy/paste dates, as long as I edit the cell [avoiding the first character] after paste vs. try to type a new date in full...
Open Office has adopted some of the Bill's World quirks, and anticipating what I want to do is by far the most irritating.

Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 7:52 pm
by Hobbes
I would like to know how selecting text works - but also if I type a ' before the = why can I still see the ' when I don't see this in other scenarios?
Cheers, Chris
Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 10:48 pm
by lodilefty
Um, I'm not sure what you mean?
I don't recall any instance of a cell that starts with =|0
...usually imbedded in syntax, or am I losing it again???
Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 11:06 pm
by Hobbes
Lodi, what I'm thinking of here is in answer to Pocus EvalSubUnitCount
I want to make sure there are not already any captives in a region before putting one there.
So I was thinking EvalSubUnitCount =|0 to fire an event.
Cheers, Chris
Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2009 2:09 am
by lodilefty
Yes. I used this command in your favorite event: Poor Sanitation
Except it is EvalSubUnitCount >=52
I suspect many losing battles with Excel over the years means I just type that single ' without realizing it!!!!
