https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=171447
Bug ID: 171447
Summary: Color Scale conditional formatting requires 7 clicks
with no visual preview and cannot be automated via
Basic macro
Product: LibreOffice
Version: 25.8.5.2 release
Hardware: All
OS: Windows (All)
Status: UNCONFIRMED
Severity: enhancement
Priority: medium
Component: Calc
Assignee: [email protected]
Reporter: [email protected]
Description:
Note: I may have missed a simpler solution. If there is a faster way to do this
I would genuinely appreciate being pointed to it.
Also btw. Thank you for LibreOffice. I appreciate the work that goes into it.
I am a data analyst hoping to switch from Excel to LibreOffice. I want to
switch to Linux but Excel is keeping me with Windows. Applying color scale
heatmaps to data tables is my first step in every analysis session (a frequent,
repeated action, not occasional).
My experience as a new user:
1. APPLYING THE FORMAT
The workflow is 7 clicks every time. In Excel the equivalent is 3 clicks with
visual hover preview. Key difference is speed.
LibreOffice: 7 clicks, no preview, modal dialog
Excel: 3 clicks, visual preview, no dialog
2. TRYING TO AUTOMATE
I attempted to write a Basic macro to reduce this to one click. (For now
obvious reasons) the macro recorder is hidden behind Tools → Options → Advanced
and requires manual enabling. When enabled and used, it silently produces
commented-out non-functional code for this specific action with no warning or
explanation.
Manual API access also fails completely:
- oRange.ConditionalFormat.Count → 0
- oRange.ConditionalFormatLocal.Count → 0
- oSheet.ConditionalFormats.Count → runtime error
- oSheet.createInstance("com.sun.star.sheet.
ConditionalFormat") → runtime error
3. CURRENT STATE
Best I can do is to use a macro that opens the dialog directly which doesn't
help at all. I still manually set colors every time. I can't find a better
solution.
This report covers three related issues:
a) UX: no visual preview or presets for color scales
b) Bug: macro recorder silently produces dead code for color scale actions
c) Bug: color scale API inaccessible via Basic macros
LibreOffice version: 25.8.5.2
OS: Windows
Steps to Reproduce:
In a spreadsheet with numerical data:
1. Select a cell range.
Then apply a 2-color scale heatmap:
2. Format (this was a pain to find every time, then I search how to change
theme/icons, so it's better with colibre theme)
3. Conditional
4. Color Scale
In the dialog:
5. change scale type to 2 colors
6. set first color (yellow) to white
7. click OK
8. to infinity: Try to automate this via macro recorder:
Tools → Macros → Record Macro
(requires first enabling via Tools → Options →
LibreOffice → Advanced → Enable macro recording). Couldn't get it to work.
Actual Results:
- Requires 7 clicks to apply from a selected range every time
- No visual preview before committing
- No preset templates for common heatmap types
- Macro recorder produces commented-out dead code for this action with no
warning:
rem dispatcher.executeDispatch(document, ".uno:ColorScaleFormatDialog", "",
0, Array())
- Manual API access also fails — Count returns 0 despite format being visibly
applied
- Cannot be automated at all via Basic
Expected Results:
FASTER WORKFLOW:
- Visual preview of color scale before applying
- Preset templates for common combinations, in my case it's usually:
white-green
- Fewer clicks, ideally toolbar presets for common heatmap types
- Full macro API access so repetitive formatting can be automated
Reproducible: Always
User Profile Reset: No
Additional Info:
On a separate note: Has this bug form ever been through UX review ("Does this
flow make sense to a first-time reporter?"). The label above + question below
pattern is especially disorienting because your eye reads label → input → then
hits an question that should have come first. It's backwards.
I notice LibreOffice has UX and design challenges throughout that may be
barriers for users switching from commercial alternatives. Not only the
software, but the web infrastructure could be improved as well as branding. If
interested, I have background in psychology, market research, data analysis and
design and would be happy to contribute in that area. I did look into this and
subscribed to the mailing list, but I feel overwhelmed.
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