https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=146623
Bug ID: 146623
Summary: Enhance Function Wizard Strucutre Tab for Better
Formula Debugging
Product: LibreOffice
Version: 7.2.4.1 release
Hardware: All
OS: All
Status: UNCONFIRMED
Severity: enhancement
Priority: medium
Component: Calc
Assignee: [email protected]
Reporter: [email protected]
Description:
The Function Wizard Structure Tab currently only shows the immediate structure
of the formula of the currently selected cell. There is no way to "step into" /
"drill down" intermediate results that are referenced from other cells or named
formulas.
This makes debugging complex formulas quite cumbersome.
Especially if named formula are used, LO does not seem to provide any debugging
tools:
* "Trace precedents" and "Trace dependends" are fairly useless at detecting
errors in named formulas
* No tool to perform a step-by-step evaluation, like MS Excels "Evaluate
Formula" tool (enhancement request #77684 was closed with "Won't Fix")
* Structure tab in "Function Wizard" doesn't show the result of the evaluated
named formula
* Structure tab in "Function Wizard" doesn't allow to "drill down" into a
formula
Please either extend the "Function Wizard" to allow "drill down" into a
formula, incl. display of evaluated results for named formulas.
Or alternatively, reopen #77684 and provide a proper "Evaluate Formula"
feature, like MS Excel has, with "Step into" and "Step out" functionality.
Steps to Reproduce:
1. In the "Name Manager" create multiple named formula expression
2. Some of the formula expression should refer to other named formula
expressions
3. Use a formula expression in a cell
4. Open the "Function Wizard" for that cell and switch to the "Structure" tab
Actual Results:
1. Only the immediate formula of the cell is shown, no "drill down" possible
2. Referenced named formulas are only listed by name, but the evaluated value
isn't displayed
Consequence: Debugging/tracing complex formulas that use named formulas is
basically impossible. Debugging/tracing formulas that reference other cells
with formulas is possible with other tools like "Trace precedents", but is
cumbersome
(see attached screenshot)
Expected Results:
Structure tab always shows the evaluation results of all parts of the formula
and provides a "drill down" (or "step into") feature, so that results and
errors can be traced back to their origin.
For the provided example, I'd expect to see a structure like this
- = #DIV/0!
* = #DIV/0!
B1 = 42
named_formula = #DIV/0! (expandable for drill-down)
- = #DIV/0!
+ = #DIV/0!
B1 = 42
nested_named_formula = #DIV/0! (expandable for drill-down)
* = #DIV/0!
B1 = 42
named_formula_with_error = #DIV/0! (expandable for drill-down)
/ = #DIV/0!
42
0
another_nested_formula = 84 (expandable for drill-down)
+ = 84
B1 = 42
42
B4 = 42 (expandable for drill-down)
/ = 42
B1 = 42
B2 = 1
Reproducible: Always
User Profile Reset: No
Additional Info:
Version: 7.2.4.1 (x64) / LibreOffice Community
Build ID: 27d75539669ac387bb498e35313b970b7fe9c4f9
CPU threads: 8; OS: Windows 10.0 Build 19042; UI render: Skia/Raster; VCL: win
Locale: de-CH (de_CH); UI: en-US
Calc: threaded
--
You are receiving this mail because:
You are the assignee for the bug.
