On 07/07/09 00:10, Mike Shearer wrote:
I have abandoned using BASE and use CALC instead. Very little of my
CALC data is numeric. BASE was too hard to set up, the documentation
was more confusing than helpful.
But since the latest upgrade CALC has a serious bug. Copying a cell
that is a formula into a set of other cells either crashes the job, or
the copying works but the calculated values are not displayed.
Errm. If you have a set of numbers in column A and then, starting in B3
you enter the formula "=A1+A2" then B3 will contain the sum of A1 and
A2. If you drag the formula down column B then
B4 will contain the sum of B2 and B3
B5 B3 B4
etc.
If you now copy, say B5 into E5, E5 will contain **0**. Why? Because
Calc has automagically adjusted the formula to read "=D3+D4". This is
the way pretty much all spreadsheets work. When copying a *named* value
("A1" is a "name"), the name's two parts (row number and column letter)
are considered "relative" unless preceded by a "$" symbol.
Thus the value in cell A4 can be referred to in 4 different ways:
1. A4 meaning that both the A and the 4 are relative and thus subject to
automagic adjustment as above.
2. $A4 meaning the A is fixed (not subject to automagic adjustment) but
the 4 is relative. Copying such a value in the context above would
result in the column letter being copied as is but the row numbers being
adjusted as necessary.
3. A$4 meaning the A is relative but the 4 is fixed
4. $A$4 meaning both the A and the 4 are fixed.
It is worth playing with these combinations to see the differences. In
particular, try setting B3 in the above example to
1) =A$1+A$2 and then dragging B3 down column B
2) =$A$1+$A$2 and then, after dragging B3 down column B, copy/paste
column B into, say, column F.
Now, I'm not saying you haven't found a bug but your description of what
you see represents correct behaviour on Calc's part. Of course I don't
mean that "crashing the job" is correct behaviour. If you really get
that repeatedly please file a bug and let us know its number.
Please also tell us which version of OOo you are using and on which
version of which Operating System.
Something
as simple as setting up a running total in a column (B2 = B1+A2 etc), or
setting a date column of every Monday in a year so that the entries are
automatically worked out (cell A1 = first date, then A2 =A1+7 and so on)
Mike Shearer
Townsville, Queensland, Australia
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