Vår/Our ref: BS E70661 27 May 2007 Brian Thanks for comments. The work around seem complicated. I tried to report but I was asked to read a bible first so I tried the email. Can you advice the address for the reporting. I use 2.2.1 Regards Bengt
>>> Brian Barker <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 2007-05-27 17:41 >>> At 16:57 27/05/2007 +0200, Bengt Sebring wrote: >Vår/Our ref: BS E70660 27 May 2007 > >Brian > >Thanks for a quick comment. > >I have the following >-pc with Centrino Duo >-Win XP with latest sp > >The file is >-a file crated from a dos-program and cleaned in Notes > >I do the following >-Insert sheet from file >-character set western Europe Dos Nordic >-fixed width >-manually set the tabs to suit >-OK and import > >Result as described. > >It is not possible to change the Format of the >cells. The number does not come back to the original. > >The .csv form do the same as insert sheet from file. > >Summary >Numbers like 30.1 turns to date format 30-01-01. > >Without the tabs the figures open correctly. I >cannot use this as I do not get the columns required. > >The seem clearly to be a bug in the program. > >Do you need any more info to correct? >Regards Bengt > > > >>> Brian Barker <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 2007-05-27 14:01 >>> >At 11:15 27/05/2007 +0200, Bengt Sebring wrote: > >VÃ¥r/Our ref: BS E70659 27 May 2007 > > > >When I try to import a txt-file into Open Office > >Calc some columns set themselves to date-format > >and it seem impossible to get back to the > >original numbers. The numbers are like 30.1 > >becomes 30-01-01. It seem to be the single > >decimal numbers that turn into date, not the > double decimal numbers like 30.54. > > > >I am using a dos-format for the import, Nordic Dos. > > > >The problem makes it impossible to use Open > >Office Calc. I have to use MS Excel. > > > >Vänliga hälsningar/Best regards > >Bengt Sebring > >Försäljningschef/Sales Manager > >CHS Controls AB > >Florettgatan 33 > >SE-254 67 Helsingborg, Sweden > >I don't know why the format is setting itself to >"Date", but you can change the format of cells >fairly easily. Select the relevant cells (you >can select a whole column at once or even a whole >sheet, of course). The go to Format | Cells... >(or use right-click and select Format Cells... >from the context menu) and choose the Numbers >tab. Select an appropriate category in the left >window and a format in the central one. Select >OK, and this should be applied to all the cells in your selection. > >I don't know how you are importing the text file >(or whether you are using Windows - you don't >tell us), but if you change the extension of a >Widows text file to .csv and then open it with >OpenOffice, you should get a Text Import window, >allowing you to control how the import is >handled. (I trust you will get this window >however you are importing the material.) The >format of each column is shown at the head of >each column in the Fields area at the bottom of >the window. If you click on each column in turn, >you can set its format from the drop-down list in >the "Column type" window above. Does changing >this back from "Date" to "Standard" solve the problem? > >I trust this helps. > >Brian Barker I've now been able to reproduce what I think is the problem you are seeing: that sometimes it seems an attempt to change the format of a Calc cell or selection of cells or column from Date to Number using the Format Cells dialogue does not work (unless I'm doing something silly, of course - which is possible). And the good news is that I've found two workarounds. 1. Use the format paintbrush. Select any cell with the correct "Number" format (create one if necessary). Click on the Format Paintbrush in the Standard toolbar. Select the troublesome column by clicking on its header. Move the cursor down so it is within the cells of the selected column: you will see it change back to the paint can symbol. Click once to change the format of the entire column. (You can use this technique on individual cells if necessary. Double-click on the paintbrush to make the effect stick for more than one cell.) 2. Use the standard format button. Select the relevant column by clicking on its header. Click on the "Number Format: Standard" button in the Formatting toolbar. It has "$%" with a left-pointing arrow. If this is indeed a bug, I cannot correct it - since I am just a user, like you. There are avenues for reporting bugs; see the web site. Incidentally, I'm using version 2.0.2 for Windows; you don't say what you are using. If you, too, are not using the latest version of OpenOffice, it would make sense to upgrade to that to see if any bug has been corrected before reporting it. I trust this helps. Brian Barker
