FEATURE REQUEST -- for the Sort options in Calc

users
#1

For logical and safety reasons, and for compatibility with Microsoft Excel, I suggest that:
     * The Sort Option "Range contains column labels" be_unticked by default_.
     * Allow the sort options to be customized (optional).

It is good that LibreOffice has this option, but a beginner don't know that option and will sort what he/she has selected, and it is frustrating to see that the first column is not sorted at all, thinking it's a bug (like I did).

Thank you!
Cheers

#2

Hi,

For logical and safety reasons, and for compatibility with Microsoft
Excel, I suggest that:
    * The Sort Option "Range contains column labels" be_unticked by
default.

Your suggestion does *not* establish compatibility with Microsoft
Excel. Excel tries to *guess* whether the first row of your
selection has to be sorted or not, by checking for significant
differences between the first row and the subsequent rows in data
type and/or formatting.

Try yourself in Excel:

Z
1
3
A
2

will disappoint your expectations, as well. :wink:

It is good that LibreOffice has this option, but a beginner don't
know that option and will sort what he/she has selected, and it is
frustrating to see that the first column is not sorted at all,
thinking it's a bug (like I did).

When sorting, it´s not recommended to select a range, rather than a
single cell. Calc (or Excel) will select the range to be sorted by
its own. Selecting a specific range before sorting is only helpful
for very special cases, when automatic selection fails.

FYI: RTFM and study the rule

"For sorting, filtering, or using the Pivot Table, always select
only one cell."

on page no. 4 of this official manual:

https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/images/6/69/CG4108-PivotTables.pdf

Unfortunately, the chapter of the manual, that specifically deals
with sorting, does not mention this rule. :-/

Cheers,
Stefan

#3

Interestingly, Chapter 2 does include a couple of useful comments. The basic sort instructions do indeed say "Select the cells to be sorted" - with no suggestion that you can just put the cursor into a single cell and leave Calc to guess the range to be sorted. But later, under "Quick sort" (using buttons: what the original enquiry was about), it makes the important proviso "*If the columns in your spreadsheet have a header with a text format*, you can use a quick sort" (my emphasis), as well as saying "Select a cell or a cell range to be sorted."

Brian Barker

#4

If the first row of a sort range consists of text (no numbers, no
blanks), the first row is supposed to be the header row.
If all your data are text, do yourself a favour and add column headers.