Question about Calc and user-defined number formats

users
#1

So, I installed LibreOffice 4.2.0 on a Windows 7 system today and was
showing the system owner how to use it. I created a new spreadsheet and
added two columns and four rows, the last row being a "total" row that
would show the sum of the previous rows.

The first row I added was column headings.

The second row I added had text in the first cell and the number "50" in
the second cell.

The third row I added had text in the first cell and the number "40" in
the second cell.

The fourth row was blank.

The fifth row was the "total" row. Cool.

So, I selected cells "B2..B5" and used the "Format/Cells" function to
change the format to a currency format. I chose the "-$1,234.00" in red
format. The numbers in column B were changed accordingly. Then, my
friend wanted only the first cell with a number to have a dollar sign
and the numbers below it to NOT have a dollar sign. So, I selected
cells "B3..B5" and used the "Format/Cells" function to change the
format. When the "Format Cells" window appeared, the "Currency" number
format was selected, as expected. I went to the "Format code" box and
simply removed the "$$" references, leaving the rest of the format code
intact. The Category immediately changed to "User Defined", which is
fine.

Here's the problem: after the category changes to "User Defined", the
modified format code, which is still displayed, doesn't apply to the
selected cells and I can't find any way to save the modified currency
format as a user defined format I can reuse. I tried changing the
comment of "User-defined" to something else, thinking that might be used
as a category name or something.

What am I doing wrong?

Thanks in advance!

Peace...

Tom

#2

I selected cells "B2..B5" and used the "Format/Cells" function to change the format to a currency format. I chose the "-$1,234.00" in red format. The numbers in column B were changed accordingly. Then, my friend wanted only the first cell with a number to have a dollar sign and the numbers below it to NOT have a dollar sign. So, I selected cells "B3..B5" and used the "Format/Cells" function to change the format. When the "Format Cells" window appeared, the "Currency" number format was selected, as expected. I went to the "Format code" box and simply removed the "$$" references, leaving the rest of the format code intact. The Category immediately changed to "User Defined", which is fine.

Here's the problem: after the category changes to "User Defined", the modified format code, which is still displayed, doesn't apply to the selected cells ...

Nothing happens until you confirm by clicking OK, of course. But if you mean that the format didn't change even after you clicked OK, then the obvious first possibility is that you had made an error in modifying the string in the "Format code" box and had created something that was not a valid format code. In this case, the format of the selected cells would not change and no new format example would be created in the User-defined category. (You can test this by experiment.)

... and I can't find any way to save the modified currency format as a user defined format I can reuse.

If the new format had been applied but for some reason not been saved in the Format Cells dialogue, then the Format Paintbrush might be a workaround. But if the format has not been applied to your original selection, then the problem is earlier and this is irrelevant.

I trust this helps.

Brian Barker

#3

Thanks for posting this. Duh!!!! :slight_smile: Since no message of any kind was
issued telling me the modified format might be invalid, it didn't occur
to me that I was breaking the format code. I'll experiment with this.

Thanks!

Peace...

Tom