Questions tagged [spreadsheet]

Questions about spreadsheet software in general and interoperability between spreadsheet programs.

719 questions
85
votes
3 answers

Excel Conditional Formatting Escaping a Question Mark

I would like to use a conditional formatting rule in an excel file that would color any box with a question mark in it red. It seems that Excel is using a question mark as a wild card and will turn all cells with at least one character in them red.…
81
votes
9 answers

How to create a formula for every row in a column in Google SpreadSheet?

I use three columns. A, B and C. In column C I have a formula every row =A1*(1.6*B1) and then for the next row I have =A2*(1.6*B2) in C2. How can I do so I don't have to type in the new formula in column C for every row? I use it in both Google Docs…
27
votes
4 answers

OpenOffice: Delete rows based on cell value

I've got a rather large spreadsheet that I need to filter some rows out of. In the spreadsheet, all rows whose M-Column doesn't equal "on" must be removed. I applied a filter, and re-saved the document, but that kept the unwanted rows - how can I…
Sampson
  • 7,378
22
votes
5 answers

How to Label / Tag Items in a Spreadsheet

I'm a novice at spreadsheets, so I hope you'll forgive me if I'm asking a super obvious question. Is it possible to use tags in Excel/Google Spreadsheet? I'm creating a spreadsheet to log all the articles and books I'm reading. Say I'm reading "I,…
22
votes
1 answer

How to sort an Excel spreadsheet columns by row contents?

How do I sort the columns of an Excel spreadsheet? The Sort command from the Data menu only allows me to sort rows by the value of a column. I want to sort the columns alphabetically by the contents of a specific row. How can I do this?
21
votes
1 answer

What is in LibreOffice Calc the equivalent to Excel's "Paste Special > Value"?

In my professional life, I'm limited to use Microsoft Office. In Excel there is an option ows to render the result of a formula to be pasted as a "fixed value". For instance A1 = "I",B1 = "ride", C1 = "a" and D1 = "bike" In E1, I can place a formula…
18
votes
7 answers

Select each nth row in Excel

I have an Excel spreadsheet with thousands of rows. I want to select every 7th row from that spreadsheet. (By "select," I mean delete all of the other rows, or copy the selected rows into a new worksheet.) What's the easiest way to do that in Excel…
16
votes
1 answer

How to scale a long LibreOffice Calc sheet to fit on two pages when exporting to PDF?

I have Libreoffice and I want to export a long calc sheet to a pdf document with the fit-to-page function from the page preview in the file menu but it doesn't seems to work. I want to fit my sheet up to 2 pages because it's unreadable otherwise.…
13
votes
1 answer

Disable prompts in Microsoft Excel when saving a CSV file

I have to download multiple csv reports from the Internet throughout the day, make a tiny change to them, and save the change. Excel adds 3 completely unnecessary dialogs to what should really be a 5-second operation. It makes you select a file…
Matthew S
  • 619
12
votes
5 answers

How to fix Excel and prevent it from converting copy-pasted or imported strings to dates even when cells are formatted as text

Every time I copy-paste some numerical data written as fractions or separated by hyhens into Excel, it always converts numbers that could possibly be dates into dates. There's no way of getting them back to the original formatting (as copied). Even…
11
votes
5 answers

Is it possible to copy & paste a pivot table in a spreadsheet?

I have a spreadsheet where I use some pivot tables to summarize and highlight some relevant data. Since I have to use multiple pivot tables, all with nearly the same data input but with slight differences from each other, I was thinking to create…
11
votes
7 answers

Using excel, how can I count the number of cells in a column containing the text "true" or "false"?

I have a spreadsheet that has a column of cells where each cell contains a single word. I would like to count the occurrences of some words. I can use the COUNTIF function for most words, but if the word is "true" or "false", I get 0. A …
Jay Elston
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10
votes
10 answers

Can't insert cells in Excel 2010 - "operation not allowed" error message

I was working on a spreadsheet in Excel 2010, and all of a sudden when I attempted to insert a new row of cells, I saw that the insert and delete options were grayed out. I attempted to copy a different row and insert it as a new row, but I got the…
10
votes
1 answer

How to find cells that reference the current cell in LibreOffice Calc spreadsheet?

I am trying to understand a spreadsheet created by someone else. It has many complex formulas. When I select a cell, is there a way to highlight other cells that have a formula that references the selected cell? (To see where the current value is…
Liam
  • 3,150
10
votes
2 answers

How do I test if a cell in OpenOffice Calc contains #N/A?

I'm using the VLOOKUP function to lookup values in a column based upon a search query. But since it's not a given that a value always exists for my search parameter, sometimes VLOOKUP returns #N/A. How do I write an IF function that tests if VLOOKUP…
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