Apache OpenOffice (AOO) Bugzilla – Issue 118590
Tables in Writer do not respect locale format
Last modified: 2013-01-29 21:43:15 UTC
Created attachment 76992 [details] Sample Writer document with inserted table - play around with it! If numbers in a table inserted in a Writer document are the results of a calculation - for example, a simple multiplication of a quantity column and a cost column - the result column format is incorrect. While numbers can be right-clicked and the "Number format" chosen, a decimal tab in that column's ruler has no effect and different length numbers are not correctly aligned to the (different) decimal point symbol for the chosen langauge. In my specific case I'm writing an invoice or a purchase order in US dollars on a system that is set up for German by default. Any alteration to the figures throws out the chosen US format with a comma thousands separator and decimal point and reverts to German with a dot thousands separator and decimal comma. This gives a diabolically incorrect mathematical result. Changing the format after figures have already been entered in cells even changes the figures to zero!
Created attachment 76993 [details] Sample Writer document with inserted table - corrected
I cannot see any problems with changed formatting or wrong sum formulas. Please note that you have to setup the language and number formatting correctly (in this case: number format and language). Select the table cell(s) and choose "Number Format" from the context menu (right mouse click). I've attached a corrected version that doesn't change its format.
It is difficult from this description and the two files to know if the problem is lack of sufficient definition to reproduce or something else. (It is not helped that the Bugzilla has identified the attachments as having application/msword MIME type when they are clearly .odt files.) Since the submitter asserts that there are visible problems, presumably it is important to understand how to reproduce the German language setup and the procedure that brought the spreadsheet-calculated table into Writer. I would hope that the submitter is able to provide a more-controlled case and scenario so that the source of discrepancy is apparent. It might not be a defect, but it is too hard to tell.
Thanks for the 'corrected' document. Make a change to either quantity or price, try and update the total/sum (Tools > Update ... ) and the result is not updated. I therefore have to reenter the formula (=<b3>*<e3>). The result has lost the previously chosen (in this case American) format.
The formatting and formulas are working after adjustment. However, when closing and reopening the doc this is gone. Needs to be investigated in the import/export filters.