[Libreoffice-bugs] [Bug 84146] EDITING FIELDS: Variable field with format 'Standard" value not set/shown

[bugzilla-daemon at bugs.documentfoundation.org]

https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=84146

--- Comment #8 from Chas Belov <docorbit at sonic.net> ---
sdc.blanco at youmail.dk 

In Microsoft Excel, the General format has the description "no specific
format." If you type a number into a cell with that format, it treats it like a
number. If you type text into a cell with that format, it treats it like text.
So it is reasonable to expect that a field with the format "General" in
LibreOffice would similarly adapt to whatever I type into it. It also offers
other formats such as dates.

LibreOffice fields offer varying formats also including formats explicitly
named as being numbers and formats explicitly named as being dates.

There is nothing in the field format list that initially displays to indicate
that LibreOffice considers General to mean numeric. There is General, Text, and
several numeric options. It is only when I further click Additional formats...
that we see LibreOffice considers General to be a numeric format.

I recognize that LibreOffice is not Microsoft Office. That said, expecting
users to realize that something called "General" is a numeric format or that
the default for fields is to be a numeric format and that if you want text then
you have to explicitly choose Text and not choose General, unlike Excel, then
this is a usability issue for people who have to move between Microsoft and
LibreOffice. At the very least, you could make it obvious by changing the label
from General to General Numeric or, if you want it to be brief, Numeric.

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