[Libreoffice-ux-advise] Merging Calc's label range functionality with named range.

[Eike Rathke]

Hi Kohei,

On Wednesday, 2013-07-17 20:29:06 -0400, Kohei Yoshida wrote:

> I'd like to merge Calc's label range functionality (which you can
> find in the menu at Insert - Names - Labels) with named range
> functionality. The named range functionality is found at Insert -
> Names - Define/Manage/Insert. Also, the Create menu item in the same
> menu sub-tree is also a part of the named range functionality.Here,
> what I basically mean by "merging" is to remove this functionality
> and provide some rudimentary mapping to the named range when
> importing legacy documents that use this functionality.

As I see it the Label functionality currently can't be replaced by named
expressions (ranges):

* The actual label name displayed is taken from a cell's content,
  formula expressions using a label automatically change their display
  label names whenever that cell content is changed.
  * This is not possible with named ranges.

* One label names exactly one row or one column, expressions or
  multi-column/row ranges are not possible.
  * The named expressions dialog could restrict that though.

* The label name can include spaces and other arbitrary characters that
  in a formula expression would have special meanings, using such a name
  in an expression is possible by enclosing the entire label name in
  single quotes. A label name can even be a string that otherwise would
  be a cell reference.
  * A named range currently has to consist of alphanumeric+underscore
    characters and can't resemble a cell reference.
  * ODFF does provide means to store usage of such non-simple names
    though with $$SingleQuoted but we need to implement that in the
    formula compiler (anyway), see
    http://docs.oasis-open.org/office/v1.2/cs01/OpenDocument-v1.2-cs01-part2.html#__RefHeading__1017964_715980110

Furthermore we probably could use exactly the Label functionality for
the GSoC "Enhanced Database Ranges" Table feature when it comes to
in-Table formula expressions adressing the Table's rows or columns.
Actually it would be necessary to support identical label names for
different Tables (ranges) within one sheet, again this is not possible
with named ranges.

  Eike

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