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Wickerman Operator
Joined: Apr 14, 2008 Posts: 49
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 1:48 am Post subject: How to copy spreadsheet cell data without cell borders? |
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Can anyone tell me how to set my spreadsheet preferences so that when I copy the contents of a cell it doesn't also copy the border settings for that cell? |
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Lorinda Captain Mifune
Joined: Jun 20, 2006 Posts: 2051 Location: Midwest, USA
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 4:12 am Post subject: |
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I don't know a way to change what's copied, but you can tell NeoOffice that you don't want to paste formats. To do then, choose Paste Special from the Edit menu. (Typically the shortcut is Shift-V, at least in the English UI, but that can be changed). A dialog will appear allowing you to specify what you want pasted. Uncheck anything you don't want included in the paste; check anything you do.
Does this do what you need?
Lorinda |
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Wickerman Operator
Joined: Apr 14, 2008 Posts: 49
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 4:26 am Post subject: |
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Thanks. That works but it's not very convenient having to remember to press Cmd-Shift-V and then OK the dialog window each time I want to paste something. I'm surprised this can't be set in the main preferences. |
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James3359 The Merovingian
Joined: Jul 05, 2005 Posts: 685 Location: North West England
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 4:46 am Post subject: |
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Unless the facility already exists in OpenOffice, developer resource limitations mean that it is very unlikely to be created separately for NeoOffice.
If it is something you need to do a lot, then it might be worth your while recording a macro. There is some guidance on this OpenOffice thread.
I hope this helps
James |
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pluby The Architect
Joined: Jun 16, 2003 Posts: 11949
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 8:16 am Post subject: |
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Wickerman wrote: | Thanks. That works but it's not very convenient having to remember to press Cmd-Shift-V and then OK the dialog window each time I want to paste something. I'm surprised this can't be set in the main preferences. |
If you are copying cells frequently but only want the content but not the formatting to be copied, can you tell us where you are copying these cells to (that is, the same spreadsheet, another spreadsheet, or another application)?
I ask this because if you are frequent copying, it sounds like the underlying task that you are trying to solve is synchronizing 2 or more sets of data. If we know exactly what you are copying to, there might be a simpler way to keep to keep such data in sync and, possibility, avoid copying altogether.
Patrick |
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Wickerman Operator
Joined: Apr 14, 2008 Posts: 49
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 8:36 am Post subject: |
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Copying text to other cells in the same spreadsheet (mostly the same sheet as well). |
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pluby The Architect
Joined: Jun 16, 2003 Posts: 11949
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 8:49 am Post subject: |
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Wickerman wrote: | Copying text to other cells in the same spreadsheet (mostly the same sheet as well). |
Here is what I do for many of my spreadsheets where the same data is repeated in different cells that have different formatting. I use this for both numerical cells as well as for textual cells that repeat on different tabs in the same spreadsheet document:
1. Put the raw text or numeric data in a cell. In your case, those are the bordered cells.
2. For cells that need to stay in sync with that data, enter "=" in the cell and then navigate back to the border cell and click on it. Press the Return key and your cell should have a formula that is set to the value of the bordered cell but none of the formatting. You can set the synched cell's formatting independently from the bordered cell.
3. Make all changes to both cells by only updating the bordered cell. The "=" formula in the synched cells should cause their values (but not formatting) to be automatically updated based on what value you entered in the bordered cells.
Step 3 is the key part as it allows you to centralize all of the cells that you frequently change in one place and then have those changes ripple throughout the rest of the spreadsheet's tabs.
Do you get similar results as me using the above steps?
Patrick |
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Wickerman Operator
Joined: Apr 14, 2008 Posts: 49
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 8:57 am Post subject: |
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Yeah, that works well on a single cell but not when I try to copy several cells at the same time. I get "#VALUE!" |
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pluby The Architect
Joined: Jun 16, 2003 Posts: 11949
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Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 9:02 am Post subject: |
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Wickerman wrote: | Yeah, that works well on a single cell but not when I try to copy several cells at the same time. I get "#VALUE!" |
I think you are misunderstanding what my approach does. My approach involves no copying but involves restructuring your cells to avoid copying cells completely. If you are copying cells, then you are duplicating the data. In contrast, my steps don't duplicate any data and instead use formulas to reference cells.
Patrick |
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