Errors opening *.xls files

[manwith2guns.ru]

When I open with recently installed Planmaker an xls table which has been created or modified with LibreOffice, wrong cells numeration appears in some formulae. E. g.: "=D2+B3-C3" becomes "=G4+E5-F5" (please see attached example file). The issue affects:
- only xls files (not xlsx nor xlsm);
- only files that were created/modified using LibreOffice (v.7.3);
- only formulae containing cells from different rows.

What happens?

Upd.: I will attach also 2 images showing the problem.

[manwith2guns.ru]

Anybody alive here?

Well, if you are not interested, neither am I. Anyway, the only reason why I was planning to switch to FreeOffice PlanMaker was 'Left arrow key never exits cell editing' function.

Bye-bye.

[SuperTech]

Thanks for posting your problem with sample file and screenshots. But the file you shared is corrupted from its source (LibreOffice) itself as when I tried to open it with another software, Microsoft Excel, I got error and both these formulas are corrupted.

Please check attached screenshots for your reference.

To repair this file, I opened it with LibreOffice Calc 7.2.6.2, saved it, and now it's working with both PlanMaker and Excel so, you can contact to LibreOffice support/forum for this problem.

I have attached your corrected file here:

test 1.xls

(6 KiB) Downloaded 399 times

[manwith2guns.ru]

SuperTech, thank you for your answer. It took some time for me to re-check the problem. I downloaded my own file and went on experimenting with it. The result is:

1. This file isn't corrupted; whatever the latest version of MS Excel (I don't have it and can't check) could say, the other programs don't complain about any corruption. BUT still it is opened with errors.

2. I've tried WPS Office, Apache OpenOffice, Corel Quattro Pro (trial), MS Excel 2007, MS Excel Online, Google Tables etc. Most of the programs have shown different errors in the formula. Our Russian programmers IMO won this contest for incompatibility with LibreOffice: in MyOffice, '=D2+B3-C3' became a monstrous '=A1048576+XFC1-XFD1'. The only office app that worked fine was, curiously, OnlyOffice.

3. Most of the apps I've tried have shown good compatibility between them, with minimal issues regarding cells format or table layout. Also, tables which were created in other apps are opened w/o any problem in LibreOffice. As said before, the problem only appears in *.xls files, *.xlsx are not affected. But: the only program that didn't want to open correctly an *.xlsx from LibreOffice was Quattro Pro.

So, I see that you are right: the problem should be addressed to LibreOffice developers. Sorry for bothering.

P.S.: While experimenting with files, I've found 2 minor issues. I'll report them here in 2 different entries, so Admin can delete them or move them to the right topic.

[manwith2guns.ru]

Minor issue #1.

When redacting a cell with "Left cursor never exits..." function activated, it becomes practically impossible to include in a formula several cells on the left side using cursor or mouse, because all the text is being displaced towards the left side and covers adjacent cells. Please see attached screenshot.

[manwith2guns.ru]

Minor issue #2 (general).

After installation (under Win10), the program creates in 'My Documents' a folder named 'SoftMaker' with some auxiliary files. Well, the problem is that I don't want to have in 'My Docs' anything that I haven't put there willingly. Call me a maniac, but I don't like that folder.

Thank you.

[SuperTech]

I didn't find any problem in left key press while adding multiple cells in the formula. Please check this below screen recording for your reference.

This folder is very important to run the software as it contains important settings and supporting files.

[manwith2guns.ru]

Thank you for your reply.

1. But your example doesn't reproduce my issue. AFAICS, you hadn't activated the function "Left cursor never exits cell redacting", otherwise you could never select cells on the left with cursor. Furthermore, in your example the cells are wide, much wider then those from my example. In my screenshot one can see clearly how the formula is overlapping narrow cells on the left. I could only select "D2" from above and "B3" from the left, but "C3" became absolutely inaccessible for me by any means, neither with cursor nor with mouse. But, if you don't see a problem here, I don't know what to say.

2. I imagine that this folder is "very important" (otherwise it wouldn't be created, logically). But many other apps somehow manage to put their important folders inside of system area or somewhere else. It's OK for you? Well, it's not for me. At least, I have tried.

[Woody44]

Minor issue #2 (general).

After installation (under Win10), the program creates in 'My Documents' a folder named 'SoftMaker' with some auxiliary files. Well, the problem is that I don't want to have in 'My Docs' anything that I haven't put there willingly. Call me a maniac, but I don't like that folder.

Thank you.

I find this question and the response to it very confusing. I have SoftMaker Office 2021 on a desktop computer running Windows 10. I do not have a "My Documents" folder. I do have a folder with the path C:\Users\MyName\Documents -- this is the default documents folder created by Windows, and I have never used it. There is no sub-folder called "SoftMaker" in that folder.

In general, I agree with manwith2guns that, as a matter of principle, a directory ("folder") that contains files important to the operation of a software program should be created in the "Programs" subdirectory that belongs to the program. A "Documents" folder is for the user's documents, not for program-related files.

[manwith2guns.ru]

I find this question and the response to it very confusing. I have SoftMaker Office 2021 on a desktop computer running Windows 10. I do not have a "My Documents" folder. I do have a folder with the path C:\Users\MyName\Documents -- this is the default documents folder created by Windows, and I have never used it. There is no sub-folder called "SoftMaker" in that folder.

Thank you for pointing it out. Yes, of course, I mean the default 'Documents' folder (C:\Users\User1\Documents), I only name it this old way because I'm used to. I did have there a 'SoftMaker' sub-folder, but I've uninstalled the app, so I can't provide a proof now. I have Windows 10 Pro (21H1), from the official site, without activation, if this could matter.

By the way, I stopped using one of the best screenshoters, ShareX, by the same reason: it behaves oddly under Win10, creating things in 'Documents' (there's an option to move this auxiliary folder to another place, but it doesn't work). Result? I'm using Greenshot now, and I'm happy.

[SuperTech]

Please share a screen recording of this first problem for better understanding, as we are unable to reproduce this problem at our end.

You can use any free screen recorder software for this purpose, like ScreentoGIF.