Description: The way Libreoffice Calc handles CSV files is confusing and causes loss of user work without notification of the loss beforehand during saving. Scenario: open a csv file and add a column with a formula. add a chart with the resulting data. Save file and close. reopen file and notice loss of chart and formula. Libreoffice in its current state allows adding formulas and formatting, not able by the csv format to handle that, hence, it should throw up a warning that the added unsupported elements are lost on saving, OR It should change its behavior so it should *import* CSV files into a unamed file. so the user is forced to choose a extension for its file, including a warning that saving as CSV will result in the los of formatting, formulas and sheets. As a example, look at how gimp handles jpeg files. Gimp can edit jpegs and add layers, but only can EXPORT to jpeg as information will be lost on saving it a jpeg again. The latter methode is more consistent with files format handling by other programs. Of course both solutions together is the most consistent solution. tldr: the csv file format cannot handle all the things we can add to a spreadsheet hence should be handled as an import/export format. Steps to Reproduce: 1. open csv file 2. add column with formula to alter data 3. make chart of resulting data. 4. save file. Actual Results: no warning is thrown up about loss of information, but file is saved. 5. open resulting file and confirm it does not look like the file you saved Expected Results: warning about loss of info and formatting OR handle it as a import and ask user to give the *new* file a name and extension and after that (if a incompatible file format like csv is choosen) a warning about loss of formulas, formatting, charts and sheets. Reproducible: Always User Profile Reset: No OpenGL enabled: Yes Additional Info:
Created attachment 149944 [details] Confirm File Format - saving changed CSV
Can not confirm on Windows 10 with Version: 6.1.4.2 (x64) Build ID: 9d0f32d1f0b509096fd65e0d4bec26ddd1938fd3 CPU threads: 8; OS: Windows 10.0; UI render: GL; Locale: en-US (en_US); Calc: CL With default profile you do get a "Confirm File Format" to pick between saving as CSV or as an ODF default (so Calc ODS spreadsheet). And, when I choose to save to CSV--newly created columns are recorded into the CSV and can be filter reimported back into a Calc session. I would not expect filter output to CSV of OLE or BLOB elements. CSV is not a native ODF format--don't work in it and expect correct handling of ODF elements. IMHO => NAB and WFM
The checkbox on the Calc Confirm File Format dialog's "Ask when not saving in ODF or default format" can be re-enabled in Tools -> Options -> Load/Save General: in the Default File Format and ODF Settings block. It sets a stanza holding "WarnAlienFormat" in the .XCU LibreOffice user profile.
(In reply to V Stuart Foote from comment #2) > Can not confirm on Windows 10 with > Version: 6.1.4.2 (x64) > Build ID: 9d0f32d1f0b509096fd65e0d4bec26ddd1938fd3 > CPU threads: 8; OS: Windows 10.0; UI render: GL; > Locale: en-US (en_US); Calc: CL > > With default profile you do get a "Confirm File Format" to pick between > saving as CSV or as an ODF default (so Calc ODS spreadsheet). > > And, when I choose to save to CSV--newly created columns are recorded into > the CSV and can be filter reimported back into a Calc session. I would not > expect filter output to CSV of OLE or BLOB elements. > > CSV is not a native ODF format--don't work in it and expect correct handling > of ODF elements. > > IMHO => NAB and WFM the newly created colums only contain the result of the calculation so look the same, but do not contain the formula to create the result shown. The last paragraph is exactly my point. csv is not a native ODF format and hence should not be treated like that. But the setting in the save preferences works for me now. thansk for resolving this. Simon @