Bug 124614 - FILESAVE: Calc may retain illegitimate space characters between function names and parentheses, violating standard requirements
Summary: FILESAVE: Calc may retain illegitimate space characters between function name...
Status: RESOLVED WORKSFORME
Alias: None
Product: LibreOffice
Classification: Unclassified
Component: Calc (show other bugs)
Version:
(earliest affected)
6.2.2.2 release
Hardware: All Windows (All)
: medium normal
Assignee: Not Assigned
URL:
Whiteboard:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2019-04-08 15:52 UTC by Victor V. Terber
Modified: 2021-09-09 17:01 UTC (History)
3 users (show)

See Also:
Crash report or crash signature:


Attachments
Testcase for bug 124164 (does cause an error when opened with Excel) (8.66 KB, application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.spreadsheet)
2019-04-08 15:54 UTC, Victor V. Terber
Details

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Description Victor V. Terber 2019-04-08 15:52:54 UTC
Description:
Saving a calc document in native LibreOffice format with a formula using a blank between function name and initial parentheses may lead to a file which may not be successfully opened by Excel.

This is very similar to the problem 104186 I reported earlier (and which was fixed afterwards). LO seems to violate paragraph 5.14 (titled "Whitespace") of the document "OASIS Open Document Format for Office Applications (OpenDocument) Version 1.2" which clearly states:

"whitespace shall not separate a function name from its initial opening parentheses."

If I manually remove the invalid blank from the LO save, Excel can open the saved LO file successfully.

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Create a blank document with LO calc sheet with LO 6.2.2.2, using German localisation
2. Use in the document the parameterized function JAHR (German for YEAR), and use a cell reference as parameter for JAHR. In the formula, add a space character between the function name and the initial brace. 
3. Save the document in default LO format (.ods)
4. Open the document with a German version of Microsoft Excel 2016.
5. Excel reports an error for the cell with the JAHR function
6. Repeat steps 1 to 5, but do not add an additional blank. Result: Excel opens the file successfully.

Actual Results:
Error message in Excel when opening the LO file

Expected Results:
No error message by Excel when opening the LO file


Reproducible: Always


User Profile Reset: No



Additional Info:
The application must not save any whitespace between a function name and the initial opening parentheses. In my understanding this violates ISO/IEC 26300-1:2015.

See also bug 103186 where the same issue was resolved for saves in ECMA-376 (Excel) format, which has the same constraints concerning illegal space characters between function name and initial brace.
Comment 1 Victor V. Terber 2019-04-08 15:54:38 UTC
Created attachment 150614 [details]
Testcase for bug 124164 (does cause an error when opened with Excel)

Test case for bug 124164 which causes an error when opened with Excel
Comment 2 Oliver Brinzing 2019-04-08 16:40:47 UTC
> Saving a calc document in native LibreOffice format with a formula using
> a blank between function name and initial parentheses may lead to a file
> which may not be successfully opened by Excel.

reproducible, cell A1 shows #NAME? (excel 2016)

btw: saving attached *.ods as *.xls/*.xlsx works fine with excel
Comment 3 Victor V. Terber 2019-04-08 16:42:13 UTC
(In reply to Oliver Brinzing from comment #2)

> btw: saving attached *.ods as *.xls/*.xlsx works fine with excel

Yes, this is because of the earlier fix for bug 104186!
Comment 4 Victor V. Terber 2019-04-08 16:44:34 UTC
Sorry, there was a typo in my earlier contributions: the related closed bug is 104186 (not 103186)
Comment 5 QA Administrators 2021-04-08 03:39:31 UTC Comment hidden (obsolete)
Comment 6 Victor V. Terber 2021-09-09 17:01:32 UTC
Re-tested with LO 7.2.0.4 (x64): Bug no longer reproducible.