Bug 137774 - Filling hidden cells fails
Summary: Filling hidden cells fails
Status: RESOLVED DUPLICATE of bug 85170
Alias: None
Product: LibreOffice
Classification: Unclassified
Component: Calc (show other bugs)
Version:
(earliest affected)
3.6.0.4 release
Hardware: All All
: medium minor
Assignee: Not Assigned
URL:
Whiteboard:
Keywords: bibisected, regression
Depends on:
Blocks: AutoFill
  Show dependency treegraph
 
Reported: 2020-10-26 16:16 UTC by Colin
Modified: 2025-08-04 21:41 UTC (History)
3 users (show)

See Also:
Crash report or crash signature:


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Description Colin 2020-10-26 16:16:17 UTC
Description:
According to the help facility   file:///C:/Program%20Files/LibreOffice/help/en-GB/text/scalc/guide/cellcopy.html?DbPAR=CALC#bm_id3150440

viz
Cells were hidden using the Hide command in the context menu of the row or column headers, or through an outline.
Copy, delete, move, or format a selection of currently visible cells.
All cells of the selection, including the hidden cells, are copied, deleted, moved, or formatted.

However, drag to copy and increment a matrix including the hidden cells/column fails to copy the hidden cells.

Also, if the missing value is inserted after the column has been exposed and then a number of rows are hidden and the original column re-hidden then the incrementation continues sequentially from the complete rows AFTER the hidden rows without incrementation for the hidden cells 

Steps to Reproduce:
insert the number 1 into C3
Select and drag to fill four cells upto and including F3
Create formula SUM(C3:F3) in cell G3
Note the result is 10
Select and Hide column D utilising the context menu
Select the range C3:G3
Drag to fill the matrix C4:G7
Note the results in Column G
Select Columns C>E and unhide from the column context menu

Note the missing values for the previously hidden cells D4>D7
Note Also the columnar increment allows for the hidden cells D4>D7

Now add the missing value "6" to D7
Hide rows 8>11 and column D
Select the C3:G3 matrix again and drag to increment C13:G15
Unhide all rows and columns
Note the missing row increments and also that the missing rows are not incrementally adjusted by +5 at row 12 but by +1
Significant contradiction in the incrementation methodology between missing rows and columns


Actual Results:
Test 1: The contents of Cells D4>D7 are blank and the subsequent columns are incremented as though the blank cells had correctly incremented

Test 2: The contents of rows 8>11 are blank and the incrementation continues from row 12 but unincremented for the hidden rows

Expected Results:
Test 1: D4>D7 should have incremented to 6

Test 2: Rows 8>11 should have incremented with rows 12>15 also incremented from row 11 results

Workaround - Select the column and set the width to an "invisible" value perhaps 0.01cm


Reproducible: Always


User Profile Reset: No


OpenGL enabled: Yes

Additional Info:
Version: 6.4.6.2 (x64)
Build ID: 0ce51a4fd21bff07a5c061082cc82c5ed232f115
CPU threads: 4; OS: Windows 10.0 Build 19041; UI render: default; VCL: win; 
Locale: sv-SE (en_GB); UI-Language: en-GB
Calc: threaded
Comment 1 Colin 2020-10-26 16:26:23 UTC
In the 2nd test I inadvertently advised to select the entire matrix starting at C3:G3 to create the new matrix to C15:G15. Of couse it's only necessary to select the last complete line of the original matric C7:G7.
Eating Umble Pie.
Comment 2 Buovjaga 2021-07-27 13:38:16 UTC
Reproduced

NixOS
Version: 7.3.0.0.alpha0+ / LibreOffice Community
Build ID: 67e47070a7580a17804adce812cc2f98bfe7b51f
CPU threads: 16; OS: Linux 5.13; UI render: default; VCL: x11
Locale: fi-FI (fi_FI.UTF-8); UI: en-US
Calc: threaded
Comment 3 Buovjaga 2021-08-14 13:45:27 UTC
Bibisected with Linux 43all repo to range ee7084c4f720c932df67c8ff033dab4d8d556179..250feedd8e50e5eb52682a194823567ba5287c60

Out of which these seem relevant:

commit 73ff3a49a0891c7787f08eec86357c320a76c263
Author: Markus Mohrhard <markus.mohrhard@googlemail.com>
Date:   Wed Apr 11 22:02:06 2012 +0200

    first part for ScTable::GetAutoFillPreview
    
    Actually this is a bit more tricky. Currently it is showing wrong values
    for hidden rows/columns

commit 290a851bdc42a78426dea987ffbcb511e36c34fb
Author: Markus Mohrhard <markus.mohrhard@googlemail.com>
Date:   Wed Apr 11 21:53:30 2012 +0200

    ScTable::FillAuto should work with hidden rows/columsn now too

commit a6a0ea2f352f98b801bb6aade04caeb07e180403
Author: Markus Mohrhard <markus.mohrhard@googlemail.com>
Date:   Wed Apr 11 21:44:09 2012 +0200

    add unit test for autofill

commit f61cbce529d039bb0e208e81cf66974cc4428420
Author: Markus Mohrhard <markus.mohrhard@googlemail.com>
Date:   Wed Apr 11 21:35:59 2012 +0200

    make ScTable::FillSeries work correctly with hidden rows/columns

There was one intermediate state, where the cells were filled, but not incremented (I marked it as 'good').
Comment 4 Justin L 2022-02-11 05:03:30 UTC
I would consider autofill affecting hidden rows as a bug it if were to happen. It very intentionally does not work that way.  See bug 113785.
Comment 5 Justin L 2022-02-11 05:41:01 UTC
bug 56799 is discussing autofill - seems to be identical to this discussion.

Note the last comment 21 - NOTABUG.

*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of bug 56799 ***
Comment 6 Colin 2022-02-11 05:43:16 UTC
(In reply to Justin L from comment #4)
> I would consider autofill affecting hidden rows as a bug it if were to
> happen. It very intentionally does not work that way.  See bug 113785.


Are you implying you'd sooner rewrite the help facility than fix the bug?
At the very least, a well-defined procedure would probably give the user the ability to select a preferred approach. Just like when the user is asked if they would prefer cell references to be expanded and adjusted when cells/rows are inserted or autofilters re-sort the cells according to value..............and many more examples which any user could identify. Reductio ad absurdum.
I imagine there is some mechanism with LO that detects "drag Filling" and presumably that mechanism could be improved to incorporate "would you like the hidden cells updated?"
Comment 7 vic 2025-08-03 04:52:40 UTC
Reproduced ; not only with Hide feature but also with Group feature

Version: 25.2.5.2 (X86_64) / LibreOffice Community
Build ID: 03d19516eb2e1dd5d4ccd751a0d6f35f35e08022
CPU threads: 2; OS: Windows 10 X86_64 (10.0 build 19045); UI render: Skia/Raster; VCL: win
Locale: en-US (en_US); UI: en-US
Calc: threaded

1) is Hide and Group supposed to work the same, except for the obvious visual appearance (handles "+"/"-"..) ? 

2) I agree that this needs to be fixed. 

I use Grouping mostly just because there are too many rows/ cols of same type (ex, hundreds of them!) and need to hide out of the way, but this does not mean autofill (either double click or drag the corner ) should not work on them. 

Proposed workaround (setting the width/height of cells to be 0.00..1) is very cumbersome. 

Apparently, some people like the current behaviour. 

Options for fixing:

o1. Have 2 distinct kinds of grouping or hiding: independently accessible
- one for hiding from view only; but autofill still works on them
- one for hiding from calculations, 

Maybe Grouping - for hide out of view, and Hiding - for hiding from calculations? 

o2. Pop-up a dialog at autofill to ask user whether to also work with the hidden rows/cells

o3. Allow a preference option for the user to choose one vs other behaviour.
Comment 8 Colin 2025-08-03 05:08:36 UTC
(In reply to vic from comment #7)
 
> Options for fixing:
> 
> o1. Have 2 distinct kinds of grouping or hiding: independently accessible
> - one for hiding from view only; but autofill still works on them
> - one for hiding from calculations, 
> 
> Maybe Grouping - for hide out of view, and Hiding - for hiding from
> calculations? 
> 
> o2. Pop-up a dialog at autofill to ask user whether to also work with the
> hidden rows/cells
> 
> o3. Allow a preference option for the user to choose one vs other behaviour.

04 Dramatically improve Tables to emulate Excel and Google Sheets dynamism with any entry in a contiguous row automatically replicating table functions regardless of the hidden or grouped status of any part of the table. Functions are reproduced, manual entries are left as - would you believe it? Manual entries. Any added contiguous columns are then defined by the user and if it's a formula - replicated, if it's data entry - data entry.
Comment 9 vic 2025-08-03 22:26:07 UTC
(In reply to Colin from comment #8)

> 04 Dramatically improve Tables to emulate Excel and Google Sheets dynamism
> with any entry in a contiguous row automatically replicating table functions
> regardless of the hidden or grouped status of any part of the table.
> Functions are reproduced, manual entries are left as - would you believe it?
> Manual entries. Any added contiguous columns are then defined by the user
> and if it's a formula - replicated, if it's data entry - data entry.

I'm not (yet) familiar with this "Tables" concept, but it sounds interesting. Why would we need the whole of spreadsheet for? I guess Your whole "app" could be constructing as an interraction of several tables. Reminds me of Numbers of Apple https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numbers_(spreadsheet) 
> Numbers uses a free-form "canvas" approach that demotes tables to one of many different media types placed on a page. Other media, like charts, graphics, and text, are treated as peers. 

If you know a free app that is exclusively based on such "tables", please let me know. 

Anyway, hidden rows should not be ignored :)
Comment 10 Colin 2025-08-04 05:50:13 UTC
(In reply to vic from comment #9)
> (In reply to Colin from comment #8)

> If you know a free app that is exclusively based on such "tables", please
> let me know. 

Google Sheets has "recently" introduced their own "take" on Excel tables with some very interesting variations of Excel pivot table functionality, visualised directly on the sheet rather than having to define a new pivot table in a dedicated location. And file sharing in GDrive is excellent.

Happy to help if you need some simple examples.

> Anyway, hidden rows should not be ignored :)

I know I don't need to indicate 120% support for this statement

Feel free to hide my comments on Google as irrelevant to the main theme and DM if desired
Comment 11 vic 2025-08-04 20:52:54 UTC

*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of bug 85170 ***