Description: I would like to request a feature in LibreOffice Calc similar to MS Excel's Center Across Selection. The goal of this request is as follows: Introduce a new functionality in LibreOffice Calc that allows users to center text horizontally across a selected range of cells without merging them. This feature should mimic the behavior found in other spreadsheet software like Microsoft Excel. While Calc offers various alignment options, users currently lack a dedicated way to center text across non-merged cells. As of the moment, there is no actual workaround, as only "Merge and Center" is available, but these create visual approximations rather than true centering and can be cumbersome for frequent use. Proposed functionality: Selection: Users can highlight a range of cells where they want to center text. Activation: A dedicated button or menu option labeled "Center Across Selection" is available. This could be located in the alignment section of the format menu or on the toolbar for easy access. Alignment: Activating the feature automatically redistributes the selected text content within the chosen range so that it appears visually centered across all cells. This should work independently of font size, cell width, or other formatting elements. Options: Consider offering additional options to fine-tune the alignment: Padding: Allow users to choose the amount of padding (space) on either side of the text for precise visual positioning. Wrapping: Offer options to control how text wraps within the selection (e.g., no wrapping, wrap within cells, or specific word wrap settings). Benefits: Enhanced formatting capabilities: This feature would significantly improve text presentation within spreadsheets, offering users a convenient way to create visually appealing layouts without sacrificing cell independence. User experience: Implementing "center across selection" aligns with industry standards and user expectations, making Calc more intuitive and user-friendly for those familiar with similar functionality in other software. Efficiency: A dedicated feature would streamline the process of centering text compared to current workarounds, saving users time and effort. Actual Results: The benefits of implementing this feature would be as follows: Enhanced formatting capabilities: This feature would significantly improve text presentation within spreadsheets, offering users a convenient way to create visually appealing layouts without sacrificing cell independence. User experience: Implementing "center across selection" aligns with industry standards and user expectations, making Calc more intuitive and user-friendly for those familiar with similar functionality in other software. Efficiency: A dedicated feature would streamline the process of centering text compared to current workarounds, saving users time and effort. Expected Results: The benefits of implementing this feature would be as follows: Enhanced formatting capabilities: This feature would significantly improve text presentation within spreadsheets, offering users a convenient way to create visually appealing layouts without sacrificing cell independence. User experience: Implementing "center across selection" aligns with industry standards and user expectations, making Calc more intuitive and user-friendly for those familiar with similar functionality in other software. Efficiency: A dedicated feature would streamline the process of centering text compared to current workarounds, saving users time and effort. Reproducible: Always User Profile Reset: No Additional Info: The benefits of implementing this feature would be as follows: Enhanced formatting capabilities: This feature would significantly improve text presentation within spreadsheets, offering users a convenient way to create visually appealing layouts without sacrificing cell independence. User experience: Implementing "center across selection" aligns with industry standards and user expectations, making Calc more intuitive and user-friendly for those familiar with similar functionality in other software. Efficiency: A dedicated feature would streamline the process of centering text compared to current workarounds, saving users time and effort.
FWIW… "Center across selection" should not be limited to horizontal selection. If the selection is a vertical vector, or even a rectangular range, the attribute should be applicable too, on both axis. Having said that, if the attribute has been applied to a rectangular range in both axis, the user should still be able to (later) modify alignment for any of these axis independently. In such case, the modified alignment would no longer be centered across the prior selection along the modified axis' alignment.
Created attachment 192479 [details] Screenshot "Centre Across Selection" is an option of the horizontal text alignment (not the vertical!). Cells become not merged but the text "virtually" placed as if. The exported ods document cannot provide the option, and MSO just keeps the text left-aligned. When opening the xlsx document we merge the cells. This obviously need changes to the file format, if accepted by the committee. Personally I struggle with the use case. Why not merge? "Visual approximations" and "can be cumbersome for frequent use" can't be the reason why Microsoft added this option (rather to make MSO not comply with the open standard *g*).
Created attachment 192480 [details] Test document
Bug 120798 is a duplicate (or vice versa).
*** Bug 120798 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
(In reply to Heiko Tietze from comment #2) > Created attachment 192479 [details] > Screenshot > > "Centre Across Selection" is an option of the horizontal text alignment (not > the vertical!). Cells become not merged but the text "virtually" placed as > if. I shall clarify my poor wording. In Excel (xls(x)), "center _across_ selection" is only applicable to horizontal alignment, taking a selection of adjacent cells in multiple columns, but without merging the selected cells into one. IIRC, "center across selection" is even older than "merge and center". Having said that, a web search will show you that users would like to be able to achieve a similar result over a vertical selection, instead of "across" a (horizontal) selection. There is no such vertical alignment setting of a group of multiple cells in Excel, AFAIK. Please remember: all this is without merging cells. My comment 1 was/is a wish, since we are talking about an enhancement request, to "expand" the original RFE to cover not only horizontal alignment but also the possibility to act on a vertical selection. The "horizontal selection" case is known as "center across selection" (without merging) in Excel, while the vertical case would be a plus, frequently asked in forums and alike ("how can I achieve..."). If this "expansion" of the original request is not possible, I'm sure that many users will be anyway happy to get in Calc the equivalent horizontal alignment of "center across selection" (without merging) of Excel.