Created attachment 108841 [details] Sample document. Simple sample attached. Select A1:B3, then attempt to sort by column A descending. If you have the "Include formats" sort option selected, you get the message "Ranges containing merged cells can only be sorted without formats." If you uncheck "Include formats" in the search options, the sort completes, but the bold status of A3 stays in A3 instead of following the value to A1 as it should in any sane sorting scenario. There is no logical reason for sorting with formats to not work simply because there are some merged cells involved. If there are some arcane edge cases that cause bad results, then simply throw up an (optional) warning to that effect. Don't block the sort.
Confirmed on Windows 7, Libre Office Version 4.3.4.1. Set to minor - low, because it does not prevent professional quality work, but can slow it down. Please do not to change the priority/severity without knowing how we use these fields internally. Thank you.
I just tested this spreadsheet with WPS sheets and Gnumeric. Both of them refused to sort with error "Merged Cells cannot be sorted" It's trivial to work around this. And considering how the last enhancement to sort went, I do not think this should be approved without test cases and more analysis.
This was incorrectly closed as NOTABUG. I have talked to a core developer who says that it is possible but that it is an enhancement request as it behaves as it was designed to behave (and how most, if not all other software in the same category behaves). Marking it as such.
While this enhancement makes sense for trivial examples, when dealing with a complex table, you must also add the requirement that all merged cells must be the same size. Otherwise you get into a messy situation where the result of the merge could be undefined / nonsensical.