Comments on: Excel vs. OpenOffice.org Calc in number formatting http://www.xaprb.com/blog/2005/12/30/excel-calc-number-formatting/ Stay curious! Tue, 06 Jan 2009 13:44:41 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: Matthieu Haller http://www.xaprb.com/blog/2005/12/30/excel-calc-number-formatting/#comment-14683 Matthieu Haller Mon, 02 Jun 2008 13:19:26 +0000 http://www.xaprb.com/blog/?p=76#comment-14683 FYI, this behaviour has changed without notice between Excel 2000 and Excel 2003 See below : ##00.00E 00 #00.00E 00 00.00E 00 1 00.01E 00 00.01E 00 00.01E 00 12 00.12E 00 00.12E 00 00.12E 00 123 01.23E 00 01.23E 00 01.23E 00 1234 12.34E 00 12.34E 00 12.34E 00 12345 123.45E 00 123.45E 00 00.01E 04 123456 1234.56E 00 00.01E 05 00.12E 04 1234567 00.01E 06 00.12E 05 01.23E 04 12345678 00.12E 06 01.23E 05 12.35E 04 123456789 01.23E 06 12.35E 05 00.01E 08 1234567890 12.35E 06 123.46E 05 00.12E 08 12345678901 123.46E 06 00.01E 10 01.23E 08 1,23457E 11 1234.57E 06 00.12E 10 12.35E 08 1,23457E 12 00.01E 12 01.23E 10 00.01E 12 FYI, this behaviour has changed without notice between Excel 2000 and Excel 2003
See below :

##00.00E 00 #00.00E 00 00.00E 00
1 00.01E 00 00.01E 00 00.01E 00
12 00.12E 00 00.12E 00 00.12E 00
123 01.23E 00 01.23E 00 01.23E 00
1234 12.34E 00 12.34E 00 12.34E 00
12345 123.45E 00 123.45E 00 00.01E 04
123456 1234.56E 00 00.01E 05 00.12E 04
1234567 00.01E 06 00.12E 05 01.23E 04
12345678 00.12E 06 01.23E 05 12.35E 04
123456789 01.23E 06 12.35E 05 00.01E 08
1234567890 12.35E 06 123.46E 05 00.12E 08
12345678901 123.46E 06 00.01E 10 01.23E 08
1,23457E 11 1234.57E 06 00.12E 10 12.35E 08
1,23457E 12 00.01E 12 01.23E 10 00.01E 12

]]> By: Daniel Hautzinger http://www.xaprb.com/blog/2005/12/30/excel-calc-number-formatting/#comment-14643 Daniel Hautzinger Fri, 23 May 2008 15:49:47 +0000 http://www.xaprb.com/blog/?p=76#comment-14643 Hi, I was actually searching a spreadsheet tool that does engineering notation, that is how I found your site. Reading your post, I come to the conclusion that what one would want was to be able to adjust the number of desired significant figures and the spacing between exponentials (the max. number of digits left of the decimal point). I don't know if you can code that unambiguously in the seemingly standard notation of "##00.00E 00" and so forth you used above. Maybe it would require a separate "custom format" dialog (a candidate for a Calc feature). I also think that Excel does have a point here, because if you allow 1 to 3 digits left to the decimal point, it does make sense to use only every third exponential. To start with three is arbitrarily chosen, of course, but I can live with that choice. Hi,

I was actually searching a spreadsheet tool that does engineering notation, that is how I found your site. Reading your post, I come to the conclusion that what one would want was to be able to adjust the number of desired significant figures and the spacing between exponentials (the max. number of digits left of the decimal point). I don’t know if you can code that unambiguously in the seemingly standard notation of “##00.00E 00″ and so forth you used above. Maybe it would require a separate “custom format” dialog (a candidate for a Calc feature).
I also think that Excel does have a point here, because if you allow 1 to 3 digits left to the decimal point, it does make sense to use only every third exponential. To start with three is arbitrarily chosen, of course, but I can live with that choice.

]]> By: Rod Cotton http://www.xaprb.com/blog/2005/12/30/excel-calc-number-formatting/#comment-5442 Rod Cotton Mon, 02 Apr 2007 23:21:10 +0000 http://www.xaprb.com/blog/?p=76#comment-5442 <p>Hi - I chanced upon your article whilst checking out why I was getting an E+11 format when pasting item refs from ebay onto an Excel spreadsheet. Your findings are obviously probing and well considered, and way, way beyond either my maths or computer skills!!!. However, it got me thinking that to get my correct reference properly notated and recordable, I needed to do something to the number. I simply added .01 to the end of the no. and hey presto! A result! I know this wasn't what you were looking for (at all!!!!), but thought I'd let you know that your investigation pointed this ignorant sucker in the right direction. Thanks for your inadvertent assistance. Rod (West Ealing,London).</p> Hi - I chanced upon your article whilst checking out why I was getting an E+11 format when pasting item refs from ebay onto an Excel spreadsheet. Your findings are obviously probing and well considered, and way, way beyond either my maths or computer skills!!!. However, it got me thinking that to get my correct reference properly notated and recordable, I needed to do something to the number. I simply added .01 to the end of the no. and hey presto! A result! I know this wasn’t what you were looking for (at all!!!!), but thought I’d let you know that your investigation pointed this ignorant sucker in the right direction. Thanks for your inadvertent assistance. Rod (West Ealing,London).

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