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[Solved] Add same text to multiple cells

Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2010 10:45 pm
by ctrot
Hi, I'm trying to figure out the best way to add the same text to multiple cells in a column.

For example:

Original cell:

A
computer
laptop
wireless speaker
ereader

I want to add review to the end of each:

computer review
laptop review
wireless speaker review
ereader review

What is the best way to do this? Adding 2 columns together? What is the correct formula?

Thank you.

Re: Add same text to multiple cells

Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2010 11:07 pm
by gerard24
Hello,

Select Cell range you want to add text, then open dialog box Find & Replace (ctrl+F)
Clic on more options.
  1. Check Current selection only
  2. Check Regular expressions
  3. Search for :

    Code: Select all

    .*
  4. Replace with :

    Code: Select all

    & review
  5. Find All
  6. Replace All
Find and Replace.jpg
GĂ©rard

Re: Add same text to multiple cells

Posted: Fri Nov 12, 2010 11:14 am
by ctrot
Hey, thanks Gerard.

How would I add a word to to the beginning?

Re: Add same text to multiple cells

Posted: Fri Nov 12, 2010 11:18 am
by RoryOF
Work it out! It's very simple, based on what you have just been told by Gerard.

Re: Add same text to multiple cells

Posted: Fri Nov 12, 2010 6:44 pm
by Hagar Delest
Check the help file for regular expressions, that's the first place to look at.

Please add '[Solved]' at the beginning of your first post title (edit button) if your issue has been fixed.

Re: Add same text to multiple cells

Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2011 6:47 pm
by nittyjee
Just remember everyone you have to put the '&' sign as noted above.
That confused me...

Re: Add same text to multiple cells

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 3:08 am
by nwidesigns
One would think this was a classroom with a reply saying "Work it Out". If you cant help answer the question then it is better to just not say anything at all!

For those like me looking for the answer you can find it here:

http://user.services.openoffice.org/en/ ... =9&t=26830

Moderator or not that was an ignorant reply RoryOF.

Re: Add same text to multiple cells

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 8:14 am
by RoryOF
The answer was in Gerard's reply. If a User cannot see that he only needs to modify the replace box in that example from "& review" to "review &", then he has learned nothing from Gerard's reply.

For your information, this _is_ effectively a classroom. The active volunteers engage with the Forum in an attempt to help users broaden their understanding of using OpenOffice; in such a situation it can never be out of place to suggest that a User re-read a valid reply. If he does not, on making some slight effort, understand that reply he can post a supplementary question which the original poster in that thread did not choose to do.

You may also note that there are frequently many ways to achieve a desired objective in OpenOffice.

Re: Add same text to multiple cells

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 8:18 am
by Hagar Delest
nwidesigns wrote:One would think this was a classroom with a reply saying "Work it Out".
Indeed. And users have to do their homework.
OP has got a very precise reply with even screenshots. We don't do the job of users, they have to understand how it works.

Re: Add same text to multiple cells

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 8:57 am
by nwidesigns
Hagar Delest wrote:
nwidesigns wrote:One would think this was a classroom with a reply saying "Work it Out".
Indeed. And users have to do their homework.
OP has got a very precise reply with even screenshots. We don't do the job of users, they have to understand how it works.
I understand that people are lazy and would rather ask a question rather than look for the answer. My position is when looking for a solution, this was the first search result that came back. So when I see arrogance rather than answers it makes me angry. I do agree with you but taking a position of not answering the post vs. answering with a reply like that does not show restraint or intelligence.

Re: Add same text to multiple cells

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 9:14 am
by RoryOF
Arrogance? I directed the querist to reconsider a reply which he clearly had not attempted to understand. How is that "not answering the post"?

Re: Add same text to multiple cells

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 9:42 am
by keme
Also, let's first look at what Gerard did:

He wrote an answer that he knew. Laid it out nicely. That took him maybe 5 minutes. No problem.

He then took a screenshot. Easy, no problem. Done in a flash.
That screenshot was edited in a graphics app (Draw perhaps, but that is immaterial here...) to add numbering corresponding to his writeup. Double checking may have taken 15 minutes (I'm guessing here).

So there it is: 20 minutes of work explaining one particular action.

Now what next:
The OP asks again for a slightly different solution. He is told by a third party that the solution already is there before his eyes. He probably realizes this and proceeds to solve his own problem. (If the solution weren't obvious to him, he'd probably ask again.)

Almost two years later: Someone reads the proceedings here and thinks that someone else should have made a better effort. Either Gerard should spend another 20 minutes making the same product once again, or RoryOF should make a search to find a better explanation to what is already explained. This someone then supplies a link to the exact procedure that the OP asked for.
I still think that the above solution from Gerard24 does a better job of showing a solution than that linked thread, but that's just me...

So does someone come out as arrogant here, or even ignorant?
I think that perhaps "someone" does, while "someone else" do not, but again that's just me... ;)

Re: Add same text to multiple cells

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 10:35 am
by Hagar Delest
nwidesigns wrote:So when I see arrogance rather than answers it makes me angry. I do agree with you but taking a position of not answering the post vs. answering with a reply like that does not show restraint or intelligence.
What about showing your restraint and intelligence by helping here and providing detailed answers? It would certainly improve the quality of the forum.
All power users here have started by asking a question. Then to give something back, they started answering questions in the limits of their knowledge. Feel free to help other users too now.

Re: [Solved] Add same text to multiple cells

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 4:36 pm
by nwidesigns
Well since I have only been a member for a day now that is a bit presumptuous on your part. Obviously this is not a place for anyone to help as the moderators are arrogant and when someone calls them on it they get defensive. So I will take my leave of this non-sense and look elsewhere for support.

BTW if you read my first post it directs anyone looking for an answer to a working solution!! No surprise that the answer is not from a moderator, but then by your statement real answers are coming from power users (they must not be one in the same).

O and I joined this group for the soul reason to try and help answer the question!!!!!

Re: [Solved] Add same text to multiple cells

Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 7:03 pm
by MrProgrammer
Hi, and welcome to the forum, nwidesigns.

I do appreciate that you are willing to help, but you may have gotten started poorly. You've made two mistakes:
  • Answering a question that was solved eight 21 months ago. (Nothing really wrong with that, but perhaps not the best use of your time.)
  • In your first post, attacking someone with a high status in the forum (almost 10000 posts, and a Moderator)
Both of those mistakes might have been avoided if you had "lurked" a bit here to see how things work before posting. Of course we also expect that everyone has read the Survival Guide. Even if you hadn't, you would have learned that by lurking.
nittyjee wrote:Moderator or not that was an ignorant reply RoryOF.
There's sometimes more to providing support on the forum than just answering specific questions, and that's recognizing what the user's experience level is and helping them improve their skills. In the long run, the user becomes much more effective, since asking question after question, particularly without even attempting a search first, is a very slow way to develop (in this case) a spreadsheet. However, recognizing the user's experience level is often tricky since that information is typically not provided in the question. But people who have been doing this a long time (almost 4 years for RoryOF) are often pretty good at judging that and understanding how to best help the person. You'll note that ctrot did not ask any additional questions after receiving the "work it out" advice and thus has presumably learned how the "&" works, which is more a good deal valuable than just learning how to add text at the beginning. I will often provide a link to a relevant tutorial or other documentation instead of a more direct answer because I think this helps not only the OP, but others who may have similar questions. But it depends on my mood and how much time I have available that day. This is, after all, free support, and if someone doesn't like it, I'll refund double their money back. Your search that found the Adding text to the beginning of every cell? topic was good. Many new posters are unable (or unwilling) to do searches, even though this is the fastest way to get answers.

nwidesigns, you'll find that your opinions about the best way to help people will carry more weight here after you've gained the experience of answering several dozen questions. Note that RoryOF has many thousand questions of experience. Unfortunately I know of no "how to help people on a forum" guide other than lurking, since forum protocol varies. How To Ask Questions The Smart Way is good reading. It addresses the issue from the "question" side instead of the "answer" side, but does provide insight into how some of the forums work. I'm sure you can dig something out of that to validate your "that was an ignorant reply" remark. But don't post a response here. It won't be well received, trust me.

The forum Volunteers and Moderators would love to have your help, but take some time and get to know us here at OOCF. Read some of the recent Q's and A's, then consider helping with a new or unsolved topic. And do be very careful about attacks toward people who have high status, since that isn't welcomed, as you've discovered. They will have numerous friends to support them unless their post is clearly inappropriate. There are occasional comments by Moderators or other regulars that violate forum protocol, but they are very few, and those comments usually receive negative feedback from other peers.
keme wrote:So does someone come out as arrogant here, or even ignorant?
I think that perhaps "someone" does, while "someone else" do not, but again that's just me... ;)
+1
nwidesigns wrote:I will take my leave of this non-sense and look elsewhere for support.
I spent at least 30 minutes composing this reply in an attempt to persuade you to reconsider leaving. You could be a valuable addition to the community very soon. I do hope that my 30 minutes was not a waste of time.

Re: [Solved] Add same text to multiple cells

Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 11:15 am
by Hagar Delest
nwidesigns wrote:No surprise that the answer is not from a moderator, but then by your statement real answers are coming from power users (they must not be one in the same).
It just means that you don't know anything about this forum and the staff. Moderators are all power users. We have not been appointed to do the police, we have been "raised" to this status because we have got the trust of others (the Volunteers, orange username).
Make a search for the moderators posts and look at the results. There is almost no post about moderation or comments, police, and so on. Our main job is still to help users.
Find another forum if you want, contribute to it and in some time and you'll have replied a hundred questions, come back to this topic, read it again and think again.
No further posting for me in this one.