[Issue] Autocomplete is removing capitalization

[walloon]

The autocomplete is changing the capitalization of the cells when it fills them in. When I type the first letter or two in a cell and then Enter, it fills in the text but it messes up the capitalization.

This is extremely annoying since most of the time, OO is extremely aggressive about forcing auto-capitalization or other auto-formatting when you *don't* want it, and you have to navigate through many complicated user-unfriendly settings to disable it. Now, I just want OO to *keep* my capitalization and it's removing it! Basically it's the worst of both worlds.

Example:

1. Type this into a cell manually: BD

2. Type this into the cell below it: b then hit the Enter key

3. This *should* fill the cell with "BD", but what you get is "bD"

That makes absolutely no sense. Why does OO keep the b as lower case but make the D upper case? For that matter, why do I have these kinds of problems over and over and over again in OO, but not Excel? Everyone here tells you "You're just not used to OO. It's not worse, you're just not used to it." But in these situations, Excel is always objectively better for my purposes than OO. I guess I must not be the kind of user OO is designed for in the first place.

[RusselB]

The autocomplete, in my experience, maintains the capitalization of the entry as you enter it, then fills in the rest with what it finds.
Thus when you enter lowercase b, OO presumes that you want the entry to start with a lowercase b and prompts the rest of the entry as it can find it.

[Villeroy]

Example:

1. Type this into a cell manually: BD

2. Type this into the cell below it: b then hit the Enter key

3. This *should* fill the cell with "BD", but what you get is "bD"

"BD" is what I get.

[walloon]

"BD" is what I get.

I'm not clear on how that helps me.

[Hagar Delest]

It may be a problem with your settings.
Try a fresh profile and redo your autocorrect options, see here how reset your OpenOffice user profile. Keep the old one so that if it does not work you can still re-activate the former profile.

[Villeroy]

"BD" is what I get.

I'm not clear on how that helps me.

Something is different between your setup and mine. Mmmh, let's see. Help>About...

Apache OpenOffice Beta 4.1.0

Starting a session on a remote Windows machine running AOO 4.0.1 I can reproduce your problem. So it could be a fixed issue BUT: https://issues.apache.org/ooo/show_bug.cgi?id=105319 is still open.

[B Marcelly]

On my computer, with both LibreOffice 4.1 and Apache OpenOffice 4.0.1, AutoComplete reproduces exactly its model, respecting the case of each character.

Code: Select all

Model  Typed  Result
BD     b      BD
hello  H      hello
hello  HE     hello

However, if in your column you have lots of bD and also one BD, then Autocomplete will produce BD. This can happen if the cell was copied from somewhere else.

[Alex1]

If you need a different case than autocomplete delivers, you can use Find & Replace to change contents.

[walloon]

On my computer, with both LibreOffice 4.1 and Apache OpenOffice 4.0.1, AutoComplete reproduces exactly its model, respecting the case of each character.

What exactly is the point of all these posts saying that someone doesn't have the problem? How does that solve my problem?

if in your column you have lots of bD and also one BD, then Autocomplete will produce BD. This can happen if the cell was copied from somewhere else.

I have no bD in the column (or anywhere else in the spreadsheet); and nothing was copied from anywhere else.

[walloon]

: https://issues.apache.org/ooo/show_bug.cgi?id=105319 is still open.

- which it has been for four years.

[walloon]

It may be a problem with your settings.
Try a fresh profile and redo your autocorrect options, see here how reset your OpenOffice user profile. Keep the old one so that if it does not work you can still re-activate the former profile.

Thanks. I tried that and it worked for a day or a few days and then the problem came right back.

[walloon]

UPDATE:

The behavior is erratic within a single column in a single document. That is, if the topmost cell is "BD", and then you type "b" (lower-case) then Enter in cells below it, some cells end up with "BD" and others get "bD".

[WaltP]

I get the exact same inconsistent handling of capitalization. Sometimes it keeps what I type, sometimes it changes what I type. And now it won't allow me to type in 2 leading caps.

TMobile becomes Tmobile. This is the first time I've entered the word in the column. I just tested with the following new entries:
ABC and got ABC
ABLavb and got ABLavb
TCar became Tcar

And sometimes I want the capitalization kept as I entered it. There are times when BarBet and barbet are required in the same column. Capitalization is important.

All my settings in Language Settings/Writing Aids/Options are unchecked. This to me implies OO will not correct anything! But it does.

[Alex1]

You can change this behaviour with Tools, Autocorrect Options, tab Options, Correct TWo INitial CApitals.

[WaltP]

You can change this behaviour with Tools, Autocorrect Options, tab Options, Correct TWo INitial CApitals.

Thanks -- but why are there two areas for the same task concepts? Autocorrect IS a Writing Aid. Someone needs to sit down with these menu systems and actually design them with a critical/logical eye -- and from a USER standpoint.

[Villeroy]

A leading apostrophe overrides all kinds of evaluation. A leading apostroph enters numeric and formula input as literal text. It supresses the nasty text featues as well. The leading apostrophe won't be part of the cell value. It is just a tag similar to a formula's leading =.
When you enter 'aBcD the cell value will be aBcD without the apostrophe.
When you enter '1 the cell value will be the text "1" (no numeric value) with a leading apostrophe tag shown in the formula bar only
Same with '=SUM(A1:B5) which enters the literal text "=SUM(A1:B5)" with a leading apostrophe tag shown in the formula bar only.

[walloon]

On my computer, with both LibreOffice 4.1 and Apache OpenOffice 4.0.1, AutoComplete reproduces exactly its model, respecting the case of each character.

Code: Select all

Model  Typed  Result
BD     b      BD
hello  H      hello
hello  HE     hello

That is ABSOLUTELY NOT how it works on my computer. I get this:

Code: Select all

Model  Typed  Result
BD     b      usually bD but sometimes and unpredictably BD

[walloon]

Also can someone explain the reasoning behind this:

Code: Select all

Model  Typed  Result
BD     b      bD

Prior to the autofill the spreadsheet had no cell with "bD" - so why is OpenOffice deciding that I want bD and not BD?

What no one here seems to realize is that even though Microsoft products have vast amounts of horrible interfaces and counterproductive attempts to automate things, once you turn a basic feature like auto-capitalization or autocomplete on, or off, the behavior is logical and predictable.

Over 15 or 20 years I've been to Microsoft forums hundreds of times for help on complicated things like outline numbering or footnotes but never once for a 'low-level' thing like autocomplete not working logically.

[Villeroy]

In the first column it autocompletes to "BD", in the third column to "bD". With all data removed, no autocompletion occurs.
What's wrong with it?

[walloon]

In the first column it autocompletes to "BD", in the third column to "bD". With all data removed, no autocompletion occurs.
What's wrong with it?

You're misunderstanding the discussion entirely and your comment makes no sense. None of the posts refer to autocompletion in any "first column". Please delete your comment and reread the discussion.

[siccoyote]

Okay I've suffered with this issue for ages

They key is the Spellcheck

If you have Alpha in a column then enter "a" it will auto input Alpha

If you enter Aplha in a column then enter "a" it will auto input aplha

This is because it will only reproduce the correct case for the first letter if the word passes the spellcheck.

To workaround this is to go to Tools, Spellcheck... Options
then uncheck everything in the bottom Options section.

It will now not check your spelling and reproduce anything you have previously typed in the column with the correct case for the first letter.

[Villeroy]

Enter 'alpha with a leading apostrophe and you get lower case alpha. The apostrphe won't be part of the cell text.

[siccoyote]

Nobody wants lower case alpha, they just want it to autocomplete stuff that's already in the column, as it was already written.

They want to have already typed 'Aplha' and whenever they type 'a' for it to autoinput 'Aplha' not 'aplha'

And leading apostrophes, ain't nobody got time for that.

or rather

You're misunderstanding the discussion entirely and your comment makes no sense. None of the posts refer to autocompletion in any "first column". Please delete your comment and reread the discussion.

this ^

[Villeroy]

There is a useful feature "auto complete" for repetetive text entries in the same column. It can be turned on and off.
While it is on, there is a simple method (leading apostrophe) to bypass this feature for a single entry.
There is a feature called "list validation" and there is a whole database component with input forms.
If all this is not good enough/too difficult/unflexible you should definitively find a better software unless you are able and willing to improve this one.

Oh, and then there is a slightly different but more actively developed version of this software where someone actually improved this feature. Any entry that is typed until the end without accepting the auto correction is taken literally.
https://libreoffice.org/

[OOUserMe]

I had the same problem. Added BD to the dictionary and it's now working properly.

[John_Ha]

See [Tutorial] Automatic functions in Writer - enable / disable

In reply to a (much) earlier comment:

What exactly is the point of all these posts saying that someone doesn't have the problem? How does that solve my problem?

It shows that it is not a bug in AOO, and it is a problem with your installation and/or your configuration / set up. Correct your problem and it will work for you too.

[siccoyote]

See [Tutorial] Automatic functions in Writer - enable / disable

In reply to a (much) earlier comment:

What exactly is the point of all these posts saying that someone doesn't have the problem? How does that solve my problem?

It shows that it is not a bug in AOO, and it is a problem with your installation and/or your configuration / set up. Correct your problem and it will work for you too.

It IS a bug.

I just had it happen AGAIN following a crash which reset my settings.

I reset my Profile, Reinstalled OO to the latest version, it still happened.

As I said above the way around it is to disable Spellcheck in Calc. As otherwise it will only give the correct capitalisation when Autofilling, if the word is in the dictionary.

Thank you 'me' for providing a solution.