Apache OpenOffice Community Forum

I've looked for answers and tried some that are similar - changing autoformat options, changing cell options....

NO LUCK.

I'm doing a new spreadsheet. Budget. I put in the first columns fine. Name, Dollar Amount, Date, etc. I get to the Account number column, and I type in the account number. It ends in "68". The sheet keeps changing it to 70, AND in the cell contents window at the top, it's putting in some kind of calculation with + sign, etc. I tried new sheet, etc. No luck. Help!

You probably have to format the cells as text. Use the menu Format -> Cells and on the Numbers tab set the Category to Text.

Thanks so much. Doing the text format worked. Still WEIRD. Thanks!

Not so much weird, but a lack of understanding how Calc works with numbers.
Numbers up to and including 15 digits in length are handled properly...16 digits or more are affected by rounding to bring the number compliant with the 15 significant digit count.
Since the account numbers aren't needed for any calculations, they can easily be marked as text, as FJCC suggested.

RusselB's explaination applies to any program BTY. Fifteen digits is the limit of accuracy due to the fact that computers work in binary not decimal arithmetic.