[Solved] Copy formula to all cells in Writer table column?

[damo44]

I've created a table and entered a formula in one of the cells.

I can't work out how copy the formula to all the other cells in the same column.

[acknak]

Greetings and welcome to the community forum!

Copy/paste will do it. Select the cell with the formula (click/drag to another cell, then drag back so that only one cell is selected). Copy. Select the target cells. Paste.

Writer will adjust references in the formula automatically.

[damo44]

Thanks for the help, and also for the welcome.

That worked, can't believe I didn't try that - I must have tried nearly every other variation!

[SansSamee]

Greetings and welcome to the community forum!

Copy/paste will do it. Select the cell with the formula (click/drag to another cell, then drag back so that only one cell is selected). Copy. Select the target cells. Paste.

Writer will adjust references in the formula automatically.

With all due respect, this made absolutely no sense to me.

[FJCC]

The instructions are:
1. Click and hold on the cell containing the formula you want to copy. Drag the cursor to an adjoining cell and then back to the original cell so only that cell is selected.
2. Copy the cell by pressing Ctrl + C
3. Select the cells into which you want to paste the formula by clicking on one of them and dragging the cursor through all the cells you want to select.
4. Paste the formula by pressing Ctrl + V

[MrProgrammer]

Select the cell with the formula (click/drag to another cell, then drag back so that only one cell is selected). Copy. Select the target cells. Paste.

That worked, can't believe I didn't try that - I must have tried nearly every other variation!

With all due respect, this made absolutely no sense to me.

acknak says the procedure works. damo44 says the procedure works. Did you actually try it before posting? I think it will work for you too.

Edit: The following suggestion was for Calc and does not apply to Writer

Another procedure which I find to be faster and easier to understand is:
• Single-click the spreadsheet cell with the formula
• Hold the Shift key
• Single-click the cell with the formula again
• Release the Shift key
• Edit → Copy
• Select the target cells
• Edit → Paste

Be sure to actually try that on your own spreadsheet before posting again. I realize that the procedure looks lengthy when written, but it is actually quite quick, especially if you use keyboard shortcuts for Copy and Paste.

The following link has more details about populating a formula into other cells in a column. Do not ask further questions about the tutorial here because this topic belongs to damo44. Open your own topic for any questions about it.
[Tutorial] How do I specify the formula for a column?

[cwolan]

(...)
Another procedure which I find to be faster and easier to understand is:
• Single-click the cell with the formula
• Hold the Shift key
• Single-click the cell with the formula again
• Release the Shift key

Hmm, isn't this a recipe for selecting a cell in Calc?
In Writer one could assign shortcut keys to the "uno:EntireCell" command (Table ⟶ Select ⟶ Cells).

[MrProgrammer]

Hmm, isn't this a recipe for selecting a cell in Calc?

Oops. Yes, I mis-read the post as a Calc question. For Writer I would use one of:

• Shift ↓ then Shift ↑
• Shift ↑ then Shift ↓
• Shift → then Shift ←
• Shift ← then Shift →

depending on which direction in the table has an adjecent cell. (This idea works for Calc too.) For the first cell in a Writer table the second and fourth methods are not available but the first and third are. The only problem occurs with a single-cell table, but then there are no other cells in the column so that single-cell-table case does not apply to a question about all cells in a column. One can use Edit → Select All, which has a standard keyboard shortcut, to select the cell in a single-cell table. I will mark my earlier post in strikethough font to avoid confusion.