Microsoft Office to OpenOffice Migration Guide
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AutoFilter

are a number of AutoFilter differences between Excel and Calc:

  • There is only one AutoFilter active at a time, for a spreadsheet document, unless using database range names. The rows remain hidden but the drop-downs in the first row disappear on applying AutoFilter elsewhere. To have more than one AutoFilter active at the same time, define a database range name (Data > Define Range) for the data, then it is possible to have more than one AutoFilter active on the one sheet (which Excel can not do.)

  • The remaining visible row numbers do not change color to warn you that there is a filter in place.

  • Error values do not show as an option in the drop-down lists when cells in the column have errors.

  • In the drop-down lists, the equivalent to Excel’s “Custom” is called “Standard.”

  • The top 10 in the drop-down list is literal, but to get the same degree of control you can use Standard and specify “largest”, “largest%”, “smallest” or “smallest%” in the condition field.

  • Use regular expressions to specify criteria to select rows based upon the text in the cells. To do this:

    1. Choose “Standard” from the drop-down list.

    2. Click More so that the rest of the dialog is displayed.

    3. Check Regular expressions.

Table 3 has some examples to help an Excel user use regular expressions.

Table 3: Example regular expressions for AutoFilter

Excel custom command

Comparison Field

Equivalent Regular Expression

Begins with x

=

^x.*

Does not begin with x

<>

^x.*

Ends with x

=

.*x$

Does not end with x

<>

.*x$

Contains x

=

.*x.*

Does not contain x

<>

.*x.*

You are not limited to these regular expressions. They are included here to show how to achieve the same result for AutoFilter in Calc as can be achieved in Excel.

Microsoft Office to OpenOffice Migration Guide
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