Re: [libreoffice-users] Strange issue with NOW() that i have not encountered before

At 20:02 30/10/2019 +0000, Pete Noname wrote:
> I am having an issue with NOW() .

Unfortunately for you, NOW() means "now"; it may be that you need a 
THEN() function!

> I am using =IF(ISBLANK(A3),"", IF( ISNUMBER(B3), B3, NOW() ) )
> I have copied this by dragging the corner of the cell to 100 other 
> cells the problem is when i enter data into a cell in column 3 ...

Er, column A, perhaps?

> ... the time changes in every cell in column 3 and it should not.

You clearly don't want it to, but since NOW() means "now", it should. 
By default, each time you make changes to a spreadsheet, formulae are 
recalculated, and since all your formulae contain a reference to 
NOW(), that will be updated to the current date and time, not the one 
at which previous changes were made.

> it does not in another sheet that is using exactly the same formula.

One possibility is that you have AutoCalculate toggled off there, but 
that will prevent *any* changes, so the original date and time will 
not be inserted where you require it. You can use Recalculate to 
cause new changes to happen, but - once again - that will affect all 
parts of your spreadsheet and so change all the dates and times.

One workaround is, each time you make an entry and create a new date 
and time, to copy the cell contents and paste them back, but using 
Edit | Paste Special... (or Ctrl+Shift+V, or right-click | Paste 
Special...) instead of ordinary Paste. In the Paste Spacial dialogue, 
ensure "Paste all" is not ticked and "Formulae" is not ticked. This 
will remove the formula and freeze the contents of that cell. But 
note that any later changes to the corresponding data cell will no 
longer change the date and time in that cell.

I trust this helps.

Brian Barker


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