[Issue 126901] CSV import: values with + or - followed by thousand separator and 3 digits (eg. +,123) are imported as a number

[bu...@apache.org]

https://bz.apache.org/ooo/show_bug.cgi?id=126901

orcmid <or...@apache.org> changed:

           What    |Removed                     |Added
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                 CC|                            |orcmid@apache.org

--- Comment #1 from orcmid <or...@apache.org> ---
(In reply to damjan from comment #0)
> Make a CSV file containing:
> +,123
[ ... ]
> It should be imported as the string "+,123" instead, as numbers cannot begin
> with thousand separators.

What happens if you use quotes around the string (that is, literally "+,123")
the normal means for determining that a cell value is meant to be taken as text
and not anything else?

The import scheme for text (including CSV) is rather generous and attempts to
handle more cases than standard CSV, which is why there are all those
parameters.  It also tends to find numbers in any surround and use that number.
So it accepts cases that Calc never produces in CSV output when text fields are
quoted.  

Because the input filter has so many variations, it is necessary to delimit
text fields so they import properly always when it is known that conventional
Excel CSV is intended.  The input filter should then be set accordingly.

I assume that having the text filter work in the way it does was considered a
feature, and the few kinds of CSVs that Calc produces were simply lumped into
cases of this more "general" feature.

EXPERIMENTS

Importing that file into Excel 2016 with a US locale creates two fields, one
with the text "+" and another with the numeral 123.  I don't know what happens
in locales where the comma is a decimal separator.  Same as +.123?

Using ",123" (with the quotes) instead works fine directly in Excel and will
work fine in OpenOffice Calc once the Option "Quoted field as text" is checked
for the text import.

I am confirming the behavior.  Whether it is a defect or by design is a bigger
question.

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