Quickly fill blank cells in a list in LibreOffice Calc

libreoffice-calc

For example:

Cell A1 = 2/3/2012
       A2 is empty
       A3 is empty
       A4 = 3/7/2012
       A5 is empty
       A6 is empty
       A7 is empty

What I want to do is:

  • select the complete list (A1 to A245),
  • take some action (e.g., click a button) that will automatically select only blank cells,
  • enter a formula (or a constant),
  • press Alt+Enter

and have the blank cells filled with that value.

But this doesn't happen.

  1. I can't select all the non-empty cells.
  2. Even if I select the non-empty cells manually, I can't fill them with Alt+Enter; the error message is displayed as "Insert into multiple selection not possible" (LibreOffice 3.6).

I have to use this feature for audit.
(It can be done in Microsoft Excel by the "Go To" function, then select 'blanks').

Best Answer

Upgrade to LibreOffice 4:

Then you'll find under the Edit menu, a Fill sub-menu, and under that, an item called Down; this gives the contents of the first cell selected to all the other cells.

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