COMPLEX Function (Calligra Sheets)

• Introduced: First release not established; the name is present in Calligra 2.4.0 source.
• Supported in: Calligra Sheets 26.08.2, with no retirement established.
• Scope: Desktop Sheets with the Engineering module. Examples use English semicolon-separated formulas.
• Checked: October 14, 2026. Formulas were executed through the official 25.04.2 engine library and checked against source and independent mathematics. This is not GUI-cell or workbook-import evidence; 26.08.2 was source-checked, not executed.

COMPLEX constructs the number a+b·i from two numeric components. The real part is a, the imaginary coefficient is b, and i²=−1. The calculation engine returns a native complex value, allowing later functions to operate on both components rather than on a manually concatenated label. Function help.

=COMPLEX(real;imaginary[;suffix])

Real and imaginary are required. The registered function also accepts a third argument, conventionally called suffix, but this implementation does not read it. The tested strings “i”, “j” and “x” all produced the same complex components. Use the two-argument form; do not rely on the third argument to select a displayed unit symbol. Brackets mark an optional argument and are not entered in a formula. Registration and implementation, with versioned help.

Results are shown as (real,imaginary) component pairs, not a literal cell format. Numeric zero is shown as 0 even when the internal component is signed zero.

Enter 3 in A2 and 4 in B2, then calculate =COMPLEX(A2;B2). The value has real component 3 and imaginary component 4. =IMREAL(COMPLEX(A2;B2)) retrieves the first component and =IMAGINARY(COMPLEX(A2;B2)) retrieves the second. This is useful when measurements arrive as separate real and imaginary columns.

The recorded =IMREAL(COMPLEX(3;4))+IMAGINARY(COMPLEX(3;4)) returns 7. This is a component-access check, not the modulus: the magnitude of 3+4i is 5. Keeping those concepts separate prevents an accidental sum of components from being reported as a vector length.

For a reproducible rectangular-coordinate table, use the eight component pairs above. Positive and negative imaginary coefficients change the half-plane without changing the meaning of the real component. Construct values numerically when possible rather than parsing locale-sensitive text.

The input conversions are permissive: the tested COMPLEX("abc";4) produced components (0,4), while numeric text “3” and “4” was accepted. Consequently, a successful calculation is not proof that the original input was numeric. Validate required measurement columns before construction. One argument and four arguments returned #VALUE!.

The versioned help describes a string result, whereas the inspected engine returns its complex value type. The component notation in these tables reports both stored components; it is not a claim about the exact text rendered in a worksheet cell.

The numeric conversion helper explains the component coercions above. The inspected Engineering module and value converter are byte-identical between 25.04.2 and 26.08.2. That source comparison does not establish every locale, import path or extreme-value case.