MODE in Calligra Sheets: Most Frequent Number, Ties and Errors

• Introduced: Documented by 26.08.2; original introduction not established.
• Availability: Supported in Calligra Sheets 26.08.2, based on the function-specific registration.
• Scope: The official application listing provides Linux installation; other packaged builds are unverified here.
• Checked: October 14, 2026. Documentation/source check; no new native test in Calligra Sheets 26.08.2.

MODE identifies a numeric value that occurs most often in a dataset. For the uniquely modal list 12, 7, 20, 7, 15, 30, 7, 4, the expected mode is 7 because 7 appears three times and every other number appears once. Enter those numbers as genuine numeric cells in A2:A9 and try:

=MODE(A2:A9)

The 7 result is an independently calculated expectation, not a screenshot or result from a running Calligra installation. KDE’s handbook entry describes the purpose and gives MODE(12;14;12;15) as an example that returns 12. KDE also registers MODE in Calligra 26.08.2’s statistical module. This evidence establishes documentation and shipped source registration, not runtime testing.

Source-level caution: The same implementation has an unusual frequency-equality check. In particular, a dataset in which all distinct values have exactly the same count returns an internal numerical error; this includes datasets where every value is unique and may also include an all-identical list. Do not apply generic claims about spreadsheet MODE tie/error behavior without verifying them in the installed Calligra version.

=MODE(number1; [number2; ...])
=MODE(range)

No optional argument has a built-in default value, and there is no order or tie-policy parameter in the official registration. The names MODE(number; number2; ...) and MODE(range) both appear in the version-pinned XML; the rendered English handbook displays the direct-argument form. The use of ; between arguments, the leading =, and case-insensitive function names are described in KDE’s formula-entry help. These examples use a period as decimal mark; non-English locales were not tested.

For predictable results in the worked examples, use finite numeric values rather than mixed strings, dates, blank cells or Boolean values. The source’s recursive MODE helper converts each element with toFloat() rather than explicitly ignoring text and blanks. Application-visible conversion outcomes must be tested before claiming how those cases work.

1. Open a blank Calligra Sheets worksheet. Enter Score in A1, Score+10 in B1, and 2×Score in C1.
2. Enter these values as numbers in A2:A9. To make transformations fully reproducible, enter =A2+10 in B2 and =2*A2 in C2, then fill each formula down to row 9. KDE describes relative references and filling.
3. In any unused cell, for example E2, enter =MODE(A2:A9). Compare the displayed value with the independently computed expectation below, noting that no native run was performed for this manuscript.
4. For repeated checks put the listed example formulas in separate unused cells, not inside the source data.

The independent frequency count for column A is: 7 appears three times; 4, 12, 15, 20 and 30 each appear once. Transforming all numbers by adding 10 or multiplying by 2 preserves which observation is most frequent.

These are independently calculated expectations for the exact numeric inputs above, cross-checked against KDE’s registered argument count and frequency-map implementation. They are not outputs recorded from Calligra.

The use of several arguments (including multiple ranges) is supported by the module’s setParamCount(1,-1) and setAcceptArray() registrations, but an actual installation’s formula evaluation has not been checked. Enter the examples in the notation documented in KDE’s English manual. Registration · formula syntax.

Detect what a mode does not tell you

MODE gives one result; it is not a frequency-distribution table or a comprehensive multimode report. Consider an additional numeric range D2:D9 with values 2, 2, 4, 4, 9, 10, 11, 12. Both 2 and 4 occur twice. Reading the version-pinned QMap implementation shows that it iterates sorted numeric keys and updates the selected result only for a strictly larger count; for this particular frequency mix, the source-level selection is 2. This is an implementation analysis, not a guaranteed cross-version native result, and the second modal value is not returned.

More unusually, =MODE(2;2;4;4) presents just two distinct values with equal frequency. The inspected implementation’s nodiff check returns Value::errorNUM() when every distinct key has the same count. =MODE(1;2;3) and =MODE(5;5;5) also follow that source-level error branch. The exact displayed error string (and whether the installed package applies other surrounding checks) remains unverified. MODE implementation.

If tied/unique observations matter, count frequencies explicitly and review ties rather than using MODE alone as a tie detector. For data requiring a complete list of all equal-frequency values, MODE is not a sufficient output by itself. The COUNT guide covers counting observations, but an automated frequency-distribution workflow would require its own independently tested formula.

Make the source range stable when copying

Place the range A2:A9 in the worksheet and use =MODE($A$2:$A$9) in F2. Copying the formula to another result cell should keep the same data range because of the absolute references, as explained in KDE’s cell-reference documentation. The mathematical expectation remains 7. This does not establish the presence of any particular copy/paste shortcut on every platform.

When mode is a poor summary

A modal sale price or order size can be useful for discrete measurements, but small numeric rounding differences create separate keys. The implementation maps double-valued numbers to exact keys; it does not bin approximately equal observations into ranges. For continuous measurements, intentionally bucket/round the data before computing frequencies, and disclose the chosen rounding rule. Do not assume near-equal values are grouped. Numeric map helper.

Neither the release source nor the English handbook establishes how this specific installed build renders all input errors or ties. The Function dialog instructions explain how to inspect available functions on the installed copy.

This research is scoped to KDE Calligra Sheets source revision 72123cc643f6625351139e7df294544255a1056f, evaluated alongside KDE Gear 26.08.2, which KDE announced October 8, 2026. Release announcement · pinned MODE registration · pinned XML. KDE’s Calligra download page describes distribution packages and Flatpak for Linux and says work toward a Windows release is ongoing. No installed Linux distribution package, Flatpak, Windows or macOS build was executed here; software/platform support is not a blanket execution guarantee.

Do not assume Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice, OpenOffice, PlanMaker or another product’s mode/tie/error rules establish Calligra behavior. No cross-product formula fidelity or import/export conversion was tested. Native test backlog: numeric-only baseline; direct/range args; ties with unlike counts; equal frequencies; all-identical values; empty ranges; text/Boolean conversion; non-English argument and decimal separators; exact UI errors.

• KDE Calligra MODE documentation — public handbook description and direct argument example (accessed 2026-10-13).
• Pinned Calligra MODE XML entry — documented input shape and syntax (checked 2026-10-13).
• Pinned MODE C++ registration, recursive numeric conversion, and frequency calculation — implementation observations (checked 2026-10-13).
• KDE formula input and absolute references — semicolons, leading =, Function dialog and $ references (accessed 2026-10-13).
• KDE Gear 26.08.2 release and Calligra package guidance — release and platform scope (accessed 2026-10-13).
• AVERAGE guide — conceptual alternative to a mode.

Validation: Native behavior is untested. Tie behavior described here is tied to the inspected release source rather than generalized to every spreadsheet.