PROPER in Calligra Sheets: Capitalize Words in Text

PROPER converts a text string into a word-style capitalization pattern: a word starts with a capital letter and following letters become lowercase. =PROPER("calligra sheets") is expected to return Calligra Sheets. It is a formatting aid, not a grammar-aware name formatter.

Best use: Create display labels and basic title-style strings from ordinary ASCII words while flagging punctuation and whitespace cases that need manual review.

=PROPER(string)

string is a required text argument (a quoted literal, cell reference or value convertible to string), and no optional arguments or defaults are documented. The pinned 26.08.2 implementation first lowercases the entire string, then scans characters using Qt QChar::isNumber, isSpace, isPunct and toUpper to decide which character to capitalize.

Version scope: The checked release is Calligra Sheets 26.08.2, issued 2026-10-08. The KDE stable-KF6 handbook, the release-pinned text function XML, the registration/implementation in text.cpp, and the upstream unit-test fixture were consulted 2026-10-11. A documented entry and registered source symbol are not the same as observing a function run on every supported Linux package/Qt build.

Formula entry and locale: A formula begins with =. The official English KDE function chapter writes multi-argument examples with semicolons (;), e.g. =LEFT(A2;3). The single-argument syntax above is not separator-dependent. Installed locale/settings may influence localized names, separators and textual conversion of numbers. The worked inputs here are plain ASCII, making the independently calculated case transformations reproducible without assuming non-ASCII locale rules.

1. On a blank sheet, type Input into A1, Formula into B1 and Expected result into C1.
2. Enter the source text shown for each row in A2:A7. Preserve spelling, spaces and punctuation as written.
3. Enter the formula in its corresponding B cell (from B2 through B7); the formula itself should display its text result. Column C is the stated independently calculated expectation, not a collected runtime result.
4. Compare the visible result with C. If your installed version disagrees, record its exact version, locale/Qt details and actual result before relying on that transformation.

Validation status: All six example outputs were independently calculated with Python on these ASCII strings (for PROPER, a small transcription of the published C++ branch rules). The KDE implementation and existing upstream tests were documentation/source checked. Native Calligra Sheets execution: not performed. Expected values must not be labelled observed output.

Format imported labels after normalizing spaces

For A2 = technical REPORT , enter =PROPER(TRIM(A2)) in B2. Expected: Technical Report. This two-step pattern avoids some whitespace edge cases indicated by Calligra’s character-by-character implementation. TRIM deals with extra ordinary spaces, then PROPER capitalizes the resulting words. Do not assume either function removes every Unicode separator.

Turn underscore-separated tags into readable labels

With A3 = blue_winter_sale, use =PROPER(SUBSTITUTE(A3;"_";" ")). Expected: Blue Winter Sale. The inner documented SUBSTITUTE operation replaces underscores with spaces, then PROPER handles individual words. This produces a display label, not a reversible tag key.

Normalize a hyphenated category name

With A4 = NORTH-WEST REGION, =PROPER(A4) is expected to return North-West Region. The checked C++ source treats punctuation as a word boundary. This is suitable for generic display headings but not automatically correct for surnames, registered brands or language-specific title cases.

Limits that ordinary title-case examples hide

The pinned implementation uses a simple boolean first rule rather than linguistic word segmentation. It lowercases every letter first, so =PROPER("KDE API") is expected to become Kde Api, which may be undesirable. Source inspection also shows potentially surprising output with leading or repeated spaces because the algorithm can clear first on a space; use TRIM first for ordinary-space data and spot-check difficult strings. This observation is an implementation-code inference, not a measured result from the installed application.

• Acronyms are changed: PROPER("KDE API") is expected to yield Kde Api, not the preferred KDE API. Restore sanctioned capitalization by manual correction or a controlled mapping table.
• Unexpected capitalization after punctuation: the pinned code tests isPunct(). PROPER("HELLO.THERE") is expected to return Hello.There and is present in KDE’s upstream test source.
• Inconsistent spacing or leading spaces: for ordinary ASCII spaces, use TRIM before PROPER, then review results; the source algorithm is not a standards-based title-case engine.
• Extra/missing parameters: the official XML describes a one-argument string function. Invalid arity error formatting was not tested in native Calligra.
• Names and special styles: prefixes such as Mc, acronyms, apostrophes and locale-sensitive letters may need manual treatment. This formula cannot know preferred human-name capitalization.
• Unicode rules: the Qt lower/case/punctuation methods imply behavior dependent on Unicode classifications; we did not run the installed Qt/Calligra app, so do not promise parity for emoji, combining marks or language-specific case rules.

Excel: Microsoft documents PROPER(text) and says it capitalizes letters following characters that are not letters. Calligra’s pinned code uses its own QChar::isSpace() and isPunct() boundary tests. Thus even with the same one-argument syntax, numbers, repeated spaces, Unicode and punctuation can produce different results. Test imported workbooks before relying on character-for-character equivalence.

LibreOffice Calc / Google Sheets: word-capitalization functions are available, but their implementation and locale rules have not been tested against Calligra in this run. Avoid asserting cross-product parity outside ordinary ASCII cases.

Calligra aliases: the 26.08.2 function registry has a single PROPER canonical name with no explicit alternate registered name. Its source function is distinct from UPPER and LOWER.

• KDE official Sheets function chapter, PROPER anchor — published signature, parameter descriptions and examples; consulted 2026-10-11. This is the stable-KF6 handbook, which is not itself proof every installed package uses exactly release 26.08.2.
• Calligra 26.08.2 pinned text.xml function definitions — release-pinned argument count, types and help; consulted 2026-10-11.
• Calligra 26.08.2 pinned text.cpp registry/implementation — actual function registration and Qt conversion path; consulted 2026-10-11.
• KDE upstream TestTextFunctions.cpp — source-level expected results in a test fixture, not a test executed in this run; consulted 2026-10-11.
• KDE Calligra releases — lists 26.08.2 on 2026-10-08; consulted 2026-10-11.
• Microsoft Excel PROPER documentation — comparison for Excel syntax and general semantics; consulted 2026-10-11.

The official KDE chapter entries for UPPER and LOWER describe complementary transformations. Other relevant documented text operations include TRIM, LEFT and SUBSTITUTE.