REPT in Calligra Sheets: Repeat Text and Build In-Cell Bars

A repeated string can act as a simple horizontal progress marker in a narrow cell, a text divider, or a recurring suffix. =REPT("#";4) gives ####; =REPT("ab";3) gives ababab, repeating the whole string each time. Because the result is plain text, it can be copied with a label or concatenated with other text. A REPT-based bar is not a data visualization that encodes axes, accessibility labels or calibrated chart scales automatically.

Unlike multiplication, REPT does not perform arithmetic on its repeated text. Count controls how many copies appear, not how many characters should appear: repeating the two-character string ab three times yields six characters.

=REPT(text;count)

The official KDE function chapter documents two required inputs. A zero count gives the empty string; a negative count is invalid. The pinned source implementation converts count to an integer, explicitly returns errorVALUE() if it is negative, and appends the whole string in a loop. Thus =REPT("X";-1) is expected to produce a VALUE-type error, generally displayed as #VALUE!; the exact UI display was not observed. The source has no separately configured REPT maximum-length constant in this routine. Large results can still be slow or hit other memory/implementation constraints; there is no verified Calligra character cap in this guide.

Release/platform/locale: The source is pinned to Calligra 26.08.2 (October 8, 2026), checked October 11, 2026. It covers registered source functions, not tests of an installed Linux, Flatpak or Windows build. The KDE English handbook uses semicolons as argument separators (text;count). Confirm the separator in your installed locale. All examples use whole-number counts, avoiding uncertain rounding/input coercion. For fractional counts, the KDE handbook says counts rounded down to zero return an empty string, and the implementation converts the argument to an integer, but no unverified fractional-count result is presented as a native observation.

1. In A1 type Work item, in B1 type Completed units, and in C1 type Text progress.
2. Enter Batch A in A2, 3 in B2; Batch B in A3, 0 in B3; Batch C in A4, 5 in B4.
3. In C2, type =REPT("#";B2) and copy through C4.
4. The expected outputs are shown below. Keep B as an integer number of units; this is not automatically a percentage.

Why the result is correct: for Batch A, the second argument is 3, so the loop appends # three times. For Batch B, the loop appends nothing and returns an empty string. This does not imply the empty result is numeric zero.

Seven independent literal test formulas

These are independently derived literal-string calculations, expected but not measured in Calligra. The final space in A A is difficult to see in rendered Markdown; to verify it numerically, =LEN(REPT("A ";2)) should return 4.

For a five-unit task board, put an integer from 0 to 5 in B2. Enter:

=REPT("#";B2)&REPT("-";5-B2)

Guard the input: if B2 is 7, the second count becomes -2, so the source’s REPT error path applies. One way to provide a human-readable warning is:

=IF(OR(B2<0;B2>5);"Enter a count from 0 to 5";REPT("#";B2)&REPT("-";5-B2))

With B2=7, the expected text is the warning; with B2=3, expected ###--. IF and OR are documented Calligra functions; the combined example has not been native tested.

For screen readers or documents printed without fixed-width fonts, keep a numeric completed/total column beside the bar. The number is the primary information; the repeated glyphs are only a visual convenience.

• Negative count: Calligra’s pinned implementation explicitly returns a VALUE-type error if the converted count is below zero. Check references like 5-B2 and the sign of the count.
• Count is zero: The documented result is empty text, not the literal word “zero”, a dash, or numeric 0.
• Results look too long: REPT("ab";100) produces two hundred characters, not one hundred. Inspect text length and keep repeated strings bounded.
• Non-integer count: Official help discusses rounding down; the source converts count to an integer. Since we have no native Calligra test of fractional/negative fractional inputs or locale-dependent conversion, use integer inputs for reliable examples.
• Huge count: Very large result strings can consume memory or slow recalculation. No exact Calligra REPT size cutoff is established by the checked handbook/source.
• Text vs number: The result is text. Do not use a repeated digit string as a numeric quantity without explicit conversion and checks.
• Separator mismatch: Calligra’s English documentation uses ;, while Excel examples often use commas, depending on locale.
• Unreadable bars: Select a monospaced font if equal character widths are essential, and provide the numeric value for accessibility.

Microsoft Excel documents an analogous REPT(text,number_times) function that truncates non-integer counts and returns empty text for zero. Excel specifically limits the output to 32,767 characters, returning a #VALUE! error if exceeded. That is an Excel limit, not a verified Calligra limit, and should not be copied into Calligra’s specifications. LibreOffice Calc also documents REPT for repeated text. Multi-argument punctuation varies by locale; do not paste comma-separated Excel formulas into the English Calligra interface without checking separators.

Special Unicode glyphs may have different displayed widths between fonts and products, and large strings or newline-containing inputs can behave differently in layout even if the text sequence is correct. No full character rendering/normalization equivalence is claimed.

The KDE REPT function entry is the primary reference. LEN measures the character count of repeated text, CONCATENATE joins pieces of text, and IF can guard negative counts. Those links lead to the official KDE documentation.

Primary and compatibility references (accessed 2026-10-11)

• KDE official REPT help: parameter order, integer count, empty text at zero and negative-count prohibition.
• Pinned Calligra 26.08.2 registration: two required parameters, primary name with no alternate alias.
• Pinned func_rept implementation: integer conversion, negative count error, repeated append.
• KDE Gear 26.08.2 announcement: version/date identity.
• Excel REPT official specification: syntax, fractional-count handling and Excel-only length cap.
• LibreOffice Calc text functions: comparable text tools.

Validation statement: Official Calligra handbook, pinned source and independent literal-string examples only. Native Calligra runs: none.