Fill Numeric and Date Series in Calligra Sheets

Generate a small dispatch schedule with numeric, date and geometric sequences. Custom-list creation and reuse are a separate compatibility check: a missing signal connection in the inspected 26.08.2 source prevents us from promising that the displayed list editor actually saves a new list.

Scope and preparation

This is a documentation-and-source-reviewed exercise for Calligra Sheets on Linux/KDE, using English labels from the 26.08.2 source. The KDE handbook still carries a 2013-03-11 revision; its KF6 URL does not prove that every screenshot or instruction describes a current build. No native application run or screenshot is claimed here. Check your version in Help → About Calligra Sheets. If a specified control is absent, stop that branch and retain the checkpoint; do not substitute another spreadsheet’s controls.

Use a new disposable workbook and save in OpenDocument Spreadsheet (.ods) format. Enter each table cell individually to avoid clipboard import ambiguities. The expected numbers below are independently calculated targets, not observed application results.

Build the starting cells

Cell	Enter
A1	Dispatch ID
A2	100
A3	110
B1	Date
B2	=DATE(2026;11;2)
C1	Stage
E1	Geometric check

The formula uses semicolons. If your locale expects a different separator, use the formula editor’s local syntax. Format B2 as Date through Format → Cell Format… → Data Format and confirm it denotes 2 November 2026, regardless of display order. Save dispatch-series-base.ods.

Fill and inspect a numeric sequence

1. Select A2:A3 together. Drag the small square at the selection’s lower-right corner down through A6, then release.
2. Expected A2:A6: 100, 110, 120, 130, 140. The rule is 100+10×n for n=0…4.
3. If you get repeated pairs or another pattern, stop and restore A2:A6 manually to the expected numbers before continuing. Confirm that you dragged the fill handle, not the selection border. A wrong pattern is a failed local feature check, not a successful fill.
4. To test a changed step, use G2 100 and G3 125. Select G2:G3 and drag to G6. Expected G2:G6: 100, 125, 150, 175, 200. Keep this separate from the completed dispatch IDs.

Fill dates without typing ambiguous date strings

First convert the DATE formula into a value: copy B2, select B2 again, open Edit → Special Paste…, choose Result and Overwrite, and click Paste once. The dialog closes; inspect B2’s input line to confirm that the formula is gone. Reapply Date format if needed and check 2 November 2026. This matters because the reviewed autofill code handles formulas before date values.

Select B2 alone and drag its fill handle to B6. Expected dates are 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 November 2026. In H2 enter =B6-B2; expected 4 verifies the four-day interval. Set H2 to a numeric format if it inherited date formatting.

If the cells repeat one date, remain text, or step incorrectly, restore B2 with the original DATE formula, repeat the Result/Overwrite conversion, and inspect the Date format before retrying. Do not reinterpret a string such as 02/11/2026 without knowing the locale. These are consecutive calendar days, not a business-day calendar.

Keep a known stage sequence

Enter C2:C6 individually as Practice-Pack, Practice-Check, Practice-Ship, Practice-Pack, Practice-Check. These five cells are a manual reference sequence, not evidence that custom autofill works. Keep I2:I5 empty for the optional compatibility check after saving the completed workbook.

Use the explicit Series dialog for growth

Select E2, choose Insert → Series…, then choose Vertical and Geometric. Set Start value to 3, Stop value to 48, and Step value to 2. Click Insert Series once and close. Expected E2:E6: 3, 6, 12, 24, 48. The step is a multiplier here; doubling five times would overshoot to 96. Inspect E7 and confirm no overshoot value was added.

For dispatch growth, select A5:A6 and drag to A8; expect A7 150, A8 160. Select B6 and drag to B8; expect 7 and 8 November 2026. Enter C7 Practice-Ship and C8 Practice-Pack manually. H2 remains 4 because its formula still ends at B6; enter =B8-B2 in H3 for the expanded interval 6.

Save dispatch-series-final.ods, close and reopen. Verify all seven dispatch rows and the geometric endpoint. Keep the completed workbook unchanged during the optional test below.

Optional custom-list compatibility probe

After saving and reopening the final, use Save As to create dispatch-series-list-test.ods. The older handbook documents Tools → Custom Lists, and 26.08.2 contains the dialog and a configuration writer. However, its dialog factory does not connect the dialog’s save signal to that writer. Until a native run on your actual package confirms the full lifecycle, creation, reuse and persistence remain on hold. A vendor-patched build may differ.

1. Open Tools → Custom Lists… and inspect existing entries. Do not modify them. If the exact three-entry practice list already exists, use it only for the reuse test and do not remove it afterward.
2. Otherwise click New and type Practice-Pack, Practice-Check, Practice-Ship on three separate lines in Entry. Click Add so Entry becomes empty and the new list appears in List. Click Save Changes, then Close.
3. Reopen Custom Lists…. If the list has disappeared, record this failed persistence check and stop the custom-list branch. Merely seeing it before closing does not establish that it was saved. Close the dialog.
4. Only if it persists, enter Practice-Check in I2 and drag to I5. The target is Practice-Check, Practice-Ship, Practice-Pack, Practice-Check. If the text repeats instead, stop and retain the manual stage sequence. Do not count a manually repaired result as a passed autofill test.
5. If reuse succeeds, save the test copy, close/reopen the application and check the list again. Record the exact package/build alongside the result. The configuration writer targets application settings, so a workbook alone is not proof of list portability.

For cleanup, remove only a practice list you created in this probe: select it in Custom Lists, click Remove, confirm, then Save Changes and Close. Reopen the dialog to verify removal. If removal does not persist, leave existing entries untouched and record the limitation. This configuration change is not confined to the test workbook. Reopening the original workbook will not reset application settings.

For an ordinary worksheet reset, reopen dispatch-series-base.ods and make a separately named working copy. Recover an incorrect fill by restoring the explicit seeds and repeating the documented branch. No Undo after reopening is required. For formula copying, see absolute and relative references.

Download the cell-entry checklist (CSV with cell addresses and entries; a reading/checking aid, not an import-ready worksheet). All starting inputs are also printed above.

Sources and verification boundary

• KDE handbook: hardsums.
• KDE handbook: formatspread.
• Calligra 26.08.2 official source archive: dialog controls, menu registration and implementation inspected.

Native Qt6 execution, save/reopen persistence and matching screenshots are still pending. No screenshot of another task is presented as evidence for this exercise.