IMREAL in Collabora Office: Extract Real Coordinates without Losing the Other Component
Inspect real coefficients in Collabora Calc, check complete reconstruction and show why real parts alone cannot verify complex products.
Verification status: See the evidence and test scope described in this guide. How formula examples are checked
Quick answer: IMREAL returns a complex value’s real coefficient. =IMREAL("6+8j") has independently expected numeric result 6, while the complete value’s magnitude is ten.
Availability and version history
- Introduced: the original Collabora release and launch date are not established by the reviewed sources.
- Availability: documented in Collabora Office 26.04 desktop help.
- Platform scope: online and mobile deployment support is not inferred from the desktop documentation.
- Checked: October 14, 2026. Function-specific documentation and independent controls; no native Collabora execution.
Syntax and input scope
=IMREAL("ComplexNumber")
The source describes complex text in x+yi or x+yj form. A cell containing such a value can be referenced instead of typing the string in a formula. The result is the real coordinate, including its sign.
Collabora’s explicit control =IMREAL("1+3j") returns one. The dedicated section does not specify a complete blank, Boolean, numeric-only or malformed-input conversion policy. The examples therefore use explicit valid complex text or values constructed with COMPLEX.
A zero real coefficient does not imply the whole value is zero. The imaginary component may still be nonzero, so retain the original value when subsequent calculations need it.
Example 1: extract a numeric coordinate column
Enter only the first text column in A2:A5. Put =IMREAL(A2) in B2 and fill down.
| A, complex text | B, expected real coefficient |
|---|---|
| 6+8j | 6 |
| -3+4j | -3 |
| 2-5j | 2 |
| 0+7j | 0 |
The real coefficients sum to 5. =SUM(B2:B5) is ordinary numeric addition on the extracted coordinates, not an assumption that SUM processes arbitrary complex strings.
The last row has real part zero and imaginary part seven. It cannot be omitted from a complete complex report merely because B5 is zero.
Example 2: reconstruct both parts
In C2 enter =IMAGINARY(A2) and fill down. Expected imaginary coefficients are 8, 4, −5 and 7. In D2 use:
=COMPLEX(B2;C2;"j")
Fill through D5. The reconstructed quantities are 6+8j, −3+4j, 2−5j and 7j. The last may be written without the original redundant zero real term.
Check both =IMREAL(D2)=B2 and =IMAGINARY(D2)=C2 for each row. All are independently expected TRUE. This is quantity reconstruction; it does not guarantee preservation of every character in the original text.
Advanced example: real parts of a sum
The complete sum of A2:A5 has real coefficient 5 and imaginary coefficient 14. =IMREAL(IMSUM(A2:A5)) therefore has expected result 5, agreeing with the separate real-coordinate sum.
The Collabora IMSUM reference explicitly allows cell ranges of complex numbers. This fixture contains only valid complex text; blank and mixed-type range policies remain outside the detailed evidence.
For real weights two and three applied to the first two records, =2*B2+3*B3 gives 3. The corresponding weighted imaginary coefficient is 2×8+3×4=28. Knowing the real result alone would omit that other coordinate.
Advanced example: projection before multiplication loses information
For values 6+8j and 2−j, the product has real coefficient 6×2−8×(−1)=20. Thus:
=IMREAL(IMPRODUCT("6+8j";"2-j"))
has independently expected result 20. Multiplying the extracted real coefficients alone gives 6×2=12, missing the imaginary cross-term’s contribution.
IMPRODUCT performs the full complex operation. Treating complex multiplication as coordinatewise multiplication is a different calculation.
Same real coordinate, different values
The values 6+8j and 6−8j both have real coefficient six and magnitude ten, but their imaginary signs differ. A real-only comparison cannot distinguish them.
Similarly, 6+8j and 6+2j share their real coordinate but have different magnitudes. IMABS measures magnitude; neither extraction nor magnitude alone is a full identity check.
Verification limits
The examples use exact small coefficients and explicit strings. Native parsing of alternate suffix spellings, whitespace cleanup, numeric-only inputs, general ranges or errors is not certified by the short source.
When working with calculated approximate coefficients, use a stated tolerance rather than assuming a rounded display proves exact equality. The arithmetic here was independently calculated without native Collabora execution.
References and verification
Complete function-specific documentation reviewed. Outputs are independent complex-component models or explicit documented controls, not captured native application results. Formulas use English names and semicolon separators; optional-argument brackets describe syntax and are not typed into working formulas.