TYPE in Collabora Office: Inspect Collabora Value and Formula Type Codes
Use Collabora TYPE to distinguish stored numbers, text, formulas and errors, including its product-specific reference behavior.
Verification status: See the evidence and test scope described in this guide. How formula examples are checked
Quick answer: when A2 contains the formula =6*7, the corroborating Collabora source classifies =TYPE(A2) as 8, meaning a formula cell. This differs from simply classifying its displayed numeric result.
Syntax and documented codes
=TYPE(Value)
The dedicated Collabora help lists codes 1 number, 2 text, 4 Boolean, 8 formula, 16 error and 64 array. Supply the value or reference whose category is required. TYPE returns the numeric category code, not a description string.
The distinction between a direct expression and a reference is important in this product. Current source inspects the stored cell type for references: an ordinary formula cell is code 8 unless it contains an error, in which case it is code 16. A direct evaluated numeric expression takes the numeric path instead.
These reference-specific details come from the current Collabora engine source and are explicitly source expectations, not native desktop 26.04 observations.
Example 1: compare stored numbers, text and formulas
Enter a literal 42 in A2. Enter ‘42 in A3 using Calc’s leading apostrophe to store text. Put =6*7 in A4 and ="Ready" in A5. In B2 enter =TYPE(A2) and fill through B5.
The independent source-model targets are 1, 2, 8 and 8. A2 and A4 may both display 42, but their storage categories differ. A3 contains numeric-looking text; the marker used during entry is not part of that text value.
Do not interpret code 8 as evidence that the formula result is nonnumeric. It says this reference points to a formula cell. A separate result-type question needs an appropriate predicate or an explicitly evaluated expression.
Example 2: compare direct expressions and cell references
=TYPE(42) and =TYPE(6*7) have source-model target 1. =TYPE("42") has 2. These examples classify direct values rather than inspect a referenced cell’s storage category.
If A4 contains =67, TYPE(A4) remains 8 under the inspected reference path, while the direct arithmetic expression TYPE(67) takes code 1. Copying a formula from a product that only reports the result type can therefore produce a surprising but documented category here.
Advanced application: identify formula errors separately
Put =1/0 in A6. =TYPE(A6) has source-model target 16, not 8. The source tests the referenced error state before returning the ordinary formula category.
For a genuinely empty A7, TYPE(A7) has source-model target 1. That does not mean the cell contains an intentionally entered numeric zero. TYPE is not a substitute for an emptiness test or a completeness check.
Likewise, a formula returning zero-length text is still a formula cell under this reference path. A visually blank display can therefore correspond to a different storage category from a genuinely empty cell.
Advanced application: produce readable audit labels
For B2:B7 containing the type codes, use =IF(B2=8;"Formula";IF(B2=16;"Error";IF(B2=2;"Text";"Other"))) in C2 and fill down. The six-row source-model labels are Other, Text, Formula, Formula, Error and Other.
The fallback Other is intentional: this short classifier does not cover every documented category. Do not label every unrecognized code Numeric, because codes 4 and 64 have separate meanings.
The source identifies Boolean-format stored numeric cells as code 4, whereas direct evaluated Boolean numbers use a different stack path. This guide does not promise a uniform code 4 for every formula or expression that displays TRUE or FALSE.
Errors and troubleshooting
TYPE reports a classification; it does not convert text into a number, repair an error or validate a formula’s logic. Arrays have their own code and execution path, so a range reference should not be assumed equivalent to an array value in every context.
Retain the original cells when auditing imported data. Display formatting, storage category and the result of a formula are distinct facts. The detailed controls here follow the cited source; localized error presentation, every array coercion and native round-trip behavior remain unverified.
Availability and verification
The exact function is documented in Collabora Office 26.04 desktop help. This function’s cited help snapshot was retrieved on 2026-10-13 and hash-verified on October 15, 2026. Desktop documentation does not establish Online or mobile support. First introduction and last functioning release are unknown in this evidence.
No native Collabora Office execution occurred. Worked results are independent logical, calendar, structural or mathematical expectations. Formulas use English names and semicolon argument separators.
Implementation details are corroborated by Collabora current source, retrieved October 15, 2026. This moving-main snapshot is not a pinned 26.04 binary or an application test.