Sort Whole Records and Filter a Table in Collabora Online Calc

Sort every field of a record together, then hide unwanted records without deleting them. The exercise checks IDs and totals so a plausible-looking but damaged sort is detectable.

Before you start: version and deployment gate

Collabora Online Calc in an English desktop browser using the compact menu interface; documentary baseline is co-25.04 branch snapshot 3847fbcfe35a234544cf163ed9e004a3d197337c. Actual deployed build, dialogs, save behavior and native screenshots remain unverified.

This is a documentation-supported practice and acceptance recipe, not a report of a successful native run. Record the server build from Help → About, the storage host, browser and interface before proceeding. The pinned Online menu source and English command labels establish the compact-menu entry points below; they do not prove that every host exposes them or that the server implements every dialog field. Online’s compact menu is still a browser interface, not Collabora Office Classic. Do not substitute desktop instructions when a control is absent.

Use a new private, disposable ODS workbook that you are permitted to edit. Opening or creating it is a storage-host operation: this guide cannot name a universal Nextcloud, ownCloud or other host button. Do not practice in a shared production file. If you cannot identify the host file and edit permissions, stop. Finish each cell entry with Enter before invoking another operation.

Enter the complete record table

On Sheet1 enter the following cells. Row 1 is the header; rows 2–7 are the six records. There must be no blank separator rows, merged cells or totals inside A1:D7.

Row	A: ID	B: Region	C: Units	D: Amount
1	ID	Region	Units	Amount
2	R01	West	4	40
3	R02	East	3	30
4	R03	West	7	70
5	R04	East	5	50
6	R05	North	2	20
7	R06	East	3	35

Enter =SUM(C2:C7) in F2 and =SUM(D2:D7) in G2. Expect 24 and 245. These are all-record totals, not visible-row totals. Keep the original ID-to-values pairs as your integrity ledger.

Sort the entire rectangle

1. Select A1:D7 explicitly with the address box. Select Data → Sort…. Do not select only the Region column or use an unexplained expansion prompt.
2. The exact deployed sort dialog still needs native verification. Proceed only if it exposes row-oriented sorting, a header-row setting and multiple keys. Set the header option so row 1 stays fixed; set Region ascending, Units descending, then ID ascending. If those fields cannot be identified, cancel and record the missing control rather than improvising a desktop route.
3. Apply once and inspect every field. The expected ID order is R04, R02, R06, R05, R03, R01. R02 must still be East/3/30, while R06 is East/3/35. Both totals stay 24 and 245.
4. If the header moved, or IDs no longer match their values, stop. In a fresh copy restore the exact fixture before repeating; a correct total alone cannot detect mismatched fields.

Filter, change a visible record and grow the source

Select A1:D7 and choose Data → AutoFilter. The upstream Online browser test confirms this menu entry and a checkbox-based popup. It also contains skipped cases; reading it is not running it. Open Region’s header dropdown, clear the value selections and retain only East, then confirm. The expected visible IDs, in their current order, are R04, R02, R06. Their Units total is 11 and their Amount total is 115. The SUM cells remain 24 and 245 because filtering does not remove the records from those formulas.

Change the Amount belonging to R06 from 35 to 45 by locating its ID, not by assuming its old row. The East visible amount becomes 125 and G2 becomes 255. Clear the Region condition by selecting every value in that dropdown; verify all six records return before continuing.

Append R07 / East / 6 / 60 in A8:D8. Explicitly update F2 to =SUM(C2:C8) and G2 to =SUM(D2:D8): expect 30 and 315. Inspect the filter coverage. If row 8 is outside it, remove the old AutoFilter with the original rectangle selected and apply AutoFilter to A1:D8; do not assume expansion. Reapply the same three-key sort to A1:D8 with row 1 excluded as a header. The expected IDs are R07, R04, R02, R06, R05, R03, R01. Filter East again: four IDs, 17 units and 185 amount. Clear that condition before the final save, leaving seven visible records and the 30/315 totals.

Troubleshooting and shared work

A missing value in the popup can mean an excluded source row, an existing second-column condition or text that differs by spaces. Inspect all conditions before changing data. Numbers stored as text can sort differently; inspect the formula bar and normalize inputs only in the disposable copy. There is no need to define a Classic database range as a prerequisite here.

For shared work, first read personal Sheet View limits. This private-table exercise makes no claim that ordinary sorts or filters are isolated from other editors. Named ranges are a different feature, not proof of automatic filter expansion.

Save the completed result and check it again

Before the final save, choose or confirm the workbook filename Sort-filter-final.ods using a host-supported naming operation, or record the actual existing ODS filename if renaming is unavailable. Record that filename, its authorized host folder/location and stable file identity or URL locally; keep access tokens private. A filename alone does not identify a unique file. Commit the last cell edit. Use File → Save if your host exposes it, then wait for the host/editor’s acknowledged save state. Save can be hidden by the integration; an icon changing or a completed download alone does not establish persistence. Close only after acknowledgement, reopen the exact recorded host object from that location. Verify its filename and stable identity, then compare the stated final ledger before creating any reset copy. Record the observed values and any warning. A failed reopen check is a failed acceptance test.

Keep this completed workbook unchanged. For optional resets or alternate cases, make a separately named copy using a host-supported copy operation, confirm its independent identity, and re-enter the exact starting fixture there. Do not rely on Undo after reopening. This walkthrough has not been executed in Online; expected results, source inspection and independent arithmetic do not certify UI behavior or file preservation. No native screenshot is included because none was captured for this fixture.