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Gnumeric · Statistical analysis · Beginner

Create Category Frequency Tables in Gnumeric

Count text categories with Gnumeric frequency analysis and avoid missing categories or accidental duplicate labels.

Official documentation reviewed; native application verification pending · Updated 10 October 2026 · Editorial standards

A categorical frequency table answers questions like “How many records were approved, pending, or rejected?” Unlike a histogram, it does not turn numbers into continuous intervals.

Download the practice data

Open categorical outcomes (CSV). The outcome column contains these eight text labels:

Pass
Fail
Pass
Pending
Pass
Fail
Pass
Fail

The expected counts are Pass = 4, Fail = 3, Pending = 1. Total: eight observations.

Count the categories in Gnumeric

  1. Import the CSV and check that the Outcome column contains text.
  2. Use the official Frequency analysis tool, rather than the numeric Histogram tool.
  3. Select the outcome input range and indicate whether the first row contains a label.
  4. Enter or select a separate list containing the categories you want to count: Pass, Fail, Pending.
  5. Enable Use exact comparisons when appropriate, then choose count output. Add a chart only if it aids interpretation.

Gnumeric’s official manual explains that its frequency tool relies on a specified category list; automatic categories were not implemented in the documented version. Verify that this remains the case in your installed release.

Common traps

  • A category disappears: it was omitted from the category list.
  • Totals do not add up: your category list contains duplicates, or some source labels don’t match any listed category.
  • Spaces cause separate counts: Pass and Pass are not necessarily equivalent. Clean text before analysis.
  • Using a histogram: that tool groups continuous numerical values, not status labels.

A manual cross-check is possible with COUNTIF, e.g. =COUNTIF(B2:B9,"Pass") when the imported outcomes are in B2:B9 (use a semicolon separator if required by your locale). See the COUNTIF guide.

Verification note: Counts are independently checked, but the tool’s live interface has not yet been tested.

Official source: Application handbook or manual. The steps follow the linked software documentation; the menus and results have not been independently tested in the current application.