CELL Function (OpenOffice Calc)

• Introduced: First release not established; documented by OpenOffice.org 3.3.
• Supported in: Apache OpenOffice 4.1.16; no final supported release is established.
• Scope: English desktop Calc, semicolon-separated formulas and local workbook references.
• Checked: October 14, 2026. Eight examples were recalculated in 4.1.16 on Linux x86-64, Build9816. Generated-ODF identities, saved results and controls were checked; no manual-entry or different-release test is claimed.

CELL returns information selected by a text keyword. Its result can be numeric or text, depending on the keyword and target cell. For example, row and column are one-based positions, while type is a short text classification. It does not return every property in a single object. Release implementation.

CELL("InfoType" [; Reference])

InfoType is a quoted keyword such as "row", "col", "contents", "type" or "sheet". Reference is optional. In the inspected implementation, omission uses the position of the formula cell itself; it is not a request to follow whichever cell the user later selects. Specify a single-cell reference for a reproducible check.

On the first sheet, Reference, enter numeric 10 in H2 and the text label in H3, and leave H4 genuinely empty. Add Inputs as the second sheet and Archive as the third; Inputs.A1 contains numeric 20. The formulas below are on Reference.

All eight formulas were recalculated. Quotation marks identify text results; unquoted #N/A identifies an error. Logical tests in the explicitly number-formatted output cells are shown as 1/0. Reference expectations follow the inspected callback, workbook structure and ordinary arithmetic.

To inspect an imported field without changing it, place =CELL("contents";H2) beside H2. It returns numeric 10 in this setup. The same keyword applied to H3 returns the text “label”. Those are different value types even if a spreadsheet’s cell formatting makes both look like ordinary labels.

Use =CELL("type";H2) to obtain "v", =CELL("type";H3) for "l", and =CELL("type";H4) for "b". The returned letters mean value, label and blank in the inspected branches. Keep the original cell alongside the inspection result so that a copied diagnostic does not replace the data it describes.

H2 is on row 2 and column H, which is column 8. These independent position checks explain the first two results. =CELL("sheet";Inputs.A1) returns 2 because Inputs is second in the test workbook, not because of the number stored in A1.

The contents branch retrieves the unformatted numeric or text content. A displayed currency symbol or decimal format is not part of a numeric value retrieved by this branch. The type branch is also not a formula detector: use ISFORMULA when you need to distinguish a literal value from a formula with the same result.

The source contains additional keywords for address, filename and formatting information. Their presence does not extend this test to external files, operating-system details or every locale-sensitive format. This guide’s executed coverage is deliberately the eight local properties shown.

Keywords are text and references are cell references: quoting both turns the second argument into something different. Use an explicit reference rather than relying on the optional default when formulas are moved or copied.

The reference resolver can also receive a range, but this guide does not claim a complete matrix of range-intersection behavior. Unknown keywords, special formatting, protected-cell metadata and other locales were not executed. A successful property lookup should not be interpreted as validation of the business meaning of the target value.

ROW, COLUMN, ISBLANK.

• Function-specific implementation
• Release function description and argument metadata
• English function identity
• Formula-cell test

The generated ODF was opened in the native GUI, hard-recalculated and saved separately. The informational “Not all attributes could be read” load warning was retained. A deliberately stale SUM cache refreshed to 3, and an uncached SUM returned 7. The exact local inputs, sheet order, formula identities and saved values were reconciled. The authoring-tool XLSX and its previews were not used as native calculation evidence. Only the listed cases and release are covered.