Center report headings without merging in FreeOffice PlanMaker

Quick answer

Use Center across columns, not Merge cells, to place a heading visually over a report while retaining separate cell addresses. The heading belongs in the leftmost cell; the selected cells to its right must be empty.

This exercise targets FreeOffice PlanMaker 2024 for Windows, using its English ribbon. The FreeOffice feature list explicitly lists this alignment feature. The FreeOffice manual, pages 209–210, documents the dialog and its empty-cell requirement. These are FreeOffice-specific sources, not evidence borrowed from paid PlanMaker 2026. We have not run this workflow in the application, verified an installed build or captured a native screenshot.

Make a small report with an empty title band

Start with a disposable workbook. Enter Quarterly sample in A1. Leave B1:D1 genuinely empty, rather than typing spaces or formulas returning empty text. Enter Keep this note in F1, outside the title band. Leave row 2 empty.

Enter this report beginning at A3:

Row	A: Item	B: Quantity	C: Unit price	D: Amount
3	Item	Quantity	Unit price	Amount
4	Notebooks	3	4	=B4*C4
5	Folders	2	5	=B5*C5
6	Labels	5	2	=B6*C6
7	Total	leave empty	leave empty	=SUM(D4:D6)

Type the formulas without Markdown backticks. “Leave empty” is an instruction, not cell content. The three amounts should be 12, 10 and 10, giving a total of 32. Widen A:D enough to read their headers. Keep the heading row separate from the records so that later data operations do not treat it as a record.

Save this input workbook as heading-inputs.pmdx, then use Save As to make heading-working.pmdx. Keep the input copy unchanged.

Apply the alignment to the heading only

1. Inspect A1 and B1:D1 individually. A1 should contain the title and the other three cells should contain nothing. If this is not true, stop and preserve the unexpected content before proceeding.
2. Select A1:D1, not A1 alone, whole columns or the report body.
3. On Home, open the small group arrow at the bottom-right of Alignment. On the Alignment tab, set horizontal alignment to Center across columns and confirm the dialog.
4. Check that the heading is displayed over the selected four-column band. Click A1 and inspect its content. Then inspect B1, C1 and D1: the cells should remain separately selectable and empty. F1 should still contain Keep this note.

Do not substitute ordinary Centered alignment: that centers content within individual cells rather than across the band. Do not use Merge cells as a workaround. This exercise is specifically about alignment with separate cells.

Check content and calculation, not only appearance

Inspect all four results: D4=12, D5=10, D6=10 and D7=32. Read the formula text as well as the displayed values. The heading alignment should not change the report’s inputs or references.

Change B4 from 3 to 4. Expect D4=16 and D7=36, while D5 and D6 stay 10. Restore B4 to 3 and confirm D7 returns to 32. Separately change A1 to Quarterly supplies; the report should still total 32. Restore the original title afterward. These are expected results checked with independent arithmetic, not a claim of native application execution.

Keep F1 unchanged throughout. A correct total alone would not reveal an accidental edit to the outside note or the title band, so inspect those cells too.

Reverse the formatting and verify the saved copy

To remove the cross-column alignment, select A1:D1 again and choose Left horizontal alignment in the same dialog. The title should return to the left without moving its text out of A1 or populating B1:D1. Reapply Center across columns if that is the final presentation you want.

With B4 restored to 3 and the title restored, save the working copy. Close it and reopen that same file yourself. Recheck the alignment, separate addresses, empty B1:D1, F1 note, formulas and total 32. Save/reopen behavior has not been tested here; this check is part of your own acceptance of the finished workbook. Do not assume the same presentation survives export to another spreadsheet program without opening and inspecting the exported copy there.

Troubleshooting

• The title is not centered over the report: Confirm that A1:D1 was selected and that the horizontal option is Center across columns, not Centered. Check the intended band, including its column widths.
• Another title-band cell contains a note, space or formula: The documented method requires empty adjacent cells. Preserve meaningful content outside the intended band or choose a different heading location. Do not erase real report data just to make this example work.
• Individual cells are no longer separately selectable: Check whether merging was used accidentally. Return to the untouched input copy rather than experimenting on the only copy of a real report.
• The total changed after formatting: Inspect B4:C6 and the D4:D7 formulas. Alignment is not a calculation change; the mutation check distinguishes a genuine input edit from a presentation adjustment.
• The command or dialog differs: Confirm the edition, platform and interface mode. This guide does not certify paid PlanMaker 2026, classic menus, mobile or other desktop platforms.

For a separate workflow that intentionally changes several worksheets together, see editing matching monthly sheets in FreeOffice. Keep this title exercise on one sheet; grouped-sheet editing is not needed.