How to prevent OpenOffice/LibreOffice Calc from changing what you input (data, numbers,…)

Question

Basically, I want LibreOffice Calc to do what I tell it, not what it wants.

For example:

• when I input 1.1.12, I want to have 1.1.12 in that cell, not 01.

Answer 1

I initially arrived at this page with a very similar (but not identical) problem. I am posting the solution here for the benefit of those who might be visiting with the same issue.

Every time I would save, close, and then re-open my .XSLX spreadsheet in OpenOffice, it would delete the spaces I had entered in between text. For example:

• "Did not attend" would become "Didnotattend".
• "John DOE" would become "JohnDOE", etc.

Specifying "text" (@) as the format (as recommended above) did not help me, unfortunately.

What ultimately did solve it was saving it as an .ODS file instead of .XSLX .