GNOME Bugzilla – Bug 407563
Allow to set decimal separator in Gnumeric preferences
Last modified: 2010-06-09 17:10:01 UTC
At least on linux, the setting of the decimal separator in Gnumeric is currently done at a system level. Unfortunately, there is no easy GUI dialog to configure these local properties on a standard gnome desktop. So it is difficult to change that for a beginner. Moreover, you may want to change the decimal setting only in Gnumeric and not in the other application. My proposition is put the decimal separator setting in Gnumeric settings. This will be particularly appreciated by non-US/GB users, that still want to use the dot as decimal separator for compatibility reasons.
We get this information from the LC_* environment variables. People with this kind of problem have until now simply written a 3-line shell script wrapper for Gnumeric.
Do you expect a "standard" person to write a shell script? I did not know Gnumeric was only for geeks. :-)
The "standard person" will use their locale conventions.
Well, actually no. If you are a french scientist, you will prefer using the dot, because a lot of data text file are international. So the question now: is a french scientist a standard person. :-)
For completeness sake: in the configurable text importer you can choose the source locale, so running in german locale with 'comma' as decimal separator I can easily open csv files with period as a decimal separator.
I know that. But when you do that tens of times a day, it quickly becomes boring to find the ASCI locale in the text import wizard... For example, a .tsv file can be opened directly in the file manager, without using the text importer. But only if you have the correct locale!
If I had to do that tens of times a day I would log in using the correct locale. (We use gdm for login which allows me to select locale information. I usually use en_ca with UTF encoding but if I want to use with decimal comma separator I just choose de_DE.) You wrote that "the setting of the decimal separator in Gnumeric is currently done at a system level." That is not correct, since your locale is easily set at the user level and includes the decimal separator information.
Sorry, I did not mean "system level", but rather "desktop level", by contrast to the application level. Having all your desktop in english just for the locale seems a bit strange to me, and users do not know that you can choose the locale when login in gdm. It is up to the gnumeric mainteners to decide, but because the configuration of the locale is rather messy at the moment on a gnome desktop, I really think it would be a plus to have something in Gnumeric...
Did you file an appropriate bug against the GNOME desktop? KDE easily allows you to change the decimal separator and then Gnumeric will do exactly as you like.
*** Bug 496400 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Bug 496400 wanted the option of having the document supply the locale information somehow. That's pretty much the same issue.
This is particualary messy in Windows version. Is there even any way to open gnumeric with specific locale in win environment? As an average swe-eng user I strongly agree that this should be included in gnumeric itself, the logical place too look for these settings are in the program, not in the DE.
*** Bug 603177 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
I think it has become quite clear that the Gnumeric developers will not implement this. There has been no patch forthcoming from any third party. SO de-facto this is already a WONTFIX.