In the current org mode version (release_9.1.13), when a named cell
formula is stored using C-u C-c =, the #+TBLFM line stores the name of
the cell *without* a prefix $ sign, as in the following table (notice
that in the #+TBLFM row, there is no $ sign before the 'sum' variable):
| | c |
|---+-----|
| | 3 |
| | 10 |
|---+-----|
| # | 14 |
| ^ | sum |
|---+-----|
#+TBLFM: sum=vsum(@-II$0..@-I$0)
With this convention, pressing TAB in the row after making a change in
the table does not update the field referred to by $sum, contrary to
what is said in the manual.
However, if I manually add a prefix $ to the variable sum in the #+TBLFM
row (as in the table below), then TAB update work as described in the
manual (notice the $sum variable in the #+TBLFM row):
| | c |
|---+-----|
| | 3 |
| | 12 |
|---+-----|
| # | 15 |
| ^ | sum |
|---+-----|
#+TBLFM: $sum=vsum(@-II$0..@-I$0)
A fix is to ensure that if the LHS of a field formula being inserted is
a field name rather than a numerical reference, then a '$' should be
prefixed to it. I have the following patch that implements this:
diff --git a/lisp/org-table.el b/lisp/org-table.el
--- a/lisp/org-table.el
+++ b/lisp/org-table.el
@@ -2301,7 +2301,13 @@ LOCATION instead."
(org-indent-line)
(insert (or (match-string 2) "#+TBLFM:")))
(insert " "
- (mapconcat (lambda (x) (concat (car x) "=" (cdr x)))
+ (mapconcat (lambda (x)
+ (let* ((name (car x))
+ (first (substring-no-properties name 0 1))
+ (test (or (string= first "@") (string= first
"$")))
+ )
+ (concat (if test name (concat "$" name))
+ "=" (cdr x))))
(sort alist #'org-table-formula-less-p)
"::")
"\n"))))
What this patch does is the following: if the reference being inserted
does not begin with an '@' or a '$', then it is assumed to be a named
reference, and a '$' is prefixed to it. This will work *provided* no
named references themselves start with a '$'.
I am happy to assign copyright for the patch, if that is needed and if
the patch if found suitable, for it to be included in org-mode code.
Thanks,
-- Piyush.
Emacs : GNU Emacs 25.3.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu, GTK+ Version 3.22.26)
of 2018-02-09
Package: Org mode version 9.1.13 (release_9.1.13)
