REPT Function (LibreOffice Calc)

• Repeats a text string N times
• Useful for padding and alignment
• Useful for bar charts and progress indicators
• Works with text, numbers (converted to text), and formulas
• Supports dynamic repetition counts

It is designed to be simple, flexible, and surprisingly powerful.

REPT(text; number_times)

Arguments

• text:
  The text string to repeat.

• number_times:
  The number of repetitions (must be ≥ 0).

Repeat a character 5 times

=REPT("*"; 5)

Returns "*****".

Repeat a word

=REPT("Hi "; 3)

Returns "Hi Hi Hi ".

Repeat a number (converted to text)

=REPT(7; 4)

Returns "7777".

Repeat a space for padding

=REPT(" "; 10)

Create a simple bar chart

=REPT("█"; A1)

Create a progress bar (0–100%)

=REPT("█"; A1/10)

(Assumes A1 is 0–100.)

Create a fixed-width padded label

=CONCAT(A1; REPT(" "; 20 - LEN(A1)))

Create a left-padded number

=CONCAT(REPT("0"; 5 - LEN(A1)); A1)

Create a rating indicator

=CONCAT(REPT("★"; A1); REPT("☆"; 5 - A1))

Create a visual heat bar

=REPT("▓"; ROUND(A1 * 10))

Create a dotted leader for tables

=CONCAT(A1; REPT(". "; 30 - LEN(A1)); B1)

Create indentation

=CONCAT(REPT(" "; B1); A1)

Create a histogram row

=REPT("|"; A1)

Create a bullet list with indentation

=CONCAT(REPT(" "; B1 * 2); "• "; A1)

Create a dynamic underline

=REPT("─"; LEN(A1))

Create a masked string

=REPT("*"; LEN(A1))

number_times < 0 → Err:502

=REPT("A"; -1)

number_times = 0 → returns empty string

=REPT("A"; 0) → ""

number_times is fractional → truncated

=REPT("A"; 3.9) → "AAA"

text is empty → returns empty string

=REPT(""); 10 → ""

text is a number → converted to text

=REPT(5; 3) → "555"

REPT of an error propagates the error

=REPT(#N/A; 3) → #N/A

Maximum output length

LibreOffice limits cell text length (~1M characters).
REPT may return Err:512 if exceeded.

REPT does not trim or clean text

Use TRIM or CLEAN if needed.

• Use REPT for padding, alignment, and fixed-width formatting
• Use REPT for lightweight bar charts and indicators
• Combine with LEN for dynamic padding
• Combine with CONCAT/TEXTJOIN for structured output
• Use REPT with TRIM/CLEAN for clean visualization
• Use REPT for masking and obfuscation

• Use CONCAT and TEXTJOIN for assembly
• Use LEFT, RIGHT, MID for extraction
• Use SUBSTITUTE and REPLACE for editing
• Use LEN for dynamic repetition logic
• Use TRIM and CLEAN for normalization

By mastering REPT and its companion functions, you can build expressive, structured, and visually rich text‑based workflows in LibreOffice Calc.