ROUND Function (OpenOffice Calc)
The ROUND function in OpenOffice Calc rounds a number to a specified number of decimal places. Learn syntax, examples, rounding rules, common errors, and best practices.
Compatibility
▾| Excel | ✔ |
| Gnumeric | ✔ |
| Google_sheets | ✔ |
| Libreoffice | ✔ |
| Numbers | ✔ |
| Onlyoffice | ✔ |
| Openoffice | ✔ |
| Wps | ✔ |
| Zoho | ✔ |
What the ROUND Function Does ▾
- Rounds numbers to a specified number of decimal places
- Supports rounding to the left or right of the decimal
- Uses standard rounding rules (5 rounds up)
- Works with positive, negative, and zero decimal places
- Handles large datasets efficiently
- Ideal for financial, statistical, and engineering calculations
ROUND is the foundation of precision control in spreadsheets.
Syntax ▾
ROUND(number; decimals)
Arguments:
- number — The value to round
- decimals — The number of decimal places to round to
Use positive decimals to round to the right of the decimal point,
zero to round to whole numbers,
and negative decimals to round to tens, hundreds, thousands, etc.
zero to round to whole numbers,
and negative decimals to round to tens, hundreds, thousands, etc.
Rounding Rules ▾
OpenOffice Calc uses standard rounding:
- If the next digit is 5 or greater, round up
- If the next digit is 4 or less, round down
Examples:
ROUND(2.45; 1)→ 2.5ROUND(2.44; 1)→ 2.4
Basic Examples ▾
Round to 2 decimal places
=ROUND(3.14159; 2)
Result: 3.14
Round to the nearest whole number
=ROUND(7.8; 0)
Result: 8
Round to the nearest 10
=ROUND(123; -1)
Result: 120
Round to the nearest 100
=ROUND(987; -2)
Result: 1000
Round a negative number
=ROUND(-7.25; 1)
Result: -7.3
Advanced Examples ▾
Round values in a range (array formula)
=ROUND(A1:A10; 2)
Confirm with Ctrl+Shift+Enter.
Round currency values
=ROUND(A1; 2)
Round time values
=ROUND(A1; 4)
(Time values are stored as fractions of a day.)
Round using a cell reference for decimals
=ROUND(A1; B1)
If B1 contains 3, the number is rounded to 3 decimals.
Round to the nearest thousand
=ROUND(A1; -3)
Round scientific measurements
=ROUND(A1; -1)
Useful for significant‑figure style rounding.
Round before aggregation
=SUM(ROUND(A1:A10; 2))
Confirm with Ctrl+Shift+Enter.
Common Errors and Fixes ▾
ROUND returns unexpected values
Possible causes:
- Negative decimals misunderstood
- Text numbers not converted to numeric
- Floating‑point precision issues
ROUND returns Err:502 (Invalid argument)
Occurs when:
decimalsis not numeric- A malformed reference is used
ROUND returns Err:508 (Missing parenthesis)
Usually caused by:
- Missing
) - Using commas instead of semicolons
Rounding appears inconsistent
This is usually due to:
- Cell formatting showing fewer decimals than the actual value
- Floating‑point binary representation
Fix:
Use Tools → Options → OpenOffice Calc → Calculate to adjust precision settings.
Best Practices ▾
- Use ROUND for financial calculations to avoid floating‑point errors
- Use negative decimals to round to tens, hundreds, thousands
- Use ROUNDUP or ROUNDDOWN for directional rounding
- Avoid relying on cell formatting alone for precision
- Use named ranges for cleaner formulas
- Round before summing when precision matters
If you need to round up or down consistently, use
ROUNDUP or ROUNDDOWN instead of ROUND.