nm, figured it out. My bad. Using wrong formula.

How about =ROUND((20*RAND()),0) ?
(^ actually a pretty good example of not how to do it, since it's from 0-20 and 0&20 are less likely than 1-19)

I had a quick look here: https://help.libreoffice.org/Calc/Mathematical_Functions#RAND

ah nvm

=RANDBETWEEN(1;20)

Darn, you ninja'd me answering your own question.

Now I'm curious... what was the original question? From the replies I assume it was something along the lines of how to get a random number between 1 and 20 and why what you tried didn't work... so what did you try yo begin with?

yeah, I figured that out and that's why I edited it.

But now here's the problem. In Excel, I could make a whole column of RANDBETWEEN numbers and they would recalc every time I hit the enter key. For example, I could place the cursor in a blank cell, and hit "Enter" five times, and all the random numbers in the column would change. So I could generate five columns of random numbers, sum them, copy and paste numbers only, and have one set of results, then just hit "enter" and have all the original random numbers regenerate, sum them, copy and paste numbers only, and compare the results. It was an easy and fast way to get for example a total of five die between 1 and 20 for player A, then hit "enter" and have a new total for player B, etc. etc.

When I hit "enter" in Libreoffice, nothing. I can't for the life of me get it to recalc, and I can't remember the recalc key (was it F-something in Excel???) and if I have to point to each cell individually and hit a recalc key that's going to turn the easy into unbearable.

I guess I'm going to have to break down and buy Excel again. I was using the wrong formula, RAND instead of RANDBETWEEN. I figured it out and edited my original text. But now I have a new problem. LOL

Well that's a sucky difference between Excel and LibreOffice then. I'm assuming the Ctrl+Shift+F9 will recalc ALL cells with that in them? I guess that's almost as easy as just hitting enter like I did in Excel.

Thanks for the help. I'm gonna give you the five points for helping so much even though my original question was stoooopid and I figured it out myself... LOL

Try =INT(RAND() * (20 - 1) + 1) for a volatile function.

Or =FLOOR(20*RAND())+1

There's nothing excel can do that calc can't do. Don't buy into Microsoft's piece of shit software. :)

It's alright, the CTRL+SHIFT+F9 works just as ENTER did in Excel, just as fast (ALL columns regenerate) that's just a touch more trouble (holding down two keys while striking a third instead of just striking a key). Not a big deal. I can live with that.

I only have to do this in between seasons (for this game) so it's not a biggie. FTR, I do an awful lot of my own "house rules" or whatever you want to call it with games and my old computer with excel on it had a lot of spreadsheets already made to do what I wanted for each game. Unfortunately that old PC died, and it has an old hard disk (not SATA) and so I'm just remaking them now as I play each game. Been a couple of years since I played FPS Football Pro 96. Still way better than Madden IMO (if you're just interested in coaching, Madden is definitely a better arcade game if you're interested in playing and taking control of your players).

Thanks again for all of your help. Sorry for the really dumb questions lately, but hey, I'm known for asking dumb questions often here. I have a reputation to keep up you know... LOL

The only dumb questions are the ones with no answer. You're welcome. :)

I don't think that will ever give a 20 will it? Because INT rounds down

Apologies for being stupidly pedantic :P

You're right. What Maighstir suggested will give 20 (=FLOOR(20*RAND())+1)

I was thinking that =CEILING(20*RAND()) might work, but realised that RAND() can give 0 (at least I think it's between 0 and 0.999...) and CEILING(20*0) is still 0, so FLOOR()+1 is the easiest for that result.