SCAN
Unsupported (not recognized)Category: Logical · Last tested 2026-08-29
Real compatibility results for the SCAN function: executed in Google Sheets and LibreOffice Calc, with desktop Excel behavior from Microsoft’s official documentation (we do not run desktop Excel — Excel for the web is a different application and is executed separately). Syntax and links to that documentation are below.
Support matrix
| Engine | Documented | Live-tested | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Excel (desktop) | Yes | No — documented only | n/a |
| Excel for the web | — | No — file could not be opened | n/a |
| Google Sheets | Yes | Yes (Drive import, 2026-08-29) | Supported, behaves as documented |
| LibreOffice Calc | No | Yes (25.8.7.3, 2026-07-29) | Unsupported (not recognized) |
LibreOffice version history
We executed the same test cases under each LibreOffice release to show exactly when SCAN’s support changed — not documentation claims, real results.
| LibreOffice version | Verdict | Tested |
|---|---|---|
| 24.2.0.3 | Unsupported (not recognized) | 2026-08-29 |
| 24.8.7.2 | Unsupported (not recognized) | 2026-08-29 |
| 25.2.0.3 | Unsupported (not recognized) | 2026-08-29 |
| 25.8.7.3 | Unsupported (not recognized) | 2026-07-29 |
Why isn't SCAN working in LibreOffice?
LibreOffice Calc does not implement SCAN as of 25.8.7.3 — in our
executed tests it returns a #NAME? (unrecognized function) error. This is not a typo or a
settings problem, and saving the file as .xlsx does not change it: the function simply isn’t
available yet.
The same formula is documented for Excel, and we executed it successfully in Google Sheets on 2026-08-29.
Watch the LibreOffice version support page —
we re-run every test on each new release, so it will flip to Supported here as soon as it lands.
.xlsx to OneDrive and opening it, and its file-open refuses any workbook whose stored formulas carry the _xlpm./LAMBDA storage serialization (“Couldn’t Open the Workbook”, no cell-level diagnostic). Proven by bisect: a probe workbook containing only MAP/MAKEARRAY/REDUCE/SCAN was refused on its own. Desktop Excel implements SCAN — it is Microsoft’s own function — and LibreOffice’s executed verdict for it is published below. What we cannot do is carry it into the web engine to measure, so no Excel-for-the-web verdict is drawn. The irony is the finding: Excel for the web will not open a file containing Excel’s own LAMBDA-family storage serialization.
Discovered quirks
-
=SCAN(0,A1:A3,LAMBDA(a,b,a+b)) on
LibreOffice Calc returned
#NAME?, but the documented/expected
result is {1, 3, 6}.
Provenance
MISMATCH vs expected: value mismatch: expected 1, got '#NAME?'
Executed test cases
Google Sheets (executed 2026-08-29 via Drive import)
Google Sheets is a rolling service with no pinnable version, so this run is identified by its date. The corpus was imported to Drive as .xlsx, recalculated by Sheets, and exported back for readback.
| Formula | Description | Result | Expected | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =SCAN(0,A1:A3,LAMBDA(a,b,a+b)) | Running accumulation across a range | {1, 3.0, 6.0} | {1, 3, 6} | Matched |
LibreOffice Calc 25.8.7.3 (tested 2026-07-29)
| Formula | Description | Result | Expected | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| =SCAN(0,A1:A3,LAMBDA(a,b,a+b)) | Running accumulation across a range | {#NAME?, #NAME?, #NAME?} | {1, 3, 6} | Mismatch |
Docs & syntax
- Excel (desktop): official documentation
- Google Sheets: official documentation
Where SCAN behaves differently
- Which LibreOffice version for VSTACK, TEXTSPLIT, TAKE & DROP?
VSTACK, HSTACK, TEXTSPLIT, TAKE and DROP return #NAME? in LibreOffice 24.2, 24.8 and 25.2 - our executed runs show all fourteen working only from 25.8.7.3. Full version map by wave. - LAMBDA, MAP & SCAN: Excel vs LibreOffice
Excel evaluates LAMBDA(x,x*2)(5) as 10; LibreOffice returns #VALUE! for inline lambdas and #NAME? for MAP, SCAN and REDUCE. What breaks and how to rewrite it.