Elementwise ops over a vertical range return a 1xN row instead of an Nx1 column (range half of #707)

[hhimanshu]

Summary

Elementwise operations over a vertical range lose column orientation: =A1:A3*2 (with A1:A3 vertical = 1,2,3) returns a 1×N row [[2,4,6]] instead of the N×1 column [[2],[4],[6]] Google Sheets produces — so it spills horizontally instead of down.

This is the range half of #707. The SEQUENCE/array-constructor half was fixed in #723; this range half was deliberately deferred because it's a larger change.

Why it's separate / harder

resolve_range (crates/workbook/src/recalc.rs) materializes every range as a flat row-major array, so a vertical range loses its orientation before core's eval ever sees it. A trial fix to make range materialization shape-aware broke 4 pinned conformance fixtures — AVERAGE(Data!A1:A3)→#DIV/0!, SUMIF(Data!A1:A3,">15")→0, AVERAGE(PRICES)→#DIV/0!, MAX(PRICES)→#REF! — because core's aggregation/criteria helpers (flatten_to_vec, etc.) flatten only one level of a nested array.

What the real fix needs

• Make range materialization shape-aware (a vertical range → N×1, horizontal → 1×N), AND
• Make the aggregation/criteria helpers (flatten_to_vec and friends) fully flatten nested arrays so AVERAGE/SUM/SUMIF/MAX/etc. over a range still work.
• Do it together so no fixture regresses.

Impact

=<vertical range> <op> <scalar> (e.g. =A1:A3*2, =A1:A3+1) spills horizontally instead of down, diverging from Sheets. Lower urgency than the SEQUENCE case (which #723 fixed and is the common one), but a real remaining divergence and the completion of #707.

Acceptance

• =A1:A3*2 over a vertical range returns an N×1 column (spills down).
• Aggregation/criteria over ranges (AVERAGE/SUM/SUMIF/MAX) unchanged — the 4 fixtures still pass.
• No fixture regressions.

Related

• SEQUENCE(N,1) and elementwise ops over a vertical range return a horizontal (1×N) array instead of a vertical (N×1) column #707 (the SEQUENCE half, fixed in fix(core): SEQUENCE(N)/SEQUENCE(N,1) return an N×1 column vector #723) — this is the range half.