Create and Maintain Named Cells and Areas in Calligra Sheets

Build a small materials estimate whose price and quantity range have meaningful names. You will change the price, repoint the name and deliberately expand the range without changing the formulas that use it.

Scope and preparation

This is a documentation-and-source-reviewed exercise for Calligra Sheets on Linux/KDE, using English labels from the 26.08.2 source. The KDE handbook still carries a 2013-03-11 revision; its KF6 URL does not prove that every screenshot or instruction describes a current build. No native application run or screenshot is claimed here. Check your version in Help → About Calligra Sheets. If a specified control is absent, stop that branch and retain the checkpoint; do not substitute another spreadsheet’s controls.

Use a new disposable workbook and save in OpenDocument Spreadsheet (.ods) format. Enter each table cell individually to avoid clipboard import ambiguities. The expected numbers below are independently calculated targets, not observed application results.

Enter the estimate

Use the first sheet. Leave every unlisted cell empty.

Cell	Enter
A1	Batch
B1	Units
A2	Morning
B2	12
A3	Afternoon
B3	8
A4	Reserve
B4	5
D1	Unit price
D2	7
E1	Alternative price
E2	9
F1	Estimate

Save as named-estimate-base.ods.

Create and use two names

1. Select only D2. Right-click it and choose Area Name…. Enter unitprice, then Add Named Area. Close the dialog if it remains open.
2. Select B2:B4. Repeat Area Name… with batchunits. Apply and close.
3. Open Data → Named Areas…. Confirm that both names exist. Activate each list entry by double-clicking it, or selecting it and pressing Enter; then check the displayed area name and range together. A mere selection change can leave the previous entry’s values visible. Close before editing cells.
4. In F2 enter =SUM('batchunits')*'unitprice'. In F3 enter ='unitprice'*2. Expected results: F2 is 175 and F3 is 14. The independent checks are (12+8+5)×7=175 and 7×2=14.
5. Copy F3 to F4. Its named input should still mean D2, so F4 should also be 14. Inspect the formula input line, not just the result.

Use the lowercase names exactly as written. The historical handbook describes lowercase handling and single-quoted names; current manager source stores the supplied name. This exercise avoids asserting automatic case normalization or interchangeable mixed-case spellings. Do not use typographic quotation marks in formulas.

Change the input, then change the definition

1. Replace D2 with 8: F2 should become 200, and F3:F4 should become 16. Restore D2 to 7; verify 175, 14, 14 before continuing.
2. Select E2 and use its Area Name… command to enter unitprice again. Confirm replacement of this exercise’s existing name. This is a deliberate definition change, so F2 should now be 225 and F3:F4 18.
3. Reopen Data → Named Areas…, activate unitprice by double-clicking it or selecting it and pressing Enter, then confirm that the displayed area name is unitprice and its range is E2. Close the dialog.
4. Do not attempt replacement through the small formula-toolbar address box: entering an existing name there is navigation, not the replacement workflow.

The original D2 still contains 7. Renaming or repointing a definition does not itself copy values between cells.

Grow the range explicitly

Enter Late batch in A5 and 3 in B5. Before redefining the area, F2 should remain 225 because the original range ends at B4. Select B2:B5 and use Area Name… to replace batchunits. Now F2 should be 252: (12+8+5+3)×9=252. Open Data → Named Areas…, activate batchunits by double-clicking or selecting it and pressing Enter, and check that its displayed name and range agree with B2:B5. Close the dialog. Do not assume that every insertion or append expands a name.

Save as named-estimate-final.ods, close, reopen, then check both definitions by activating each entry in Data → Named Areas… and inspecting its matching name/range before closing the dialog. Check F2 252 and F3:F4 18. Failure to persist is a failed local check; keep the base file and record your build rather than treating these predictions as proof.

Optional reset and recovery

After preserving the final file, use Save As to make named-estimate-reset.ods. In that copy, repoint unitprice to D2 and batchunits to B2:B4 using the same replacement steps. Keep row 5 present: it is deliberately excluded. The reset target is F2 175, F3:F4 14. This tests definitions rather than erasing data.

If a formula reports an error, inspect the names, range endpoints and straight single quotes first. If you accidentally removed a needed name, recreate that exact name over its intended range, then recheck every dependent result. After reopening, recover from the saved base instead of relying on an Undo history. Avoid deleting live names merely to experiment.

For ordinary copying behavior, use absolute and relative references; for links to another sheet, see cross-sheet references.

Download the cell-entry checklist (CSV with cell addresses and entries; a reading/checking aid, not an import-ready worksheet). All starting inputs are also printed above.

Sources and verification boundary

• KDE handbook: other.
• Calligra 26.08.2 official source archive: dialog controls, menu registration and implementation inspected.

Native Qt6 execution, save/reopen persistence and matching screenshots are still pending. No screenshot of another task is presented as evidence for this exercise.