Recover a Calligra Workbook from a Backup or Autosave

Recover an older saved checkpoint without overwriting either the current workbook or the only recovery file. This practice uses a deliberately small workbook and a verified backup. Autosave is a separate recovery route for unsaved changes, with different availability and filenames.

Scope and safety

Calligra Sheets 26.08.2 desktop source, English interface, with KDE handbook cross-checks; instructions and expected results are documentation-backed and have not been executed in the native application. Linux-oriented file recovery; Windows, macOS and distribution-specific builds require separate verification.

Use only a disposable local workbook. Do not crash the application, kill a process, disconnect storage or experiment on real work. No native recovery run or screenshot is claimed here. An expected backup is not evidence that a backup actually exists: verify it before changing anything else.

Create a known checkpoint

Create a blank workbook and enter this exact fixture on its first sheet.

Cell	Entry
A1	Item
B1	Amount
A2	Food
B2	120
A3	Travel
B3	50
A4	Supplies
B4	30
A6	Total
B6	=SUM(B2:B4)
D1	Checkpoint
D2	A

B6 should show 200. In Settings → Configure Calligra Sheets… → Open/Save, note the original Autosave interval and Create backup file settings. Enable Create backup file if it is off and apply the change. This setting is application-wide; remember to restore the original setting after practice if desired.

Use File → Save As… and save recovery-practice.ods in a new disposable folder, using OpenDocument SpreadSheet. This first save creates the current file; do not assume it also creates a useful previous-version backup.

Change B3 to 80 and D2 to B. B6 becomes 230. Use File → Save once. The backup should now represent checkpoint A, while the main file represents B. Close the workbook normally after this save. Do not save it repeatedly: the rolling backup is not a version archive.

Locate and preserve the actual backup

In your file manager, inspect the practice folder for recovery-practice.ods~; make filename extensions visible. The versioned source uses a backup mechanism on save, with a tilde suffix and support for a configured backup location. Permissions, preferences and packaging can affect whether creation succeeds.

If that file is absent, stop the recovery exercise. Check that backups were enabled before the second save, that the current file really existed before that save, and that the folder is writable. Do not claim success from the checkbox alone. Use another disposable filename to repeat the A-then-B sequence after fixing the cause.

When the backup exists, use the file manager to copy both it and the main file into a separate recovery-evidence folder. Keep the copied backup untouched. Make a second copy of the backup named recovered-A.ods in the working folder. Renaming this second copy removes the tilde without modifying the evidence file; it does not convert its format. Open that second copy with File → Open….

Validate before keeping the recovery

Check all of these independently:

• D2 is A, B3 is 50, and B6 displays 200.
• The formula input for B6 is still =SUM(B2:B4), not the constant 200.
• B2=120 and B4=30; labels and any additional sheets are intact.
• Opening the preserved current-file copy shows D2=B, B3=80 and B6=230.

If the supposed backup instead shows checkpoint B, preserve it and investigate the save sequence; another save may have replaced the older backup. Do not manufacture a successful recovery by retyping checkpoint A and calling it recovered.

Save the validated recovery as recovered-A-validated.ods, close it and reopen it to confirm 200 again. Keep the main workbook and evidence files until you have decided which version to retain. Recovery should produce a new file, not silently replace the latest one.

Handle a real autosave offer carefully

A backup holds an earlier saved version. An autosave can hold newer changes since the last explicit save. It may not exist, may be removed by normal saving or closing, and is not a substitute for an independent backup.

If Calligra offers an autosaved version when opening a document after an actual interruption, preserve copies of the original and any available recovery file before accepting. Open the offered recovery, inspect its contents, and Save As… a new .ods filename. Compare it with the original just as you compared A and B. Do not click through an offer assuming that newer means correct.

The old handbook’s .yourfilename.autosave example must not be used as a current filename recipe. In 26.08.2, KoDocument::autoSaveFile constructs names from the native extension and document path; its named-file expression differs from the handbook. Unsaved-document handling also differs between Windows and Linux. This source review does not establish a tested universal directory or filename. Use an actual recovery offer or an identified file whose contents you can validate, rather than blindly searching one historical KDE4 location or deleting similarly named files.

For a non-destructive autosave availability check, make a separate copy of checkpoint B, open it, set a short nonzero Autosave interval, change D2 to UNSAVED-CHECK and B4 to 40, and leave the application open longer than that interval. Expected in-memory total is 240. Inspect for an actual newly written autosave using your platform’s file tools; do not induce a crash. If identified, copy it aside before any explicit save and inspect the copy in a separate session only after preserving the original. If none can be identified, record this check as unverified. Save the working copy normally under its own name to retain the changes, and restore the original interval. Waiting alone proves neither a successful write nor recoverability.

Grow the recovered workbook

After retaining recovered-A-validated.ods, create a separate copy named recovered-A-extended.ods. Add A5=Equipment and B5=25, and expand B6 to =SUM(B2:B5). Expected total is 225. Save and reopen the extended copy. The preserved A recovery must still total 200. This separates recovery from later improvements and avoids relying on Undo across sessions.

See file formats and compatibility for choosing the retained format, and the expense tracker for formula basics.

Sources and verification boundary

The KDE saving handbook explains backup and autosave concepts but contains historical filenames. The official 26.08.2 source archive, libs/main/KoDocument.cpp, sheets/part/dialogs/PreferenceDialog.cpp and FileOptionsWidget.ui, supplies the current settings, backup and recovery logic. Local file creation, permissions, recovery prompts and native screenshots still need testing in the user’s installed build.