Create and Reuse a Workbook Template in Gnumeric

A reusable workbook needs a clean starting state and a safe way to create each new instance. This lesson uses an ordinary .gnumeric master in a folder you choose, followed by File → Save As before entering real data. It does not depend on an installed template collection or a special template extension.

What this workflow covers

The online manual and official Gnumeric 1.12.62 source were reviewed on 2026-10-19. Instructions use English desktop labels; exact file dialogs depend on the Linux package, desktop and translation. No fresh native run was available. Treat the values and reopen checks below as independently calculated acceptance tests to perform on your installation.

Create a folder such as Workbook Masters in your own documents and a separate Working Reports folder. These are ordinary storage locations you choose, not Gnumeric system template directories. Keep the master in Gnumeric’s native format so formulas, sheets and formatting remain part of the file.

The sample entries use a decimal point. If your worksheet locale uses a decimal comma, enter the equivalent numeric values in that convention and verify their types before continuing.

Make a small purchase-request master

Start a new workbook and enter these cells:

Cells	Contents
A1	Purchase request
A2 / B2	Period / leave B2 blank
A3 / B3	Template version / 1
A5:D5	Item / Quantity / Unit price / Line total
A6:A8	leave blank for item descriptions
B6:C8	enter 0 in all six input cells
D6	=B6*C6
D7	=B7*C7
D8	=B8*C8
C10 / D10	Subtotal / =SUM(D6:D8)
C11 / D11	Allowance rate / 0.10
C12 / D12	Total with allowance / =D10*(1+D11)
A14	Enter period, descriptions, quantities and prices; save a working copy first.

Format C6:D8, D10 and D12 as numbers with two decimal places, and D11 as Percentage. Give the entry cells a light fill and leave formula cells visually distinct. Do not use color as the only cue: the headings and A14 instruction explain what to enter. Widen columns enough to read the labels.

The clean master should show 0.00 subtotal, 10% allowance, and 0.00 total. Its reusable content includes formulas, labels, default rate and instructions. Its reusable content does not include somebody’s last purchase request.

Exercise the formulas before freezing the master

Enter the following temporary test data in rows 6–8:

Item	Quantity	Unit price	Expected line total
Notebooks	4	3.50	14.00
Pens	10	0.80	8.00
Folders	6	1.25	7.50

D10 should be 29.50, and D12 32.45. Independently, (4 × 3.50 + 10 × 0.80 + 6 × 1.25) × 1.10 = 32.45.

Change B6 to 5. D6 becomes 17.50, subtotal 33.00, and total 36.30. Restore B6 to 4 and verify 32.45. Inspect D6:D8, D10 and D12 in the formula entry area so a correct-looking fixed number cannot pass as a reusable formula.

Reset only the input cells: blank B2 and A6:A8; put zero back into B6:C8. Preserve D6:D8, D10, D11 and D12. Select individual blocks carefully; clearing whole rows would remove the formulas too. Confirm the clean zero totals and the 10% default.

Choose File → Save As, select Gnumeric’s native format and save purchase-request-master-v1.gnumeric in Workbook Masters. Close it.

Create a fresh instance safely

1. Use File → Open to open the master.
2. Before changing inputs, choose File → Save As and save purchase-request-2026-11.gnumeric in Working Reports. Check the filename and folder carefully. Do not accept an overwrite of the master.
3. Enter 2026-11 as the period and the three test purchases above. Verify 29.50 and 32.45, then save the working file.
4. Close the working file. Reopen the exact master from Workbook Masters. It should still have blank period/descriptions, zero inputs, formulas intact and zero totals.
5. Close the master without changes. Reopen the working file and verify its period, inputs, formulas and 32.45 total. These two reopen checks test both preservation and separation.

File → Save uses the currently open filename. Save As is the step that establishes the independent destination; simply opening the master does not create a safe new instance.

Maintain and extend the template

To release a revised layout, open v1 and immediately Save As purchase-request-master-v2.gnumeric. Update B3 to 2. If you add an input row, add its line-total formula and extend the subtotal range. Test a nonzero value in that new row; a blank row will not expose a forgotten SUM boundary. Clear the temporary inputs and repeat the two-file reopen test before using v2.

Keep completed reports as they were. A new master does not automatically rewrite existing reports or their allowance rate. A version field lets you tell which layout and assumptions produced each report.

Gnumeric’s menu documentation also describes New From Template. That installation-dependent mechanism is not needed here. Do not assume saving a normal workbook installs it into that menu or that changing a filename extension creates a new template type.

Troubleshooting and recovery

• Master contains a real request: stop using it for new reports. Restore the clean backup, or save a separate repaired version and clear only the documented input cells.
• Total remains unchanged after an input edit: inspect D6:D8 and D12; replace overwritten values with the formulas above, then repeat the change test.
• Allowance shows 0.10 instead of 10%: correct its display format; do not enter 10 as the rate.
• Formula cells accidentally cleared: restore them from the formula inventory rather than copying totals from a finished report.
• File was saved as CSV: reopen the native master. CSV cannot store this formatting and formula model as a workbook.

See SUM and file compatibility. Sheet and cell protection can help prevent accidental edits; it is not a substitute for a clean master and separate copies.

Primary references

Reviewed 2026-10-19: Saving Files, File menu commands, and Gnumeric 1.12.62 source, src/wbc-gtk-actions.c and src/wbc-gtk.c. The master-copy workflow uses documented Open/Save As behavior, not a claim of native template-gallery testing.