WEBSERVICE Function (LibreOffice Calc)

• Introduced: LibreOffice 4.2, explicitly stated in function-specific Help.
• Supported in: 26.8 Help and 26.8.1.1 registration; no retirement is established.
• Scope: Desktop Calc, English formulas. The documented COM.MICROSOFT.WEBSERVICE namespace is outside OpenFormula 1.3.
• Checked: October 14, 2026. Documentation and the complete callback were inspected. No request, external-link activation or response was executed.

WEBSERVICE retrieves text; it does not itself select XML elements, convert JSON into a table, or return a browser’s rendered page. The function’s result depends on the remote service, the link state and application settings as well as the formula. A plausible formula is therefore insufficient evidence of a successful or current response.

The inspected callback accepts HTTP and HTTPS protocols. It creates or reuses an external link and observes the document’s link-check state. Keep network retrieval separate from parsing and arithmetic so that a failure in one stage is visible rather than silently disguised as a valid number. Function Help.

WEBSERVICE(URI)

URI is the single required text argument. Use an explicit HTTPS URL for an actual approved public endpoint. The function has no arguments for a custom request body, headers or a separate credential bundle. A cell reference can supply the URI, but that does not make the address private or prevent the formula from creating an external link.

These are documentation patterns only. All placeholder addresses remain inert and no response contents are invented.

Treat retrieval as a distinct worksheet stage. A1 can contain a reviewed public URL and A2 can contain the WEBSERVICE formula. Inspect A2 as text before passing it to another function. If the intended response is XML, a separate FILTERXML formula can select a known field only after the actual response has been checked. A login page or error message is not interchangeable with the intended data.

For reproducible parser examples, use the fixed document in the FILTERXML guide instead of making a live request. If a real response later supports an analysis, retain its content and retrieval context separately. The fact that an old value is visible in a cell does not establish that a fresh request succeeded.

The callback looks for an existing link with the same URI and registers listeners on that link. It also adds a load-related recalculation mode. These details explain why response handling is more than a direct scalar mathematical function, but they do not establish a fixed refresh interval or a promise to fetch again on every ordinary calculation.

A narrow load-time branch can use a cached hybrid string when external links still require checking and the expression is exactly WEBSERVICE with a literal URI. The code does not extend that shortcut to a cell-reference URI or a larger expression. This is a source-specific cached-result distinction, not proof that any cached content is recent. The separate FunctionAccess route also has its own document and link-check conditions; do not assume it behaves like an interactive cell. Inspected implementation.

Respect Calc’s external-link permission decisions. This guide does not advise changing security settings or automatically approving an unfamiliar document’s links. Avoid putting passwords, private tokens or sensitive query data into a URL: the address can become part of the workbook and can be sent to the named service when retrieval is enabled.

A missing result and a link awaiting approval follow distinct source paths. No precise GUI message, HTTP status mapping, timeout, authentication workflow or redirect behavior is asserted here because the network-link implementation and a live service were not exercised. No URL in these examples was opened.

Official Help’s sample omits a scheme in its displayed formula, while the inspected callback explicitly checks the parsed protocol. Use a fully specified HTTPS URI rather than relying on that example’s scheme inference. Successful runtime retrieval remains unverified for every pattern in this guide.

FILTERXML, ENCODEURL, HYPERLINK.

• Function-specific Help
• Complete versioned callback
• English native-name registration
• URI link lookup and FunctionAccess helper

The inspected version is LibreOffice 26.8.1.1 source; it was not executed. The callback and helper review does not establish live connectivity, transport behavior, current response data or external-link approval.