Compare and merge reviewed workbook copies

Compare an untracked edited copy with its original, but merge copies only when they contain recorded changes. In Calc these commands start from different documents, so identifying the baseline first prevents a reversed review.

Prepare a controlled review set

Use LibreOffice Calc 26.2 desktop, English standard menus on Windows or Linux. This procedure is documentary, not a native-tested multi-reviewer exercise. All files below are local synthetic copies; no real collaborator or external sharing is needed.

Create Original.ods with Item, Units, Price, Total in A1:D1. In row 2 enter Bolts, 5, 12 and =B2*C2. Save and retain this untouched baseline; D2 should be 60. Use separate filenames for the two exercises so comparison results do not contaminate the later merge fixture.

Compare a copy that has no change log

1. Make Untracked.ods from the original and change B2 to 7. Save it with D2=84.
2. Open the edited Untracked document, not Original.
3. Choose Edit > Track Changes > Compare Document.
4. Select Original.ods as the comparison baseline.
5. Inspect the Manage Changes dialog. Calc identifies inserted, deleted and changed data by comparing the documents.
6. Review the change to B2. If you accept the quantity change, the resulting total should remain 84; rejecting it should restore 5 and produce 60.

Compare is useful when someone forgot to record edits. It does not reconstruct every action they performed or explain why they changed a value. A formula’s dependent result is not necessarily a separately edited cell. Compare the final formula text and inputs as well as the change list.

Merge copies that do contain recorded changes

Start again from the untouched Original. Create ReviewUnits.ods, choose Edit > Track Changes > Record, and change B2 from 5 to 7. Save without turning recording off. Create a separate ReviewPrice.ods from Original, turn Record on, change C2 from 12 to 15 and save.

Make MergeWorking.ods as your working baseline. With that baseline open:

1. Choose Edit > Track Changes > Merge Document and select ReviewUnits.ods.
2. Inspect the imported change list, then close the dialog to merge another file.
3. Repeat Merge Document for ReviewPrice.ods.
4. Review the two input edits deliberately. Accept both for this fixture.
5. Check B2=7, C2=15 and D2=105. If you accept only the units edit, expect 84; if only the price edit, expect 75.

These alternatives provide useful reconciliation controls. They also show why “all changes merged” does not necessarily mean “all changes accepted.” Keep the review decision separate from importing the recorded changes.

Avoid losing the evidence

Do not turn off Record as a way to finish review: Calc warns that doing so accepts the recorded changes and removes their change markings. Use the review controls instead. Comments and tracked changes covers the single-document review details.

If Merge Document does not provide the expected changes, check that the edited copy actually recorded them and that it came from the correct baseline. Do not force unrelated spreadsheets through merge just because their headings look similar. Use the comparison exercise on a separate copy when a revision log is absent.

Save the accepted result under its working name, close and reopen it, and verify 7, 15 and 105. Preserve Original and the returned review files until your review is complete. The saved result should document which proposed edits were accepted, not merely accumulate copies with indistinguishable names.

Official references

• LibreOffice documentation 1