Import and refresh a registered Base source

Import records from an already registered, working local Base source, then refresh the resulting database range in Calc. Editing the imported cells is not the same as updating the underlying database.

Check the prerequisite rather than installing a connector

This guide targets LibreOffice Calc 25.2 Community desktop with English standard menus on Windows or Linux. It is based on the Calc Guide and versioned help, not native database execution. You need an existing, authorized local Base source that already opens successfully. No new driver, registration, credentials, account or security change is part of this exercise.

Use an expendable source table named PracticeStock with fields ID, Item and Quantity. Its two records should be P101/Bolts/10 and P102/Washers/20. Create those records only through an already-authorized editing workflow for the disposable source. If you cannot view or edit that source, stop at the prerequisite rather than substituting a production database.

Open a new Calc workbook and save it as ImportedStock.ods. Reserve an empty sheet for imported data, because a refreshed range can change size. Put your report calculations on a second sheet rather than immediately below the import.

Import complete records with headings

1. Choose View > Data Sources to show registered sources.
2. Expand the known practice source and its Tables branch, then select PracticeStock.
3. Inspect the records in the right-hand data view. Verify the two IDs and quantities before importing.
4. Select all records using the upper-left selector of the data grid. Selecting complete rows includes column headings.
5. Select A1 in the destination sheet and use Data to Text on the Table Data toolbar to insert the selected records into Calc.
6. Check the imported headers and both records. Their quantity total is 30.

The source guide also documents dragging selected rows into a sheet. This exercise uses Data to Text to make the destination and all-record selection explicit. Copying arbitrary visible text is not a substitute for a source-linked import.

Inspect the imported range

Select a cell within the imported block and open Data > Define Range. Inspect the relevant database range and its Source information. A refreshable database range must identify the external source; simply defining a name around manually pasted cells does not create that connection.

The options include Contains column labels, Insert or delete cells, Keep formatting, and Don’t save imported data. Read their effects before changing them. In particular, Don’t save imported data stores the source reference rather than the cell contents, which changes what can be available without the source. Keep the initial saved-data behavior for this local exercise.

If the imported range does not show the expected source, cancel and repeat the import from the data-source view. Do not proceed on the assumption that every named database range is refreshable.

Change the source and refresh

Using the already-authorized source editing workflow, change P101’s quantity from 10 to 14 and save/commit the source change. Do not make this change only in the Calc import. Select a cell in the imported range and choose Data > Refresh Range.

Expect P101=14, P102=20 and total 34. If the old total remains, check whether the source change was committed, whether the selected range has the correct source, and whether you imported the intended table rather than a different query or subset.

For a growth test, add P103/Nuts/6 in the disposable source and commit it. Refresh again with adequate blank space and the intended insert/delete behavior. Inspect all three IDs and expect total 40. A report formula that still sums only two rows is a separate range-maintenance problem.

Preserve the ownership boundary

Save and reopen ImportedStock. Verify its saved records, then refresh while the authorized source is available. Local annotations inside the imported range may be replaced; keep them in a separate keyed report. The import is a reporting copy, not a write-back form.

If the source is unavailable, retain the saved report and mark its freshness honestly. Do not install a driver or bypass access restrictions to force a refresh. Named and database ranges explains the range-management concepts that support this workflow.

Official references

• LibreOffice documentation 1
• LibreOffice documentation 2
• LibreOffice documentation 3