Navigate Distant Cells and Split Views in LibreOffice Calc

Use Navigator to locate an item, then split the window when you need to compare distant areas of the same sheet at once. The two techniques solve different parts of a large-workbook inspection: finding the right place and keeping two places visible.

This example follows the English standard-menu interface in Calc Guide 26.2 and current Help labeled 26.8, checked 19 October 2026. No new native UI run or screenshot is claimed. The sample’s numerical results are independent expectations for you to verify.

1. Build a deliberately sparse inspection sheet

Create an ODS workbook with two sheets named Overview and Detail. On Overview enter this small source table in A1:B4:

Metric	Amount
Base	120
Extra	35
Total	=SUM(B2:B3)

Put Control table is on Overview in Detail A1. On Overview use the Name Box to jump to the following cells and enter these exact contents:

Cell	Entry
A80	Remote check
B80	=B4*2
M80	Remote difference
N80	=B80-B4
A81	Expected double: 310
M81	Expected difference: 155

The source total is 155; B80 should be 310, and N80 155. Rows 5:79 are intentionally empty. Do not fill the gap just to make scrolling convenient: the exercise is about reaching separated blocks without relying on a single contiguous region.

Select Overview A1:B4, choose Sheet → Named Ranges and Expressions → Define, and give it the document-wide name ControlBlock. Repeat for A80:B81 with the name RemoteBlock. Inspect each definition before accepting it. These navigation names do not change the formulas.

For an object to find, select A1:B3, choose Insert → Chart, choose Column, set data series in columns and use the first row and first column as labels, then Finish. The chart should show Base=120 and Extra=35. Leave chart-edit mode by clicking an ordinary cell. This chart is only a navigation target; it does not need to include the Total row.

Before continuing, move the chart away from the cells used in the split tests. Temporarily zoom out if necessary so column P is visible. Click the chart once to select the whole object, then move the pointer over its body until the move pointer appears. Drag the whole chart so its upper-left corner is near P1, with the chart entirely in column P or farther right. Do not drag a sizing handle or double-click into chart-edit mode. Click an ordinary cell afterward and restore a comfortable zoom. Verify that A1:N4 is unobstructed and that the chart still exists on Overview. The Calc Guide chart-positioning section documents selecting and moving the chart object. Save the workbook.

2. Jump to sheets and named ranges

1. Choose View → Navigator, or press F5. If using the Sidebar, its Navigator deck provides the same document overview.
2. Check the Documents selector shows this workbook. Another open file can supply a different object list.
3. Expand Sheets and double-click Detail. Confirm the tab and A1 label. Double-click Overview to return.
4. Expand Range names and double-click RemoteBlock. Confirm that the selected range is A80:B81 on Overview and B80 is 310.
5. Double-click ControlBlock. Check the top table and its total 155.

The Navigator help documents its document selector, row/column fields and object overview. The named-range navigation help identifies the Range names category. For simple navigation, double-click; dragging has other modes that can insert a hyperlink, link or copy.

In the Navigator’s column field type B and press Enter; in its row field type 80 and press Enter. The active cell should now be B80. Check both coordinates rather than assuming the last active row or column was what you intended. The Name Box is another direct route: type N80 and press Enter while Overview is active.

3. Locate the chart without creating another copy

Expand the chart object’s category in Navigator, commonly OLE objects for an embedded chart. With only one chart in this exercise, identify its single entry and double-click it. Confirm the visible object is the Base/Extra chart. The generated object name is not necessarily its displayed chart title; do not hard-code a guessed name such as Chart1.

If the object category is collapsed, expand its indicator. If it is empty, verify that the chart exists in this document and that you have left its edit mode. Do not drag the entry into the sheet just to select it: Navigator’s drag mode can insert content. The Calc introduction’s Navigator section describes category expansion and double-click navigation.

4. Compare the top and bottom blocks with a horizontal split

Return to Overview. If Freeze Rows and Columns is active, turn it off before this exercise. Select row header 6, then choose View → Split Window. A horizontal division should appear above row 6. Selecting a row header deliberately asks for a horizontal split; selecting an interior cell can split in both directions.

Keep the top pane displaying rows 1:4. Click inside the lower pane and use its vertical scrollbar to show rows 80:81. Confirm the top pane still shows the input cells while the lower pane shows B80. Split panes view the same worksheet; they are not separate copies of its data.

Change B3 in the top pane from 35 to 40. Expect B4 160 and lower-pane B80 320. Restore 35 and check 155 and 310. This shows why a split is useful for auditing a dependency: you can inspect the source and result without repeatedly scrolling between them.

Remove the split with View → Split Window again. Check that the worksheet values are unchanged. For permanently visible headings while the rest scrolls, use the separate freeze-header tutorial.

5. Advanced case: compare distant rows and columns

For four view regions, first return to the top-left area with no existing split. Select C6 and choose View → Split Window. The split boundaries should be above row 6 and left of column C. Use the relevant pane scrollbars so the upper-left region shows the source table, lower-left shows A80:B81, and lower-right shows M80:N81.

The panes are views into one sheet, with row/column scrolling coordinated along the corresponding split axes; do not expect four unrelated worksheets. Make the window large enough to read the controls. If the chart obscures any comparison cells, remove the splits, leave chart-edit mode, select the whole chart and move it back to the P1-onward area before recreating the splits. Navigating or scrolling alone does not uncover cells beneath an anchored chart.

Repeat the B3 change to 40. Check B4=160, B80=320 and N80=160. Restore 35; expect 155, 310, 155. Remove the split and verify all three results through the Name Box. The source is not duplicated by splitting, so an edit seen in more than one pane is still one edit.

Troubleshooting and a clean finish

• Data Range does not include the remote block: the Navigator’s Data Range tool detects adjacent populated cells around the current cell. The intentionally blank gap means it is not a substitute for the named RemoteBlock.
• The wrong document’s objects appear: inspect Documents in Navigator. Switch the active workbook through Window if needed.
• A split is in the wrong direction: toggle it off and reselect the correct row header, column header or cell before recreating it.
• The lower view scrolls unexpectedly: click the intended pane and use its matching scrollbar. Watch row and column labels to establish which region is visible.
• A drag inserts something: undo immediately and return to double-click navigation. Inspect the sheet before saving.

Save the ODS with splits removed, close and reopen it, then use both names and verify the chart and all three numerical controls. This checks the saved workbook’s navigable structure; it does not assume every view or window setting persists across operating systems. Native navigation, split behavior and saved-file checks for this fixture remain unexecuted.