Reuse an ONLYOFFICE Workbook Without Losing Your Master

Quick answer

For a reusable spreadsheet, keep a clean XLSX master in your own documents folder and work from a separately named copy. Do not overwrite application files merely because an older tutorial mentions a local template directory.

Three different things are often called a template:

• Your own workbook master: an ordinary XLSX that you duplicate for each job.
• The application’s template gallery: a start-screen feature whose availability depends on the release.
• The blank-workbook default: application resources used when creating a new spreadsheet.

Changing one does not prove that the other two changed.

Check the release before following template instructions

The Desktop Editors 8.2 announcement introduced a local Templates section with pre-installed choices. That historical announcement does not establish support for arbitrary user-added templates.

The Desktop 10.0.0 changelog, dated 13 October 2026, says local document templates were removed and only online templates remain. Therefore, do not look for the old local gallery on the assumption that every later release retains it.

Separately, the default-template configuration page still documents replacing a locale-specific new.xlsx. That page does not give a tested release/build range. The gallery change alone does not prove that every blank-workbook resource disappeared, but neither does the older configuration recipe prove it works in the rebuilt 10.0 application. This guide does not approve default-resource replacement in 10.0.0.

The free Desktop Editors are available for Windows, macOS and Linux. The exercise below needs only ordinary local files. It requires no online template account, subscription, trial or paid feature.

Make a small reusable master

Create a new spreadsheet and enter the following practice layout. All names and quantities are fictional.

Cell	Content
A1	Task
B1	Hours
A2	Prepare
B2	2
A3	Review
B3	3
A4	Total hours
B4	=SUM(B2:B3)

The independent expected total is 5. Choose a readable number format, distinguish the input cells B2:B3 from B4, and save the file as Hours-master.xlsx in a folder you control. This is a normal workbook, not a replacement for the application’s blank default.

For real use, remove confidential names, old job details and unintended links before declaring a workbook a reusable master. Inspect formulas as well as visible input cells. Keeping a master is a workflow convention, not a security control.

Start a job from a copy

1. Close the master after saving it. Make a file-manager copy named Hours-job-01.xlsx before entering job data. Keep the original in its master folder.
2. Open the copy and confirm its filename. Change B2 from 2 to 4. B4 should change from 5 to 7; this checks that the copy retained the formula instead of only its displayed result.
3. Save and close the job file. Reopen it and check B2 is 4 and B4 is 7.
4. Open the master separately. Its B2 should still be 2 and its B4 should still be 5. If both files changed, stop and check whether you opened the same path twice or used a shortcut rather than a real copy.
5. For the next job, copy the master again, not the completed job, so old inputs do not silently become the starting data.

These are reproducible acceptance checks, not reported native execution. The SUM guide explains the total formula. For ready-to-enter practice datasets, see starter files; those downloads are not configured application defaults.

If you maintain a legacy default-template installation

Treat the official replacement procedure as an installation-specific maintenance action, not part of the ordinary master exercise. It identifies new.xlsx beneath a locale directory inside the installation’s converter/empty resources. The documented roots differ between Windows, macOS and Linux. Use the official path instructions for your exact installation rather than guessing a folder or creating missing directories.

Before any separately authorized replacement, record the application version, operating system, install type, interface locale and exact target. Keep an untouched backup outside the application directory, distinct from the editable candidate. Confirm the filename is genuinely new.xlsx, not a hidden-extension double name such as new.xlsx.xlsx. If the resource is absent, permissions prevent replacement, or an organization’s administrator manages the installation, stop. Do not change security permissions to force the procedure.

The vendor’s procedure is to edit a copied default file and then replace the matching locale’s resource. It also warns that an update restores default templates, so customizations need their own backup. This is documentation of the mechanism, not a claim that it was executed or that current 10.0 installations support it unchanged.

A cautious rollback plan should identify the untouched backup before making any change. On the same verified release and target, restoring that original file reverses the intended file replacement. Then create a new blank workbook and compare its formatting. Do not copy an old release’s resource into a newer release merely to restore a familiar appearance. After an upgrade, reassess the current installation instead.

Troubleshooting and scope

• The template gallery changed after an update: check the release notes. A missing historical gallery does not mean your ordinary XLSX master files were deleted.
• The master already contains last week’s numbers: recover a known-clean copy or deliberately rebuild it. Do not reset unknown formulas or data by guesswork.
• The total stays 5 in the job copy: inspect B4 for =SUM(B2:B3), verify that B2 really changed to numeric 4, and check the filename and sheet. Do not replace the total with a typed 7 to hide the issue.
• A new workbook’s formatting did not change: do not infer success from copying a file. Check release, locale and target, or use the ordinary-master route instead.

No application-directory file was modified for this article. No native screenshot, workbook save/reopen result, permission change or default-template compatibility claim is supplied. Current-release default replacement remains unverified; the safe local-master workflow is the supported practical alternative described here.