ONLYOFFICE Spreadsheet Editor · Data management · Intermediate

Create and Maintain Named Ranges in ONLYOFFICE

Create workbook- and sheet-scoped names, extend their ranges, and repair a deleted name without changing the source records.

Documentation-qualified; native execution and save/reopen checks pending · Editorial standards

Quick answer

Select the source cells and use Home → Named ranges → Define Name. Choose Workbook or the intended sheet scope, use the name in a formula, and use Name manager to repair its address. Check both the formula text and the total after a rename.

A defined name makes a formula describe its inputs. In this exercise, one shared range supplies two sheets, while a sheet-local name supplies a separate subtotal. You will also repair a name that points at the wrong cells without rewriting every calculation.

Version and practice file

These instructions target ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors 10.0.0 on Linux with an English interface and a local XLSX workbook. The desktop changelog records that release on 13 October 2026. The release announcement identifies Linux support but says updated Snap, Flatpak and AppImage packages would follow later; check your installed version rather than assuming every distribution package has updated.

The menu names below were checked against current first-party help on 19 October 2026. This example has not been executed in the native application, and there are no application screenshots or verified save/reopen results. Expected results are independent checks for you to perform. Hosted collaboration, mobile interfaces and other desktop builds are outside this guide’s tested scope.

Build the small workbook

Create a blank workbook, rename the first worksheet Orders, and enter this block in A1:B5. Enter each value in its own cell; the backticks here mark literal inputs, not characters to type.

Row	A	B
1	`Item`	`Amount`
2	`Cable`	`120`
3	`Adapter`	`80`
4	`Stand`	`150`
5	`Hub`	`50`

Add a blank worksheet named Summary. Save as named-ranges.xlsx. Keep this as an ordinary range, not a formatted table. The four amounts total 400; the first two total 200.

Create and use two scopes

On Orders, select B2:B5. Use Home → Named ranges → Define Name. Set Name to OrderAmounts, Scope to Workbook, and check the data range points to Orders!$B$2:$B$5. If the dialog displays a leading equals sign, retain its generated syntax. Confirm the name.

On Summary, put All orders in A1 and =SUM(OrderAmounts) in B1. The expected result is 400. Back on Orders, define LocalPair for B2:B3, choosing Orders as its worksheet scope. Enter =SUM(LocalPair) in D2 on Orders: expect 200. Use Name manager to inspect both scope entries rather than assuming that all names are workbook-wide.

Do not create a workbook-level LocalPair as well: this first exercise deliberately avoids collisions. A name must be unique within its scope. Use letters and underscores, not spaces or an initial digit. These scope and creation controls are documented in Using named ranges.

Extend a range and rename it

Enter Dock in Orders!A6 and 100 in B6. Before changing anything else, the original B2:B5 range totals 400; it does not include the new row merely because it is nearby. Open Name manager, select OrderAmounts, choose Edit, and change the range to Orders!$B$2:$B$6 using the range selector. Now check Summary!B1: the expected total is 500.

Edit that same name to OrderTotalInputs. ONLYOFFICE documents automatic updates of formulas when an existing name is edited. Inspect Summary!B1 in the formula bar; expect =SUM(OrderTotalInputs) and a value of 500. Do not infer success just from the displayed number: an unchanged cached value would not prove the formula text was updated.

Diagnose and repair a broken reference

Save the healthy workbook, then make a separate named-ranges-repair.xlsx copy before the following destructive experiment. Keep the original closed and unchanged.

In the copy, delete OrderTotalInputs using Name manager. Summary!B1 should report #NAME?, the documented outcome for deleting a name used by a formula. This breaks the named reference without deleting any underlying order data. Recreate OrderTotalInputs, Scope Workbook, pointing to Orders!$B$2:$B$6. Recheck Summary!B1 for 500 and Orders!D2 for 200.

A wrong range can be more dangerous than an error: defining the name as B2:B3 would produce the plausible but incorrect 200. Compare its address with the five records, not just the absence of an error. Names with the same spelling on different sheets need a scope audit before repair; this guide does not rely on undocumented collision precedence.

Save, reopen and inspect

Save and close the repaired copy, then reopen that exact file. Check the two names, their scopes and absolute addresses; check the formula text and values above. Navigate using the name-box list and verify that OrderTotalInputs selects all five amounts. A reference repair is complete only when the reopened workbook still identifies the right source data.

A table name such as Table1 represents a formatted table and has different editing constraints. Creating that object is a separate task; giving a plain range a name does not create a table or promise automatic row expansion.