Create and Reuse a Workbook Template in OpenOffice Calc

A reusable template should contain the report structure and formulas, while each report gets its own inputs and filename. This exercise makes two reports from one clean master, then changes the master without pretending it rewrites the contents of old reports.

Scope and clean master

Apache OpenOffice Calc 4.1 desktop, English Windows/Linux menus; documentation checked against the official 4.1 Calc Guide and versioned 4.1.6 Help on 19 October 2026. No native application run or save/reopen test was performed for this exercise.

Use the classic File → Templates commands documented for Apache OpenOffice. Do not use a template manager workflow copied from another spreadsheet product. The official template chapter, pages 126–134, covers creation, editing, defaults, import and export.

Start a blank spreadsheet and enter the following:

Cell	Master content
A1	Supply estimate
A2	Template revision
B2	1
A4	Report label
B4	Leave empty
A6	Item
B6	Units input
C6	Unit price
D6	Cost
A7	Notebook
B7	0
C7	4
D7	=B7*C7
A8	Folder
B8	0
C8	3
D8	=B8*C8
C10	Total
D10	=SUM(D7:D8)

“Leave empty” is an instruction; do not type those words into B4. Make A1 and A6:D6 bold. Format C7:D8 and D10 as numbers with two decimal places. You may shade B4 and B7:B8 lightly to identify inputs, but retain the written labels so color is not the only cue.

The clean master calculates 0, 0 and 0. Save a separate working backup as supply-master-before.ods. Before creating the template, inspect all sheets for trial reports, personal details, comments and unused sensitive data. Hiding a sheet is not cleanup.

Register the template and export an OTS copy

1. Choose File → Templates → Save.
2. Type Supply estimate practice in New template.
3. Choose an appropriate category, such as My Templates, and confirm.
4. Choose File → Templates → Organize. Expand that category and select Supply estimate practice.
5. Use Commands → Export Template and save a copy in a known practice folder, using the native OpenDocument Spreadsheet Template (.ots) format.

The registered template is the master used by the template chooser; the exported OTS is a separate portable backup. Record both its name/category and the exported file’s location. Do not rename an .ods file to .ots as a substitute for saving a template.

The Creating a Template guide supports registration. If you later import the exported OTS into another profile, File → Templates → Organize → Commands → Import Template adds it to that profile’s category. Importing another copy does not magically synchronize two masters.

Create two independent reports

1. Choose File → New → Templates and Documents.
2. Select Templates, open the category holding Supply estimate practice, select it, and click Open.
3. Verify the new document has blank B4, zero quantities and revision 1 before entering data.
4. Put North in B4, 3 in B7 and 2 in B8. Expect D7=12, D8=6 and D10=18.
5. Save this document as supply-north.ods using OpenDocument Spreadsheet.
6. Create another new document through the same Templates and Documents route. Do not make it by overwriting the North report.
7. Put South in B4, 1 in B7 and 5 in B8. Expect D7=4, D8=15 and D10=19.
8. Save it as supply-south.ods.

Reopen North and South and inspect their filenames, report labels, quantities and totals. North must still be 18 while South is 19. A new third document from the template must still show blank B4 and zeros, proving the master was not filled with the last report’s data. Close this third document without saving.

If the master itself opens for editing instead of an untitled report, stop and check how it was opened. Use the documented New → Templates and Documents route for report creation and the Organize → Edit route below for deliberate master edits.

Revise the master deliberately

Make a backup export before changing the registered master. Then:

1. Open File → Templates → Organize, expand its category and select Supply estimate practice.
2. Choose Commands → Edit.
3. Change B2 to 2 and C8, Folder unit price, from 3 to 4.
4. Confirm B4 is still empty and B7:B8 are still zero. D7, D8 and D10 should still be zero.
5. Choose File → Save, then close the template.
6. Create a fresh report from the updated template and use the South quantities, 1 and 5. Expect revision 2, costs 4 and 20, and total 24.

The Editing a Template guide makes an important distinction: a template can offer style updates to existing documents; it cannot reapply their content. The old South report should retain revision 1, Folder price 3 and total 19. Updating a style is not a mechanism for pushing new prices or formulas into existing reports.

If a styles-update prompt appears for an existing report, decide whether its formatting should change. Neither Update Styles nor Keep Old Styles is approval to rewrite its business data. A content migration needs its own explicit comparison.

Optional default and its reversal

This exercise does not require changing the default. If you choose to try it in a disposable profile, first record whether a custom spreadsheet default is already in use.

In Template Management, select the practice template and choose Commands → Set As Default Template. File → New → Spreadsheet should then start with its layout. To return to the application’s built-in default, select a folder in Template Management and choose Commands → Reset Default Template → Spreadsheet.

If there was a previous custom default, select that original template and set it as default again instead; resetting to the built-in default would not restore the user’s former customization. Check a new blank spreadsheet after the reversal.

Recovery and validation

If a report accidentally changed the master, use the exported before OTS or supply-master-before.ods to reconstruct the clean master, then create a new report and check the zero-input state. Preserve the already saved reports separately. Export a new OTS backup after an intentional master revision and give it a revision-aware filename so it cannot be mistaken for the old backup.

For accidental formula edits, use the separate protect formulas while allowing inputs workflow after validating the template. Protection is optional here and does not encrypt report data.

These calculations and separation checks are independent expected outcomes. Registration, OTS export, report creation, master editing and save/reopen have not been executed natively for this new exercise; no screenshot is offered as proof.