Edit matching monthly sheets together in FreeOffice PlanMaker

Quick answer

Select only the worksheets that need the same edit, make the shared change, and deselect the sheets before entering different values. Grouped editing addresses matching cell positions, not matching business labels. A third, unselected sheet is a useful safeguard check.

This exercise covers FreeOffice PlanMaker 2024 for Windows with the English ribbon. The FreeOffice feature list explicitly includes selecting and formatting multiple worksheets simultaneously. The FreeOffice 2024 manual, printed pages 87–89, describes synchronized content edits as well. This is FreeOffice-specific documentation, not an inference from paid PlanMaker 2026. No native run, installed-build verification or application screenshot is claimed.

Prepare three deliberately different sheets

Use a new disposable workbook, not a real monthly report. Create three sheets named Jan, Feb and Archive, in that order. The documented ribbon entry for adding sheets is Insert > Tables > Sheet > Insert; its Rename command names them. Work on one sheet at a time during setup.

Enter these values individually:

Cell	Jan	Feb	Archive
A1	Item	Item	Archive only
B1	Units	Units	Locked period note
C1	Rate	Rate	Do not synchronize
D1	blank	blank	Keep this heading
A2	Kits	Kits	Old kits
B2	4	7	99
C2	12	12	2
D2	blank	blank	198

“Blank” means leave the cell empty, not type that word. Archive D2 is a deliberately fixed check value, not a formula. All three sheets use real numbers in B2:C2. Save the input-only workbook as monthly-group-inputs.pmdx, then use Save As to create monthly-group-working.pmdx. Keep the input-only file unchanged.

Before grouping, inspect Feb B2=7 and Archive D1=Keep this heading. The different quantity and sentinel heading make accidental synchronization visible. A test where every sheet starts identically cannot reveal as many selection mistakes.

Apply the common change to Jan and Feb only

1. Activate Jan. Hold Ctrl while clicking Feb’s worksheet tab. Release Ctrl. The manual documents this method for selecting multiple worksheets in Windows.
2. Check that Jan and Feb are selected and Archive is not. If you cannot confidently distinguish the selected tabs, stop and resolve the selection before typing.
3. In the active selected sheet, enter Amount in D1, then =B2*C2 in D2. Apply bold formatting to A1:D1. Do not change B2 or C2 while the sheets are selected together.
4. Use the worksheet-tab context menu’s Deselect sheets, then activate Jan alone. Inspect each sheet separately before continuing.

The expected state is:

Check	Jan	Feb	Archive
D2 result	48	84	198
B2 quantity	4	7	99

Jan and Feb should now have Amount in D1 and bold A1:D1 headers. Their D2 formula text should be =B2*C2, with no reference to the other month. Archive must retain its original heading, value and formatting. Different results from the same formula are correct: each month uses its own inputs.

Do not accept only the sum 132 as proof. Wrong sheet references or swapped quantities could conceal an error in an aggregate check. Inspect 48 and 84 individually and read both formulas.

Prove that month-specific editing is isolated

With only Feb selected, change B2 from 7 to 9. Expect Feb D2=108 while Jan remains 48 and Archive remains 198. The two current months now total 156; the increase from 132 is 24, exactly two extra kits at 12 each.

Next, activate Jan alone and change C2 from 12 to 13. Jan becomes 52; Feb stays 108; Archive stays 198. The current-month total is now 160. Restore Jan C2 to 12, leaving Feb B2 at 9. The intended final result is Jan 48 and Feb 108.

These two independent perturbations test more than the appearance of the sheet tabs. If changing Feb also changes Jan, stop: sheet selection or the formulas are wrong. If Jan’s quantity becomes 9 as well, a grouped input edit likely occurred. Do not simply type 48 over its formula to hide that error.

Understand the same-address hazard

Grouped editing is suitable here because both months place Units in B2 and Rate in C2. It is not a label-based merge or consolidation. A month with its quantities in C2 and rates in D2 does not share this layout, even if its headings sound similar.

For a negative experiment, use a separate copy of the input-only workbook. Put Manual note in Feb D2 before grouping Jan and Feb. The common D2 formula edit targets that position too, so the note is not protected merely because it was different. This is an expected overwrite to observe only in the disposable copy. Close that experiment without replacing the main working file.

Never include Archive simply because selecting every sheet is faster. Nor should you add a newly created month to an active group without first checking its layout and existing contents. When the structures differ, edit each sheet deliberately instead of forcing a synchronized change.

Save and check the finished file

Ensure the sheets are deselected. Save monthly-group-working.pmdx, close it and reopen it. Inspect Jan B2=4, C2=12 and D2=48; Feb B2=9, C2=12 and D2=108; and every Archive sentinel. Recheck both D2 formulas and the two header rows.

If a shared edit affected the wrong sheets, use Undo immediately only while its effect is clear. For a reliable restart, reopen the untouched input-only file and save a new working copy. Do not depend on Undo surviving closure. If a command is unavailable, stop and verify the installed product/version and worksheet protection; do not buy or install a different edition for this exercise.

The numerical checkpoints were independently calculated. The save/reopen, selection-state, formatting and overwrite checks above are instructions for the reader, not tests executed during authoring. This guide establishes no XLSX round-trip or cross-platform compatibility claim.

Related workflow

Organize worksheets and calculate across sheets covers a separate paid PlanMaker 2026 workflow for copying monthly sheets and building a summary. Its broader edition-specific instructions are not needed to complete this FreeOffice exercise.