Excel vs OpenOffice vs Calc

[beckinista]

We have been using MSOffice365, but are researching alternatives. One of our divisions started using OpenOffice and we have run into an issue - an XLSX spreadsheet that has certain cells protected so that downstream users can enter certain data but cells with calculations are protected. When saving to the OpenOffice format, I am advised that there are no protection options available. Does CALC have that same issue, or can I change back and forth between the two formats and maintain my protection settings?

Thanks!

[Lupp]

‘Calc’ is the common name of the spreadsheet component of LibreOfice and of Apache OpenOffice as well. In both cases you also have options to protect cells. ‘Default’ cell format has set the ‘Cell Protection’ to ‘Protect’ checked, ‘Hide formula’ not checked.

Another thing is using cell protection with alien formats, and in specific with documents edited under different office suites, and converted now and then between the different “preferred formats”.

[Lupp]

The so called “office document formats” are’n simply different formats for exactly the same content. Even the different MS formats are not really reliably converted one into another without changing some aspects of the document’s properties.

You cannot rely on details of the formatting, and in specific not on the cell protection, if you shift a document around. Use the ODF system (ods for spreadsheet documents) exclusively and protection will work.

[ROSt53]

@ Lupp - why don’t you make your 2 comments and answer. It is a good one.

[ROSt53]

@ Lupp - why don’t you make your 2 comments and answer. It is a good one.

[JohnHa]

There will never be 100% compatibility between .xlsx and .ods files, or between LO Calc and MS Excel, not least because it is clearly not in Microsoft’s business interests - read profit - to make it easy for other programs to interface easily with MS products. MS wants to sell you MS Office.

You have to live with the inevitable differences or capitulate to Microsoft’s “standards” and buy MS Office.

See [Tutorial] Differences between Writer and MS Word files.