How do you create a chart in a spreadsheet that uses data contained in another calc spresdsheet.

How do you now create a chart using data from another calc spreadsheet?
This capability was available up through Star Office 9 by specifying the Data Ranges using the URL of the calc spreadsheet that contained the data.

What I’m trying to make clear is that once you set up an external link for a chart in a spreadsheet, no matter which other sheet you put the table on, Calc will not let you create an external link in that spredsheet for other links you have defined.in other spreadsheets. Prety stuinid and severely limiting.

Years ago there was a post (I think that was made by Villeroy) describing hou to link to data in other spreadsheets. That still works for data, but no longer works for charts. For many years it worked for OO, but got screwed up with Apache, and now LibO.

Hello,

the following description is how it works for me (may be there is another solution, which I’m not aware of).

Step 1: Data Source File

  • Open your data source file
  • Select the range of cells containing the data, from which you want to create a chart in another file
  • Go to Sheet -> Named Ranges and Expressions -> Define...
  • Provide a Name: (e.g. CHARTDATA)
  • Click Button Add

Step 2: File Containing Chart

  • Select a cell
  • Go to Sheet -> Link to External Data
  • Click button Browse and select the file used in Step 1
  • The named range defined in Step 1 should appear in pane Available Tables/Ranges
  • Select the name of the range you provided in Step 1 (e.g CHARTDATA)
  • Click Button OK (your data will appear and will be updated from the source)

Step 3: File Containing Chart

Now you can create your chart as usual from the linked data

Optional Step 4: Implement automatic update of linked data

Please read answer to question No Automatic Updating of External Links on how to automatically update links to external data.

Hope that helps.

If the answer helped to solve your problem, please click the check mark (:heavy_check_mark:) next to the answer.

All I get is a copy of the Table ?? smeared all over the chart (and the others in the composit group of charts… No way to hide it or update it. URL’s were a much much better approach. to linking.
The URL works in data links to other spreadsheets for individual items, or cells. Why does it no longer work in Charts?

You can put the table in a new sheet, after set up the chart’ ranges, you can hide the sheet.

Attached sample source and target file, the last one with the chart.

Source.ods (10.0 KB)

Target.ods (15.1 KB)

I’ve also discovered that you cannot have external links on the same spreadsheet.