In LO 5.0.6, how do I change the data range in a chart (old 3.x method no longer works)

[airedad]

BACKGROUND:
I am a very experienced user of LO - and formerly OOo and before that StartOffice from when Sun bought it . Over the years I have done statistical analyses of the performance of a mega-large hetrogenous network, and have produced conservatively 200-300 complex charts for each monthly report for over 23 years (before LO/OOo/SO I was using Nroff/Troff on Unix, Solaris, and Linux machines). These reports typically run from 500-1100 pages and are ultimately assembled in Writer with the charts coming from scalc.

MACHINE/OS PARTICULARS:
I am using LO 5.0.6 on a Linux machine (Fedora FC24) on an Intel i7 machine with 12 cpus and 32 GB memory, so there are few if any resource limitations.

PROBLEM:
I have a financial spreadsheet with a chart in which I wish to change the data range. Oddly enough the old 3.x method (How can I expand a chart's data range?) usually fails because when I select the format tab, the item for “Data Ranges” is grayed out and cannot be selected.

Is editing the data range no longer supported, or is it just the case that 75%+ of the charts I create are exceptions?

Of course I can always delete the chart and recreate it and recreate it to get the correct data range, but since I must do this on a VERY large number of charts it is far more time-consuming that it would be if there were a reliable way to use the menu option.

If the function is still supported then I need help to figure out what is going wrong here. Unfortunately I cannot post one of the actual charts because they all cover sensitive, proprietary data.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[mark_t]

If you copy a chart from a spreadsheet document into a different spreadsheet document then all the data for that chart that was in cell ranges will be converted to fixed values in a data table belonging to the chart. If this is happening in your case then next to the greyed out icon for “Data Ranges” you should see an icon for “Data Table” that would allow you to see and edit the fixed values within the chart.

If this describes your case, as far as I know it is not possible to convert a chart back from a data table to a data range.

It is possible to manually edit the data table to enter values from the sheet ranges, or set up macros to do this for you, but this could take some effort and time. You could also create macros to generate your charts, again this might take some significant effort.

There is a workaround that might be easier. Copy the sheet that has your new data into the old spreadsheet document. Copy the chart from the old sheet to the new sheet within that document. Edit the data range of the chart on the new sheet and change the sheet references in the data ranges to match the new sheet. Then finally move that new sheet with the chart included back to your new spreadsheet document. This should preserve the use of data ranges in your chart.