Version: 1.4 post (using KDE 3.4.3, compiled sources) Compiler: gcc version 3.3.3 (NetBSD nb3 20040520) OS: NetBSD (amd64) release 3.0_BETA Please implement refererencing cells of external files. It might also be interesting to allow references to external sheets as a whole. For example, sheet1 and sheet2 are local sheets, and sheet3 is just referencing a sheet from a different file. This could be useful if more values are needed from that file/sheet anayway. So there would only be ONE reference, and the rest is based on just referencing the sheet itself as if it were local.
External reference file in Excell and OpenOffice calc is implemented with an hidden sheet, that copies the referenced sheet in the referencing one. I don't consider it a good design, maybe it's easier for the developer to implement, but has big drawbacks, like if you have many files that reference just one cell of a big one, you have that big sheet copied "n" times, so you have "n+1" big files at the end. In addition, you have (should) to keep the synch with the hidden sheet, i.e. if I delete the formula referencing to it, it should be deleted as well, or if I rename the referenced sheet, and modify the formula referencing it, the old copy should be discared and the new one loaded (this is not done automatically by OOo calc, for istance, and made me crazy until a developer explained to me the "hidden sheet" trick, that surprised me a lot). So: a) the external reference feature must be implemented because usefull and because Calc and his OpenDocument documents could have them b) it should be implemented in a more clever way than Excell/Calc, keeping just a copy of the referenced value. If the formula is copied in a way it should reference subsequent or adiacent cells of the referenced sheet, it should be loaded in that moment, if available. c) the above suggestion could be interesting, would be like a sort of "load the sheet I tell you when you load it", but not if a copy is made and saved (for the reasons agains the hidden sheet I told before). But maybe sticking with the simple "external reference" is much better, this is the functionality all other spreadsheets have, and kspread have to go in pair with them
*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of 76844 ***