2 Questions Macros/Read-Only

[Plumrose]

First question:

I am trying to migrate a team of people from MSOffice to OpenOffice, and I am having the following problem with the Calc program. In Excel, one person could have a spreadsheet open for editing, and a second person could open the spreadsheet (in read-only mode) and be able to edit/change cells to check calculations etc. with no intention of saving any changes. But, in OOCalc, when you open a spreadsheet as read-only, you cannot change any cell info. The sheets that I'm concerned about are used mainly for computations only, and are not intended to store any info other than the formulas. They are worksheets that are intended to be used simultaneously by several people. It has crossed my mind to give everyone their own copy of the file, but the formulas are updated on a daily basis by the department head, and for everyone to use a separate copy would be a nightmare for them to update each one individually.
If anyone knows how to open a document as read-only, and still be able to edit the cells, I would appreciate any help you can offer.

Second question:

How do you record a macro and bind it to a certain key combination? In Excel, there was a dialog box that asked you for a key combination, but in OOCalc, I can't seem to figure out how this is done. If anyone can help, I'd appreciate it.

Thank you for your help!
Plumrose

[foxcole]

Please visit the link in my sig line to the forum Survival Guide, written by Hagar.

First question:
In Excel, one person could have a spreadsheet open for editing, and a second person could open the spreadsheet (in read-only mode) and be able to edit/change cells to check calculations etc. with no intention of saving any changes. But, in OOCalc, when you open a spreadsheet as read-only, you cannot change any cell info. The sheets that I'm concerned about are used mainly for computations only, and are not intended to store any info other than the formulas. They are worksheets that are intended to be used simultaneously by several people. It has crossed my mind to give everyone their own copy of the file, but the formulas are updated on a daily basis by the department head, and for everyone to use a separate copy would be a nightmare for them to update each one individually.
If anyone knows how to open a document as read-only, and still be able to edit the cells, I would appreciate any help you can offer.

One way to do this is to protect the sheet with a password (don't have to protect the whole file). Users can view and even copy information (data and formulas) from cells in this sheet, but edit requires the user to know the password. If the password is somehow lost or forgotten (hard to imagine in an environment where one or two people are making frequent changes) the data and formulas can be copied out into a new sheet, so it won't be forever out of reach.

Second question:
How do you record a macro and bind it to a certain key combination? In Excel, there was a dialog box that asked you for a key combination, but in OOCalc, I can't seem to figure out how this is done. If anyone can help, I'd appreciate it.

To record: Tools> Macros> Record Macro. (If you want a detailed tutorial example, see the link to PDF guides in my sig line below, and find the link to download individual chapters. There, look for the Calc guide, chapter 12.)

To assign: In that same link to PDF guides, find the Getting Started Guide. See chapter 17 "Getting Started with Macros", section "How to Run a Macro", subsection "Keyboard Shortcuts", and Appendix A "Keyboard Shortcuts".