[Solved] History of edits in calc

[EvMa]

Hi
I’m having interesting problem to solve and to be honest i cant think of a way to tell calc that it should track my current edits and append them to (currently non existing) history sheet (file).

In one of my sheets i have multiplle rows that I edit daily and now there is need that i somehow maintain history of edits.So if row is changed it should (automatically) recognize that row is changed and transfer entire row into new sheet or even new ods file, what is important is that new change is in row below the old one.

I can do this manually, but more elegant solution would be a time saver.
Is there a solution for this situation?

[RusselB]

Have you considered using Edit -> Changes

[EvMa]

Hi RusselB,
thanks for taking the time.
Unfortunalely it is not enough, ( I could be wrong, but as i can see i can only view last change)

I was thinking of a function which would compare row from sheet history with row from sheet warehouse and if it is different, to insert new row below (in history sheet) with information from that warehouse row.
however i do not know how to create new row from function or how to copy row to new sheet.

[Zizi64]

Your signature is:

OpenOffice 2.4 on Ubuntu 9.04

Please upgrade your software to the latest Apache OpenOffice and/or the latest 'Still' version of the LibreOffice.
(...And (or) please update your signature.)

[mgroenescheij]

Calc only gives you changes made by whom at what time, for a transaction log you need to consider a database.

[EvMa]

Your signature is:

OpenOffice 2.4 on Ubuntu 9.04

Please upgrade your software to the latest Apache OpenOffice and/or the latest 'Still' version of the LibreOffice.
(...And (or) please update your signature.)

Signature updated as is software.

[jrkrideau]

I don't think there is any practical 'automatic' way to do this within Calc. The closest thing to what you want that I can think of is a version control system but it is not automatic. See something like Subversion or https://git-scm.com/ though there are others around.

They may or may not be overkill depending on what you need. I have read of people writing a PhD dissertation who swear by a version control system although I believe that version control systems were designed for software development teams.

[Lupp]

The question is not clear to the detail for me.
However, if you cannot accept the suggestion to use a database instead of Calc, you should design your sheets and the evaluations/queries in a way enabling reliable tracking:
Do not change rows by your editing but add new ones.
Any different approach will (imo, of course) be either fragile or require a lot of programming. Even recording the history of a single cell's value by formulae cannot be done without a lot of helpers and taking risks. Creating a history for a single cell or a specific row by custom programming is not precisely difficult. It comes, however, with all the basic disadvantages of custom programming - and it will not meet your needs, presumably, on the long run.
As compared with all that keeping many rows (one recent and valid, others simply history) can easily be managed by implementing conditions in the evaluating formulae. And even better, if need arises, you can parametrise the conditions to evaluate any status quo ante.

Editing:
To explicate what I was talking of I made an example. See attached.

[MrProgrammer]

I could be wrong, but as i can see i can only view last change

Edit → Changes → Accept or reject shows all of the values which have been modified. You don't have to accept or reject if you only want to view.

I was thinking of a function which would compare row from sheet history with row from sheet warehouse and if it is different, to insert new row below (in history sheet) with information from that warehouse row.

Spreadsheets don't work that way. To log transactions you need a database.

[EvMa]

Thanks for your input, in the end it was decided that python app will be made to accommodate requirements +few extra goodies.
I still believe i could do this in calc, but it is beyond my current level.
Thanks again.

[Lupp]

Will we be informed of your achievements?

[EvMa]

Of course Lupp

[EvMa]

update: nothing new considering calc, python app is made and it does the job well.
@Lupp I never thanked for your input and example so thank you.