Sharing Calc Data with Writer

You can quickly place a Calc spreadsheet (including a chart) into a Writer document using the Copy and Paste commands. This places a copy of the Calc spreadsheet into the Writer document as an object. You can then edit the object (using all the Calc tools) as needed.

To place the Calc spreadsheet data into the Writer document so that changes that you make to the original Calc spreadsheet are reflected in the Writer document, you can insert the Calc spreadsheet as a DDE (Dynamic Data Exchange) object. Any changes you make to the original spreadsheet will update the DDE object that you have placed in the Writer document.

To Use the AutoPilot to Create a Document

Writer provides you with all the abilities and functions of a high-end word processing program. You can easily create a variety of document types (even your own Web site). For documents like memos, agendas, and letters, you can quickly create a new document based on one of the many document templates.

1.	Select the File menu, point at AutoPilot, and then select one of the AutoPilot templates provided (such as Memo). The AutoPilot Memo Wizard will appear (see Figure 13.1). Figure 13.1. The AutoPilot walks you through the steps of creating a variety of different document types.
2.	Make the appropriate selection on the first AutoPilot wizard screen and then click Next to continue.
3.	When you have completed making the appropriate selections on all the AutoPilot screens, click Finish to create the document.

Figure 13.2 shows a simple memo created using the AutoPilot Memo Wizard. Once you have your Writer document in place, there are actually several different strategies for placing a Calc spreadsheet in the Writer document.

To Copy and Paste a Calc Spreadsheet

If you want to place Calc spreadsheet information into a Writer (or other application) document, and you just want to take a sort of “snapshot” of the data, you can use the Copy and Paste commands. The Calc data you copy to the document is no longer linked to the original spreadsheet file, meaning that updates made to the original spreadsheet will not be reflected in the document holding the copied spreadsheet.

1.	Open the target document in the StarOffice workspace.
2.	Open the Calc spreadsheet in the StarOffice workspace.
3.	Click and drag to select the data in the spreadsheet you wish to copy.
4.	Click the Copy tool on the Function toolbar.
5.	Click the Document Task button on the StarOffice taskbar.
6.	Position the insertion point in the document where you want to place the copied spreadsheet data.
7.	Click the Paste tool on the Function toolbar.

The spreadsheet data will be placed at the insertion point as an object.

To Drag and Drop a Calc Spreadsheet

You can also drag selected data from a Calc spreadsheet to another document. All you have to do is arrange both of the application windows on the StarOffice desktop simultaneously.

1.	Open the Calc spreadsheet and target document.
2.	Select the Window menu, then select one of the window arrangement commands such as Tile, Horizontally, or Vertically. This will split the workspace so that you can view both application windows at the same time. Figure 13.3 shows a Calc spreadsheet and a Writer memo open side by side. Figure 13.3. You can open multiple windows on the StarOffice desktop and drag information from one window to another.
3.	Select the data you wish to drag and drop to the other application window.
4.	Drag the selected cells from the Calc window to the other application window.

The spreadsheet information will be placed in the other application window as an object.

To Edit Pasted Data

Since Calc spreadsheet data is copied into another application, such as Writer, as an object, you can quickly edit the data using the features and functions of the parent application.

All you have to do is double-click on the data object. The menus and toolbars for the parent application (in this case, Calc) will appear in the current application window. Figure 13.4 shows a Calc spreadsheet in a Writer memo. When the spreadsheet is activated, Writer's toolbars and menus are replaced by Calc's.

When you have edited the spreadsheet, click anywhere outside the spreadsheet in the document window. The tools and menus for the current document will return.

You can also size or drag a Calc object as you would any object. For more information about working with objects in general, see “Formatting Graphics and Objects” in Chapter 11.

Linking Calc Spreadsheets to Other Documents

You can also copy a Calc spreadsheet into a document (such as a Writer document) so that any changes made to the original spreadsheet are reflected in the “copy” that was placed in the document. This means that the Calc spreadsheet must be pasted into the document as a DDE object.

In this scenario, you are linking the copied data back to the original Calc database, which becomes the server application for the linked object. Creating a DDE object is just as easy as doing a regular copy and paste of a Calc spreadsheet into another application. How you edit the information in the linked table, however, is not performed directly in the document, but in the server or parent application.

To Copy a Calc Spreadsheet as a DDE Object

When you link a Calc Spreadsheet as a DDE object to a Writer document, it is converted to a Writer table.

1.	Open the Calc spreadsheet and select the data you wish to link.
2.	Click the Copy button on the Function toolbar.
3.	Open the Writer or other document (or switch to the open document via the taskbar).
4.	Place the insertion point where you want to paste the DDE object.
5.	Select the Edit menu, then select Paste Special. The Paste Special dialog box will open (see Figure 13.5). Figure 13.5. The Paste Special dialog box allows you to insert the new object as a DDE link.
6.	In the dialog box, select DDE link.
7.	Click OK. The spreadsheet data will be placed in the document as a table. Figure 13.6 shows the results of pasting a Calc spreadsheet into a Writer document as a DDE link. Figure 13.6. A Calc DDE link appears as a table in a Writer document.

To Edit a Calc DDE Link

You edit the table produced in the DDE link (as far as the data content is concerned) in the original Calc spreadsheet that the object is linked to.

To Edit the Contents of a DDE Link

Editing the data in a DDE link is really a no-brainer. All you have to do is edit the data or formulas in the original spreadsheet file. Then when you open the document containing the DDE link or switch to the Writer document on the StarOffice desktop, the links in the object will be immediately updated.

DDE links are great in situations where you are building a large report and the information in the report is being pulled from spreadsheets that are being produced by coworkers. Any changes that they make to their spreadsheet files will be reflected in the links in the Writer report.