Spreadsheet values do not update when the Master Spreadsheet is changed

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chrisb
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Re: Spreadsheet values do not update when the Master Spreadsheet is changed

Post by chrisb »

@Zolko, is this an Assembly4 issue or a general FreeCAD one?
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PAS_Drafter
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Re: Spreadsheet values do not update when the Master Spreadsheet is changed

Post by PAS_Drafter »

ping @Zolko

Hi, I know you are probably pretty busy and sometimes messages get lost in the shuffle. I just wanted to ping you one more time to see if you could tell us if this is an Assembly4 issue or something else. I want to get this on the list to get fixed if possible as it makes the models unreliable as you never know if the values from the various spreadsheets have been updated or not when you make a change somewhere up the line.

Thanks
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Zolko
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Re: Spreadsheet values do not update when the Master Spreadsheet is changed

Post by Zolko »

chrisb wrote: Fri Sep 30, 2022 8:07 pm @Zolko, is this an Assembly4 issue or a general FreeCAD one?
I don't understand, what does this have to do with Assembly4 ? Also, if you're using Assembly4 WB, why not use the included Variables instead of a spreadsheet ?
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PAS_Drafter
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Re: Spreadsheet values do not update when the Master Spreadsheet is changed

Post by PAS_Drafter »

Zolko wrote: Thu Oct 27, 2022 10:24 am Also, if you're using Assembly4 WB, why not use the included Variables instead of a spreadsheet ?
I am not sure why @chrisb felt it might be an Assemlby4 issue, but when I brought up the issue, he did want to have your input on it before moving it up in the bug list.

As for the Variables question, I use spreadsheets instead as I pass required common measurements for various parts from a master spreadsheet. This way I have one place where I can make a change and then those changes can be "automatically" sent to the other parts that are related to it. I've tried using shape binders and other tools to do this, but I always get bit by the TNP and the links end up getting screwed up. Ever since I moved to the Master spreadsheet, I have had few problems with TNP and when I do, it is usually easily fixed.

It is an unusual problem in that if I have simple spreadsheets like I've attached here, I can change the master value and when I go to the two linked spreadsheets, the imported (linked) values show #PENDING. I then know there are changes that need to be applied, so I hit Refresh and everything, including the calculations down lower in the spreadsheet are updated. This is how I would expect it to work (ideally we would skip the refresh, but that isn't a big deal).

I don't know what happens, but on the original example I posted, these links seem to stop working. On the original files I provided, when you make a change in the Master, the linked spreadsheets are no longer updated nor do they show the #PENDING in the cell to let you know a change is waiting to be applied. If you know the change is waiting, you CAN go to that cell and hit Recompute and it does update, however any calculations that use that value in the spreadsheet do not update. Additionally using the Refresh button does not cause the out of date cells to update. The only way I can get these cells to update is to go to each cell manually, one at a time, and hit Recompute or close the file and reopen it.

This is why it has been hard for met to get a handle on it. If someone tries to duplicate it with new files, the problem doesn't appear to happen. However for some reason, at some point, the links start to fail. When they do, the spreadhseets become very unreliable. If I knew what it was that caused it to stop working, believe me, I'd quit doing that :-).
Attachments
Master.FCStd
(3.69 KiB) Downloaded 6 times
Link2.FCStd
(3.83 KiB) Downloaded 8 times
Link1.FCStd
(3.83 KiB) Downloaded 10 times
chrisb
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Re: Spreadsheet values do not update when the Master Spreadsheet is changed

Post by chrisb »

Zolko wrote: Thu Oct 27, 2022 10:24 am I don't understand, what does this have to do with Assembly4 ?
Sorry for the rant. I am neither a spreadsheet nor an assembly expert. As it was explicitely mentioned in the OP that this happened with an assembly, I thought I'd better ask.

@PAS_Drafter, if you find or assume an error, please drill it down as far as possible. Simplify your model so that the issue still appears, but vanishes if you simplify it further. This helps the developers to find the bug, and may show you the real cause in case it isn't one.
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Laurie Hartley
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Re: Spreadsheet values do not update when the Master Spreadsheet is changed

Post by Laurie Hartley »

I have had a similar issue with an AP2 model. Not wishing to offend and indeed at the the risk of embarrassing myself I solved it by using from the top menu File > Save on both the spreadsheet and the model itself. Then when I hit the “update” icon the changes were applied.
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