Change tracking is an active topic of discussion in the OpenDocument TC at OASIS. So much so that a sub-committee was formed to create a change tracking proposal for ODF 1.3. OpenDocument – Advanced Document Collaboration SC
In a recent discussion, the sub-committee was reminded that MS Excel, that change tracking is only engaged when working on a “shared workbook.”
If I am working on a non-shared workbook, any changes I make, of whatever nature, formatting, data in cells, formulas, etc., are not being tracked.
Without change tracking, what are several subjects we can’t talk about in an Excel spreadsheet?
- We can’t talk about the author of a particular change.
- We can’t talk about the author of a change relative to other people or events (such as emails).
- We can’t talk about a prior value or formula “as it was.”
- We can’t talk about the origin of a prior value or formula.
- We can’t talk about a prior value or formula as compared to a later value or formula.
Transparency is the watchword of government and industry.
Opacity is the watchword of spreadsheet change tracking.
Do you see a conflict there?
Supporting the development change tracking in Open Document (ODF) at the OpenDocument TC could shine a bright light in a very dark place.