Calc Guide

Introduction
Many requests for software support are the result of using complicated formulas and
solutions to solve simple day to day problems. More efficient and effective solutions
use the DataPilot, a tool for combining, comparing, and analyzing large amounts of
data easily. Using the DataPilot, you can view different summaries of the source data,
display the details of areas of interest, and create reports, whether you are a
beginner, an intermediate or advanced user.
This chapter is divided into two sections:
• “Examples with step by step descriptions” uses three typical cases to
demonstrate the advantages and applications of the DataPilot. Follow the
examples to learn how easy it is to use the DataPilot.
• “DataPilot functions in detail” starting on page 214 describes the DataPilot in
detail. You can use this part to look up how a function is used.
Examples with step by step descriptions
This section demonstrates some of the possibilities of the DataPilot in typical use
cases. By following the step by step description, you can recreate the examples and
learn about the power of the DataPilot.
Example 1: Sales volume overview
A typical introductory example in courses and books for beginners with spreadsheets
is a simple sales volume overview.
Figure 165: Typical example for beginners
This example demonstrates the user interface and how to insert text and numbers
into cells. Useful aids like AutoFill and drag and drop have been demonstrated in
other chapters. The most important part is the connection between cells through
formulas, for example addition with the plus operator or the SUM function.
This small exercise might be useful for a first contact with the program, but it shows
only a very small fraction of the tasks in an office. To create such a sales overview,
you also need the original base data. That is, before you can use a spreadsheet to
create a sales overview, you need to add the (possibly many) single purchases from
different lists and then enter the sums into the relevant cells C5 to F7.
194 OpenOffice.org 3.3 Calc Guide