Getting Started with Calc: The spreadsheet component of OpenOffice.org Title: Getting Started with Calc: The spreadsheet component of OpenOffice.org Version: 1.
Contents Overview........................................................................................................................................iii Copyright and trademark information.......................................................................................iii Feedback....................................................................................................................................iii Acknowledgments......................................................................
To delete a column or row........................................................................................................13 To insert multiple columns or rows..........................................................................................13 To delete multiple columns or rows..........................................................................................13 Inserting and deleting worksheets.............................................................................................
Overview Overview This chapter introduces Calc, the spreadsheet component of OpenOffice.org 1.x. Copyright and trademark information The contents of this Documentation are subject to the Public Documentation License, Version 1.0 (the “License”); you may only use this Documentation if you comply with the terms of this License. A copy of the License is available at: http://www.openoffice.org/licenses/PDL.rtf The Original Documentation is Calc: the spreadsheet component.
What is Calc? What is Calc? Calc is the spreadsheet component of OpenOffice.org (OOo). You can enter data, usually numerical data, in a spreadsheet and then manipulate this data to produce certain results. Alternatively you can enter data and then use Calc in a ‘What If...’ manner by changing some of the data and observing the results without having to retype the entire workbook or sheet. A major advantage of electronic spreadsheets is that the data is easier to alter.
Parts of the main Calc window Parts of the main Calc window When Calc is started, the main window will look similar to Figure 1. Figure 1. Parts of the Calc window Title bar and Menu bar The Title bar, at the top, shows the name of the current workbook and the version of OOo in use. If the workbook is new, then its name is Untitled X, with X being a number. When you save a new workbook for the first time, you will be prompted to enter a name. Under the Title bar is the Menu bar.
Parts of the main Calc window The icons on these toolbars provide a wide range of common commands and functions. The toolbars can be modified, as discussed in the chapter titled “Menus and Toolbars” in the Common Features Guide. Placing the mouse pointer over any of the icons displays a small yellow box, called a tool tip It gives a brief explanation of the button’s function. Turning on Extended Tips under the Help menu, Help > Extended Tips, will provide a more detailed explanation of the buttons.
Parts of the main Calc window Load URL Font Name Font Size Click the little button with an inverted triangle to the right of the box to open a menu. From the Load URL menu you can open a new document. From the Font Name and Font Size menus, you can change the font and its size in selected cells. Figure 3. Load URL, Font Name, and Font Size Formula bar On the left of the Formula bar (see Figure 4) is a small text box, called the Sheet Area box, with a letter and number combination in it, such as D7.
Parts of the main Calc window Individual cells The main section of the screen displays the individual cells in the form of a grid, with each cell being at the intersection of a particular column and row. At the top of the columns and at the left-hand end of the rows are a series of gray boxes containing letters and numbers. These are the column and row identifiers. The columns start at A and go on to the right and the rows start at 1 and go on downwards.
Opening existing workbooks Opening existing workbooks From the File menu Click on the File menu and then select Open. From the toolbar Click the Open button on the Function bar. From the keyboard Use the key combination Control+O. Each of these options displays the Open dialog box (Figure 6), where you can locate the workbook that you want to open. Figure 6.
Saving workbooks Saving workbooks Workbooks can be saved in three ways: From the File menu Click on the File menu and then select Save. From the toolbar Click on the Save button on the Function bar. This button will be greyed-out and unselectable if the file has been saved and no subsequent changes have been made. From the keyboard Use the key combination Control+S. If the workbook has not been saved previously, then each of these actions will open the Save As dialog box.
Navigating within worksheets Navigating within worksheets Going to a particular cell Using the mouse Place the mouse pointer over the cell and left-click. Using its cell reference Click on the little inverted black triangle just to the right of the Sheet Area (Figure 4) box, the existing cell reference will be highlighted. Type the cell reference of the cell you want to go to and press Enter. Or just click into the Sheet Area box, backspace over the existing cell reference and type in the cell you want.
Navigating within worksheets Moving from cell to cell In the workbook, one cell, or a group of cells, normally has a darker black border. This black border indicates the focus is. Figure 9. (Left) One selected cell and (right) a group of selected cells Using the Tab and Enter keys • Pressing Enter or Shift+Enter moves the focus down or up, respectively. • Pressing Tab or Shift+Tab moves the focus right or left, respectively.
Navigating within worksheets Click here to create a new sheet Figure 10. Creating a new sheet Move to the first sheet Move left one sheet Move right one sheet Move to the last sheet Sheet tabs Figure 11. Moving from sheet to sheet If you need more sheets, an easy way to create them is to click into the little empty space at the right of the last sheet tab (as in Figure 10). Or you can select Insert > Sheet from the Menu bar, or right-click on one of the sheet tabs and select Insert Sheet.
Navigating within worksheets Key Combination Movement Control+PageDown One sheet to the right (in Sheet Tabs) Control+PageUp One sheet to the left (in Sheet Tabs) Tab To the cell on the right Shift+Tab To the cell on the left Enter Down one cells Shift+Enter Up one cell Selecting items in a worksheet To select a cell Left-click in the cell. To select a range of cells by dragging the mouse Click in a cell, press and hold down the left mouse button and then move the mouse around the screen.
Selecting items in a worksheet To select cells which are not contiguous 1) Select the first range of more than one cell using one of the methods above. 2) Move the mouse pointer to the start of the next range or single cell (single cells work as subsequent items), hold down the Control key and click or click-and-drag to select a range. Repeat as necessary. Tip: The first range must include at least two cells, otherwise this technique will not work.
Inserting and deleting columns and rows Inserting and deleting columns and rows To insert a single column or row Left-click on the column or row identifier to select the entire column or row and then: • Go to the Insert menu and select Columns or Rows, or • Hold down the left mouse button on the Insert Cells icon in the main bar and select Insert Columns or Insert Rows from within the extra toolbar that appears, or • Right-click on the column or row identifier and select Insert Column or Insert Row fr
Inserting and deleting worksheets Inserting and deleting worksheets To insert new worksheets Left-click on the tab of the existing sheet that you want to place the new sheet next to, and then either: • Click on the Insert menu and select Sheet, or • Right-click on its tab and select Insert Sheet, or • Click into an empty space at the end of the line of sheet tabs. Each method will open the Insert Sheet dialog box.
Worksheet views Worksheet views Using the zoom function The zoom function allows you to change the view in order to see more, or fewer, cells on the window. The zoom function can be activated by either: • Going to the View menu and selecting Zoom, or • Double-clicking on the percentage figure in the status bar at the bottom of the window. Both methods will open the Zoom dialog box. This dialog box has the following options listed on the left-hand side.
Worksheet views Figure 12. Frozen rows and columns Freezing Freezing is activated as follows: 1) Click into the cell that is immediately below the rows you want locked and immediately to the right of the columns you want locked. 2) Go to the Window menu and select Freeze. 3) You will see two lines appear on the screen, a horizontal line above this cell and a vertical line to the left of this cell. Now as you scroll around the screen everything above and to the left of these lines will remain in view.
Worksheet views Why would you want to do this? Imagine you have a large spreadsheet and one of the cells has a number in which is used by three formulas in other cells. Using the split screen technique, you can position the cell with the number in in one section and each of the cells with formulas in in the other sections. Then you can change the number in the cell and watch how it affects each of the formulas. Figure 13.
Worksheet views ‘Beta’ and ‘A0’ values and watch their affects on the calculations in the lower half of the window. You can also split the window vertically as described below – with the same results, being able to scroll both parts of the window independently. With both horizontal and vertical splits, you have four independent windows to scroll.
Entering data into a worksheet Entering numbers as text If a number is entered in the format 01481, Calc will drop the leading 0. To preserve this, in the case of telephone area codes for example, precede the number with an apostrophe – like so: '01481. However, the data is now regarded as text by Calc. Arithmetic operations will not work on it. It will either be ignored or will produce an error of some kind. Entering dates and times Select the cell and type the date or time.
Entering data into a worksheet Entering data into a range of cells 1) Select a range of cells by clicking in one cell and then dragging downwards and across until a few columns and rows are selected. The cell under the mouse pointer, the Active Cell, will be highlighted a little differently than the others. 2) Press Enter to move the active cell up to the top left cell of the highlighted block. 3) Type in your first data item, which will appear in the Active Cell, and when complete press Enter.
Entering data into a worksheet 3) If this is correct, press Enter or an arrow key to accept it. 4) If it is not correct, then continue typing the text you want to enter. 5) As you enter similar, but not identical, text, Calc will wait until you type something that is unique. For example, if you type, “Now is the time” in a new cell in the same column, Calc will continue to suggest “Now is the winter of our discontent” until you type the “t” in “time.” This is the first unique character.