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<h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="office-calc"></a>2. Calculations and
Simulations
</h2>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><a name="BId-office-calc-pa6"></a>
<a class="indexterm" name="BIdNEW-office-calc-it2"></a>
<span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="images/ooo-calc2.0.png"></span> Choose
<span class="guimenu">Office</span>+<span class="guimenu">Spreadsheets</span> → <span class="guimenuitem">OpenOffice.org Calc</span> from the main menu to launch
<span class="application">OpenOffice.org Calc</span>.
</p>
<div class="section" lang="en">
<div class="titlepage">
<div>
<div>
<h3 class="title"><a name="office-calc-interface"></a>2.1. Spreadsheet
Interface
</h3>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="figure"><a name="d5e2155"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 3.2. OpenOffice.org Calc's Main
Window</b></p>
<div class="figure-contents">
<div class="mediaobject"><img src="images/ooo-calc-interface.png" alt="OpenOffice.org Calc's Main Window"></div>
</div>
</div><br class="figure-break">
<p><b>Format
Bar. </b>
This is the
standard format bar for all
<span class="application">OpenOffice.org</span> applications,
you can use it to change fonts, colors, alignment, etc. of
the application's data.
</p>
<p><b>Formula
Bar. </b>
Use it to
enter, edit or delete formulas inside cells.
</p>
<p><b>Work
Area. </b>
This is where you enter the
data in the spreadsheet: numbers, dates, formulas, images,
etc.
</p>
<p><b>Select
All. </b>
Clicking on
this little area at the top left corner of the Work Area
selects
<span class="emphasis"><em>all</em></span> cells at once. It's useful when you
need to make changes which are
“<span class="quote">global</span>” to the spreadsheet. For example,
changing all font sizes in the cells to
<code class="literal">10pts</code>(points).
</p>
<p><b>Sheet Changing
Buttons and Tabs. </b>
Spreadsheets
usually contain more than one sheet. You can use these
buttons to easily navigate through each of the
spreadsheet's sheets. From left to right they are:
<span class="guilabel">Go to the first sheet</span>,
<span class="guilabel">Go to the previous sheet</span>,
<span class="guilabel">Go to the next sheet</span> and
<span class="guilabel">Go to the last sheet</span>. You may also use
the tabs to switch between sheets.
</p>
</div>
<div class="section" lang="en">
<div class="titlepage">
<div>
<div>
<h3 class="title"><a name="office-calc-enter-data"></a>2.2. Entering Data
</h3>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><a name="BId-office-calc-pa16"></a>To enter data
into a cell, navigate to the cell and type the data in it,
pressing the
<span class="keycap"><strong>Enter</strong></span> key when you are finished.
</p>
<p><a name="BId-office-calc-pa17"></a>Auto-completion
simplifies data entry
“<span class="quote">guessing</span>” the next cell's value using the
current cell's value as a base. It works for any kind of data
which can be associated to a simple series of
integral numbers.
</p>
<div class="figure"><a name="office-calc-auto-complete"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 3.3. Simplifying Data Entry
Using Auto-Completion</b></p>
<div class="figure-contents">
<div class="mediaobject"><img src="images/oo-calc-auto-complete.png" alt="Simplifying Data Entry Using Auto-Completion"></div>
</div>
</div><br class="figure-break">
<p><a name="BId-office-calc-pa18"></a>To use
auto-completion, put your mouse over the base cell
“<span class="quote">handle</span>”(the little square located at the bottom
right of the cell border), click on it and drag the cell. The
cell values are then shown in a tool-tip (see
<a class="xref" href="office-calc.html#office-calc-auto-complete" title="Figure 3.3. Simplifying Data Entry Using Auto-Completion">Figure 3.3, “Simplifying Data Entry
Using Auto-Completion”</a>). Release the
mouse button to complete the cells once the desired final
value is shown.
</p>
<p><a name="BId-office-calc-pa19"></a>Cell data can
also be sorted according to different criteria. Select the
cells you want to sort and then open the sort options dialog
choosing
<span class="guimenu">Data</span> → <span class="guimenuitem">Sort</span> from the menu. Specify the sort criteria, order
and additional options and click on
<span class="guibutton">OK</span> to sort the cells.
</p>
<div class="tip" style="margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;">
<table border="0" summary="Tip">
<tr>
<td rowspan="2" align="center" valign="top" width="25"><img alt="[Tip]" src="images/tip.png"></td>
<th align="left">Tip</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">
<p><a name="BId-office-calc-pa20"></a>Make sure you
also select columns and rows which act as
“<span class="quote">headers</span>” for the data
so
they
“<span class="quote">follow</span>” the sorting of the data.
</p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
</div>
<div class="section" lang="en">
<div class="titlepage">
<div>
<div>
<h3 class="title"><a name="office-calc-formulas"></a>2.3. Adding Formulas
</h3>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><a name="BId-office-calc-pa22"></a>Formulas can be used to
“<span class="quote">automate</span>” the spreadsheet. For example, you can
run complex simulations. Within cells, formulas are defined
by preceding all cell data with the
<code class="literal">=</code> sign. Anything else is treated as
“<span class="quote">static</span>” data.
</p>
<p><a name="BId-office-calc-pa23"></a>Operations are
expressed using conventional algebraic notation. For example,
<code class="literal">=3*A25+4*(A20+C34/B34)</code> divides the value in
cell
<code class="literal">C34</code> by the value in cell
<code class="literal">B34</code>, adds the value in
<code class="literal">A20</code> to the result, multiplies that by
<code class="literal">4</code> and adds it to
<code class="literal">3</code> times the value of cell
<code class="literal">A25</code>. Therefore, rather complex expressions
can be made using simpler ones as a base.
</p>
<p><a name="BId-office-calc-pa24"></a>
<span class="application">OpenOffice.org Calc</span> gives you
many pre-defined functions which you can use in your
formulas. You can explore them by choosing the
<span class="guimenu">Insert</span> → <span class="guimenuitem">Function</span> menu.
</p>
<div class="tip" style="margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;">
<table border="0" summary="Tip">
<tr>
<td rowspan="2" align="center" valign="top" width="25"><img alt="[Tip]" src="images/tip.png"></td>
<th align="left">Tip</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">
<p><a name="BIdNEW-mandrivaone-office-pa113"></a>
<span class="inlinemediaobject"><img src="images/lc_insertformula.png"></span> You can also click on
the function wizard button for assistance with formula
entry.
</p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
</div>
<div class="section" lang="en">
<div class="titlepage">
<div>
<div>
<h3 class="title"><a name="office-calc-charts"></a>2.4. Charts: Explaining Data in a
Simpler Way
</h3>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><a name="BId-office-calc-pa26"></a>When a
spreadsheet contains too much information, it becomes
difficult to understand how pieces of data relate to one
another: too many numbers and too little meaning. The best
way to represent this kind of data is through a chart.
</p>
<p><a name="BId-office-calc-pa27"></a>As in all
data-analysis functions, you must select the region you
intend to show in the chart. So, select a range of cells and
then choose
<span class="guimenu">Insert</span> → <span class="guimenuitem">Chart</span> from the menu to bring up the chart
assistant.
</p>
<p><a name="BId-office-calc-pa28"></a>Make your
selections for the chart type, variant, title, axis titles,
etc., and then click
<span class="guibutton">Create</span> to create and insert the chart
in the spreadsheet (see
<a class="xref" href="office-calc.html#office-calc-inserted-chart" title="Figure 3.4. A 3D Chart Inside the Spreadsheet">Figure 3.4, “A 3D Chart Inside the
Spreadsheet”</a>).
</p>
<div class="figure"><a name="office-calc-inserted-chart"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 3.4. A 3D Chart Inside the
Spreadsheet</b></p>
<div class="figure-contents">
<div class="mediaobject"><img src="images/oo-calc-inserted-chart.png" alt="A 3D Chart Inside the Spreadsheet"></div>
</div>
</div><br class="figure-break">
<div class="tip" style="margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;">
<table border="0" summary="Tip">
<tr>
<td rowspan="2" align="center" valign="top" width="25"><img alt="[Tip]" src="images/tip.png"></td>
<th align="left">Tip</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">
<p><a name="BId-office-calc-pa29"></a>Charts are
“<span class="quote">dynamic</span>” in the spreadsheet, which means that
when you change data in a cell belonging to a chart, the
chart is automatically updated.
</p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
<div class="tip" style="margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;">
<table border="0" summary="Tip">
<tr>
<td rowspan="2" align="center" valign="top" width="25"><img alt="[Tip]" src="images/tip.png"></td>
<th align="left">Tip</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="left" valign="top">
<p><a name="BId-office-calc-pa30"></a>Double
clicking and then right-clicking on an inserted chart
brings up a menu showing options to change many chart
parameters.
</p>
</td>
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