Spreadsheets
- The most common spreadsheets are Lotus 123, Excel, and Quattro, each part of an Office package (Lotus Office, Microsoft Office, and Corel Office, respectively)
- All spreadsheets use a basic row and column format
- Spreadsheets are capable of graphing data
- Spreadsheets are also capable of performing many types of calculations.
- Getting help
- The most common spreadsheets are Lotus 123, Excel, and Quattro, each part of an Office package (Lotus Office, Microsoft Office, and Corel Office, respectively)
- Microsoft Office is most common on PCs and Macs
- Student discounts on Corel Office are tremendous
- Many large corporations use Lotus Office
- Works packages, such as Microsoft Works, Clarisworks, etc., include a spreadsheet with more limited capabilities.
- All spreadsheets use a basic row and column format
(See Demo)
- Rows are usually referred to by number, columns by letter
A1 refers to the top-left cell. B1 refers to the cell to its right.
- A range of values is referred to by specifying the cells in each corner of a rectangle, placing .. in between
A1..B3 refers to the 6 cells, A1,A2,A3,B1,B2,B3
- In Windows and Mac programs, cells can be highlighted (selected) by holding down the left mouse button and dragging the point to the opposite corner of the rectangle
- Spreadsheets are capable of graphing data
(See Demo)
- Select the data to be graphed, as discussed above.
- What you do next depends on the program, but generally all of the programs will have an icon that looks something like a graph. Click on it and proceed.
- Some common graph types are pie graphs, bar graphs, X-Y scatter and line graphs, and three-dimensional surfaces.
- The graphs can be annotated using the drawing tools in the spreadsheet, making adding lines and text easy.
- Spreadsheets are also capable of performing many types of calculations.
(see Demo)
- As before, you need to be able to select the data you want to analyze.
- Example calculations include sums, averages, and basic statistics.
- Each spreadsheet has a set of functions for performing these calculations.
For many, the functions start with an @ sign, such as @sum(A1..A3) which will sum the first three values in column A
- Getting help
- Windows and Mac programs have good on-line help programs.
Read through the introductory parts and use SEARCH to find other topics
- Many books are available on spreadsheets. It may be worth your time to invest.
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