Summary

Spreadsheet applications are widely used. Calc is the spreadsheet application in OpenOffice. It has functionality equal to Microsoft Excel, the leading spreadsheet application.

OpenOffice Calc uses XML to store its documents. XML is a widely used, standard format for storing information in an application-independent format. OpenOffice Calc can read Excel files. Excel can't read OpenOffice Calc files in Calc XML format, but OpenOffice Calc can save documents in Excel format, so that Excel can open them. Calc also reads and writes documents in formats, such as HTML and SYLK, that are general formats, allowing the exchange of spreadsheets among applications.

This chapter describes how to:

• Create a spreadsheet

• Format cells and pages

• Edit a spreadsheet

• Use formulas and functions

• Save and print spreadsheets

The next chapter discusses the use of graphics on Linux, including drawing, presentation graphics, and pictures. Drawing and presentation graphics are created using the OpenOffice applications Impress and Draw.