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Calc enables you to create and edit one or more sheets that you store in spreadsheets. Typically, people work with a single sheet for simple applications, such as a worksheet that an investor might use to analyze a single stock investment. See Also 38 Set Calc Options 39 Create a New Spreadsheet 45 Edit Cell Data Typically, Calc helps users prepare financial information, but you can manage other kinds of data in Calc, such as a project timeline. Calc even supports simple database routines (see Chapter 10, "Using Calc as a Simple Database"). If your project requires multiple closely linked financial sheets, you'll keep those sheets in one large spreadsheet file. NOTE
A simple example may help solidify the difference between a spreadsheet and a sheet in your mind. A company with several divisions might create a spreadsheet with annual sales for each division, and each division might be represented with its own tabbed sheet inside the spreadsheet. Any time you create, open , or save a Calc file, you are working with a spreadsheet. Often, that spreadsheet contains only one sheet. When that's the case, the terms spreadsheet and sheet really are basically synonymous. A sheet is a collection of rows and columns that holds text and numbers . All Calc files end in the .sxc filename extension. Your spreadsheet name is the Calc name you assign when you save the file. You can save Calc sheets and spreadsheets in HTML and other spreadsheet formats, such as Microsoft Excel and Star Calc. When you save your sheet as an HTML file, you can embed your sheet data inside a Web page. To save your work, select File, Save ; then name your Calc spreadsheet, specify the location, and select the format if you want to save the spreadsheet in a non-Calc format. To load an existing Calc file, use File, Open . TIP
A sheet is set up in a similar manner to a Writer table (see 23 About Writer Tables ), except that Calc sheets can do much more high-end, numeric calculating than Writer tables can. Initially, blank Calc spreadsheets contain three sheets, named Sheet1, Sheet2 , and Sheet3 . When you click a sheet's tab, Calc brings that sheet into view. Initially, you'll probably stay with one sheet per spreadsheet, so you'll typically never have to click the secondary sheet tabs to bring the other sheets into view. KEY TERM
Each sheet column has a heading; heading names start with A, B , and so on. Each row has a heading, starting with 1, 2 , and so on. The intersection of a row and column, called a cell , also has a name, which comes from combining the column number and row name, such as C4 or A1. A1 is always the top-left cell on any sheet. The gridlines throughout the sheet help you to distinguish between cells . NOTE
Every cell in your spreadsheet contains a unique name or address to which you can refer when you are tabulating data. This name is called the cell reference , and it is unique for each cell in the sheet. The active cell or cells are always highlighted with a dark border ( 45 Edit Cell Data shows how to select multiple cells). A cell's location, also known as its reference , appears in the Sheet Area portion of the screen. |
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