Chapter12.Spreadsheets

Chapter 12. Spreadsheets

Spreadsheet applications are widely used. Spreadsheets organize data into rows and columns. You can enter numbers into the spreadsheet and perform mathematical operations on them, simple operations or very complication operations. Spreadsheets facilitate analysis and "what if" questions. You can also enter text datacolumn or row labels, comments, notes, etc. Spreadsheets can be simple or extremely complex.

Calc is the spreadsheet application in OpenOffice. It has functionality equal to Microsoft Excel, the leading spreadsheet application. It includes all the advanced features, such as functions, charts, storing graphics in the document, drawing in the document, and others.

Spreadsheet applications store both the content of the spreadsheet and the information needed for formatting it. A spreadsheet file includes information about margins, text size, indents, font style and type, colors, and many other things. Different spreadsheet files store the formatting information differently. Consequently, one spreadsheet application can't open files from another spreadsheet application. However, most spreadsheet applications provide features that allow the exchange of spreadsheets with major applications. For instance, Excel can convert Lotus, QuatroPro, and dBASE files.

OpenOffice Calc can read Excel files. Excel can't read OpenOffice Calc files in Calc 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. Read more about document formats in the section "Saving and Printing."