Commonwealth Computer Navigator's Certificate

Module 4 : Spreadhseets using OpenOffice 3.0 Back to Module 3 : Word Processing using OpenOffice 3.0 Writer

Getting to know the application | Working with and in cells | Managing Worksheets | Working with Formulas and Functions | Formatting cells | Creating charts and graphs | Preparing the spreadsheet for distribution Go to Module 5 : Database Management using OpenOffice 2.0 Base

Section 4.2: Working with and in cells Section Overview Now that we have familiarised ourselves with all the elements that comprise the spreadsheet, we are ready to lay the ground work for actually using the tool. As you must have realised by this time, everything that we do in the spreadsheet takes place inside of the cell. The cell is the smallest unit of the spreadsheet and it is when we put cells together that we get rows and columns. So even when we are talking about rows and columns, essentially, we are talking about a series of cells organised in a particular way in a single worksheet or the several worksheets that comprise the spreadsheet. Having said that, we need to emphasize that it is more than just the cell itself that we are interested in when we work with spreadsheets; there is no point in simply having a whole spreadsheet of empty cells. In this section, we will be focusing on cells with content, otherwise known as data. Specifically, we will be paying attention to the various operations we can perform with cells depending on what we want to do with the content they contain Outcomes Upon completion of this tutorial the learner will: Select cells, rows, columns Deselect a cell or a range of cells Insert one or several rows and columns Delete one or several rows and columns Modify one or several rows or columns Make changes to the contents of cells Shift cells Use the search and replace function Sort data. (: We can reduce the number of objectives by merging similar objectives, For example : Select and deselcting a cell or Range of Cells) The following sub-sections are covered in this tutorial: Selection in a worksheet Inserting within a worksheet Deleting rows and columns in a worksheet Modifying column widths and row heights Entering data in cells Making changes to the contents of cells Shifting cells Using the Search and Replace Command Sorting data