Lecture 1: Spreadsheet

What is Spreadsheet?
Is a tool that is used to store, manipulate and
analyze data. Data in a spreadsheet is organized in a
series of rows and columns and can be searched, The Calc Main Window
sorted, calculated and used in a variety of charts and
graphs.
Is a computer program that can capture,
display and manipulate data arranged in rows and
columns.
Are one of the most popular tools available
with personal computers. A spreadsheet is generally
designed to hold numerical data and short text strings.

What is spreadsheet and its purpose?

Is purpose is to simplify to automatic data analysis, 1. Title bar. It is located at the top, showing the
spreadsheets can help you with a lot of your every name of the current spreadsheet. When the
tasks. spreadsheet is newly created, its name is
Untitled X, where X is a number. When you
Spreadsheets Examples save a spreadsheet for the first time, you are
prompted to enter a name of your choice.
1. Personal Monthly Budget
2. Billing Statements 2. Menu bar. It is located under the Title bar.
When you choose one of the menus, a sub-
Calc works with elements called spreadsheets. menu appears with other options.
Spreadsheets consist of a number of individual sheets,  File – contains commands that apply to the
each sheet containing cells arranged in rows and entire document; for example Open, Save,
columns. A particular cell is identified by its row Wizards, Export as PDF, Print, Digital
number and column letter. Signatures, and so on.
 Edit – contains commands for editing the
Cells hold the individual elements – text, numbers, document; for example Undo, Copy, Changes,
formulas, and so on – that make up the data to display Fill, Plug-in, and so on.
and manipulate.  View – contains commands for modifying
how the Calc user interface looks; for example
Each spreadsheet can have many sheets, and each Toolbars, Column & Row Headers, Full
sheet can have many individual cells. In Calc, each Screen, Zoom, and so on.
sheet can have a maximum of 1,048,576 rows and a  Insert – contains commands for inserting
maximum of 1024 columns. elements into a spreadsheet; for example Cells,
Rows, Columns, Sheets, Picture, and so on.
 Format – contains commands for modifying press the Esc key. Tips and extended tips can
the layout of a spreadsheet; for example Cells, be turned on or off from Tools > Options >
Page, Styles and Formatting, Alignment, and LibreOffice > General on the main menu bar.
so on. 4. Formula Bar. This is located at the top of the
 Tools – contains various functions to help you sheet in your Calc workspace. It is
check and customize your spreadsheet, for permanently docked in this position and
example Spelling, Share Document, Gallery, cannot be used as a floating toolbar. If the
Macros, and so on. Formula bar is not visible, go to View >
 Data – contains commands for manipulating Formula Bar on the main menu bar.
data in your spreadsheet; for example Define
Range, Sort, Consolidate, and so on. Going from left to right, the Formula bar consists of
 Window – contains commands for the display the following:
window; for example New Window, Split, and • Name Box – gives the cell reference using a
so on. combination of a letter and number, for
 Help – contains links to the help system example A1. The letter indicates the column
included with the software and other and the number indicates the row of the
miscellaneous functions; for example Help, selected cell.
License Information, Check for Updates, and • Function Wizard – opens a dialog from
so on. which you can search through a list of
available functions. This can be very useful
3. Toolbars. The default setting when Calc because it also shows how the functions are
opens is for the Standard and Formatting formatted.
toolbars to be docked at the top of the  Sum – clicking on the Sum icon totals the
workspace. numbers in the cells above the selected cell
 Calc toolbars can be either docked and fixed and then places the total in the selected cell. If
in place, or floating allowing you to move a there are no numbers above the selected cell,
toolbar into a more convenient position on then the cells to the left are totaled.
your workspace. Docked toolbars can be • Function – clicking on the Function icon
undocked and moved to different docked inserts an equals (=) sign into the selected cell
position on the workspace or undocked to and the input line allowing a formula to be
become a floating toolbar. Toolbars that are entered.
floating when opened can be docked into a • Input line – displays the contents of the
fixed position on your workspace. selected cell (data, formula, or function) and
 The default set of icons (sometimes called allows you to edit the cell contents. To edit
buttons) on toolbars provide a wide range of inside the Input line area, click in the area,
common commands and functions. then type your changes. To edit within the
 Placing the mouse cursor over any of the icons current cell, just double-click in the cell.
displays a small box called a tooltip. It gives a You can also edit the contents of a cell directly
brief explanation of the icon function. To close in the cell itself by double-clicking on the cell.
a tooltip, click once away from the icon or When you enter new data into a cell, the Sum
 and Function icons change to Cancel and 1) Right-click on the sheet tab and select Tab
Accept icons. Color from the context menu to open the Tab
Color dialog.
5. Individual cells. The main section of the 2) Select your color and click OK when finished
screen displays the cells in the form of a grid, to close the dialog.
with each cell being at the intersection of a
column and a row. 7. Status bar. This provides information about
• At the top of the columns and the left end of the spreadsheet and convenient ways to
the rows are a series of header boxes quickly change some of its features.
containing letters and numbers. The column
headers use an alpha character starting at A The various fields on the Status Bar, from left
and go on to the right. The row headers use a to right, are as follows.
numerical character starting at 1 and go down.
• These column and row headers form the cell • Sheet sequence number. Shows the sequence
references that appear in the Name Box on the number of the current sheet and the total
Formula Bar. number of sheets in the spreadsheet. The
• If the headers are not visible on your sequence number may not be the same as the
spreadsheet, go to View > Column & Row name on the sheet tab if sheets have been
Headers on the main menu bar moved. Double-click on this zone to open the
Navigator.
6. Sheet tabs. At the bottom of the grid of cells
in a spreadsheet are sheet tabs indicating how • Page style. Shows the page style of the current
many sheets there are in your spreadsheet. sheet. To edit the page style, double-click on
Clicking on a tab enables access to each this field and the Page Style dialog opens.
individual sheet and displays that sheet. An
active sheet is indicated with a white tab • Insert mode. Shows the type of insert mode
(default Calc setup). You can also select the program is in. Press the Ins key to change
multiple sheets by holding down the Ctrl key modes. This field is blank if the program is in
while you click on the sheet tabs. insert mode and Overwrite shows when in
overwrite mode.
To change the default name for a sheet
(Sheet1, Sheet2, and so on): • Selection mode. Click to open a context menu
1) Right-click on the sheet tab and select and toggle between Standard selection,
Rename Sheet from the context menu. A Extended selection, Adding selection or Block
dialog opens allowing you to type in a new selection. The icon does not change when
name for the sheet. different selection modes are selected, but the
2) Click OK when finished to close the dialog. tooltip shows the current status.

To change the color of a sheet tab:

 • Standard selection – click in text or cell where this percentage figure opens the Zoom & View
you want to position the cursor and make the Layout dialog.
cell active. Any other selection is then
deselected.
• Extend selection – clicking in the text either
extends or crops the current selection.
• Adding selection – a new selection is added to
an existing selection. The result is a multiple
selection.
• Block selection – a block of text can be Lecture 2: INTRODUCTION TO SPREADSHEET
selected.
• Unsaved changes. This icon indicates if there Spreadsheet
are any unsaved changes that have not been  derived from a large piece of paper that
saved. Double-click this icon or use File > accountants used for business finances
Save to save the spreadsheet.  The accountant would spread information like
• Digital signature. If the document has been costs, payments, taxes, income, etc out on a single,
digitally signed, an icon shows here. You can big, oversized sheet of paper to get a complete
double-click the icon to view the certificate. financial overview
See Chapter 6 Printing, Exporting, and E-  a document that contains rows and columns of
mailing in this guide for more information text and numbers
about digital signatures. A document can only Ledger
be digitally signed after it has been saved.  a book of spreadsheets containing accounts to
which debits and credits are posted from books of
• Cell or object information. Displays information original entry
relevant to the position of the cursor or the
selected element of the spreadsheet. When a group Spreadsheet program
of cells is selected, the sum of the contents is  is an application that helps the user to create
displayed by default. Right-click on this field and spreadsheets commonly used for budgets,
select other functions, such as the average value, forecasting, and other finance-related tasks
maximum value, minimum value, or count
(number of items selected). Electronic Spreadsheet
 electronic equivalent of an accounting
• Zoom slider. Drag the zoom slider, or click the + worksheet, comprised of rows and columns to allow
and – signs to change the view magnification. you to do many tasks in the organization of numbers
in a clear, easy to understand format
• Zoom percentage. Indicates the magnification  used in almost every profession to calculate,
level of the document. Right-click on the graph, analyze and store information
percentage figure to open a list of magnification  used for what-if calculations; change one
values from which to choose. Double-clicking on number in a spreadsheet and all the calculations in a
 large spreadsheet will re-calculate, will A page organized into rows and columns appearing
automatically change onscreen
 display information used for both simple and
complex “number crunching.” Workbook
A file containing a number of related worksheets
Examples of Spreadsheet usage:
 tracking personal investments BRIEF HISTORY OF SPREADSHEETS
 budgeting  1978 – The world’s first electronic spreadsheet
 Invoices program, VisiCalc, was invented.
 inventory tracking  Daniel Bricklin is considered to be the Father of
 statistical analysis Electronic Spreadsheet. He had help from Robert
 numerical modeling Frankston
 address books  Daniel Fylstra, founding Associate Editor of Byte
 telephone books Magazine, joined Bricklin and Frankston in developing
 printing labels VisiCalc
 1979 – VisiCalc was released to the public by Fylstra’s
Advantages of an Electronic Spreadsheet company, Personal Software (later renamed VisiCorp).
 Support good design and accurate results It became the first computer spreadsheet program and
 Program can quickly edit and format data the first killer application for PCs. (killer means,
 Perform calculations and create graphs strikingly impressive or effective)
 Perform “what-if” analysis by changing  1980 – SuperCalc, the first spreadsheet that ran on
independent values in the spreadsheet computers using the CP/M (Control Program/Monitor)
 Support simultaneous use of multiple sheet operating system, was introduced. The DIF (data
interchange format) was developed. This format
Disadvantages of an Electronic Spreadsheet allowed spreadsheet data to be shared and imported
 Need for specialized software and hardware into other programs.
 Time for planning and practicing  1981 – Multiplan, the first spreadsheet to handle
 Development of meaningful and useful multiple spreadsheets simultaneously, was released by
applications takes energy and effort Microsoft.
 Data can be incorrect, and must be reviewed  Context MBA, the first spreadsheet program that
and verified for accuracy handled five tasks (spreadsheets, graphs, databases,
 Complexity surrounding formulas and their word processing, and telecommunications), was
arguments invented and released by Context Management
 Lack of detail in error messages often causes Systems.
user’s frustration and wastes time  1983 – 1-2-3, the spreadsheet program that can handle
 Aspects of the spreadsheet can be applied three tasks (spreadsheets, graphs, and databases), was
incorrectly, due to incorrect assumptions, missing or released by Lotus Development. Lisa Calc, the first
inaccurate data spreadsheet program to use a mouse, was released by
Apple Computer, Inc.
Worksheet
 1985 – Excel, the spreadsheet program that can handle The first well-known microcomputer software
three tasks (spreadsheets, graphs, and databases) in a applications were the VisiCalc spreadsheet and the
graphical environment, was released by Microsoft word processors Applewriter and WordStar, all dating
Corporation. Excel can run on both PC and Mac. to the 1978—1979 period.
 1987 – Quattro Pro, the spreadsheet program that has
A few small businesses used computers before the
the combined features of 1-2-3 and Excel and runs in a
micros appeared, but primarily in professional
graphical environment, was released by Borland.
applications rather than as business tools.
Newer versions of Quattro Pro are now being
Minicomputers like the Honeywell (used in
developed by Corel Corp.
engineering) and the Wang (a dedicated word
 1987 – Up to Present, new spreadsheet programs and
processor much used by law-firms and here and there
updated versions of the old ones have flooded the
by a successful author) were in the small business
market.
price range. Since then the three related strands of
 2011 - Calc, one of the applications included in the
computing—hardware, software, and networks—have
LibreOffice package, is a spreadsheet program, similar
produced something of an avalanche of change in
to Microsoft Excel or Lotus 1-2-3. Developed by The
business administration and communications, every
Document Foundation, it has a number of unique
year bringing changes. Not surprisingly, four months
features, including a system which automatically
before 2006 began, PC Magazine published a forecast
defines series of graphs, based on information
entitled "2006: The Year Everything Changes." More
available to the us.
or less the same theme has been sounded every year
since 1980. But changes in computing and related
software applications have shifted toward cell-phone-
sized devices. In the traditional areas of office
computing, the emerging issues of the mid-2000s are
1) centralization and decentralization: should the
Lecture 3: Computer Applications
information technology (IT) staff have more or less
control; 2) renewal or adaptation: should aging
According to The History of Computing Project, the
applications be brought up to date or should the
prototype of the first microcomputer was introduced
business intelligently integrate old and new and save
by the aptly named Micro Computer Inc., Los Angeles,
money; and 3) Web-related expansion and
in 1968. ARPANET, a defense contractors'
exploitation.
information exchange and the precursor of the Internet,
was born a year later. Commercial microcomputers Small business has taken an active part both in the use
(Apple, Commodore, Tandy, Sinclair, and Texas and provision of computer applications. Once
Instruments) appeared in 1977. Apple Computer computers became affordable, they have been widely
introduced the first graphical interface with the deployed in small business and, whether stand-alone or
Macintosh; Microsoft followed with the first version of networked, have provided much the same
Windows in 1985. The Internet evolved from administrative support service they do in larger
ARPANET over a period of 18 years and, by 1987, it enterprises. Small businesses have also participated
was a world-wide network. By 1990 it was beginning actively in providing computer services, the production
to appear in small businesses, usually in text mode. of custom software, the writing of such software for
their own operations, in consulting with clients and  procedure to continue with policies
systems integration, and in Web-consulting and Web-  starting date of the policies
page design and development. By the very nature of  next due installment of a policy
the small business environment, small operations have  maturity date
found it easy to adapt and to respond rapidly to change  interests due
in what was a dynamic environment.  survival benefits
 bonus
Following list demonstrates various applications of
computers in today's arena. Education

Business The computer has provided a lot of facilities in the

education system.
A computer has high speed of calculation, diligence,
accuracy, reliability, or versatility which made it an  The computer provides a tool in the education
integrated part in all business organizations. system known as CBE (Computer Based
Education).
Computer is used in business organizations for:
 CBE involves control, delivery, and evaluation
 Payroll calculations of learning.
 Budgeting  The computer education is rapidly increasing
 Sales analysis the graph of number of computer students.
 Financial forecasting  There are number of methods in which
 Managing employees database educational institutions can use computer to
 Maintenance of stocks, etc. educate the students.
 It is used to prepare a database about
Banking
performance of a student and analysis is
Today banking is almost totally dependent on carried out on this basis.
computer. Banks provide following facilities:
Marketing
 Banks provide online accounting facility,
In marketing, uses of computer are following:
which includes current balances, deposits,
overdrafts, interest charges, shares, and trustee  Advertising - With computers, advertising
records. professionals create art and graphics, write and
 ATM machines are making it even easier for revise copy, and print and disseminate ads
customers to deal with banks. with the goal of selling more products.
 At Home Shopping - Home shopping has been
Insurance
made possible through use of computerized
Insurance companies are keeping all records up-to-date catalogues that provide access to product
with the help of computers. The insurance companies, information and permit direct entry of orders
finance houses and stock broking firms are widely to be filled by the customers.
using computers for their concerns.

Insurance companies are maintaining a database of all Health Care

clients with information showing
Computers have become important part in hospitals, Military
labs, and dispensaries. The computers are being used
Computers are largely used in defense. Modern tanks,
in hospitals to keep the record of patients and
missiles, weapons etc. Military also employs
medicines. It is also used in scanning and diagnosing
computerized control systems. Some military areas
different diseases. ECG, EEG, Ultrasounds and CT
where a computer has been used are:
Scans etc., are also done by computerized machines.
 Missile Control
Some major fields of health care in which computers
 Military Communication
are used are:
 Military Operation and Planning
 Diagnostic System - Computers are used to  Smart Weapons
collect data and identify cause of illness.
 Lab-diagnostic System - All tests can be done
Communication
and reports are prepared by computer.
 Patient Monitoring System - These are used to Communication means to convey a message, an idea, a
check patient's signs for abnormality such as in picture or speech that is received and understood
Cardiac Arrest, ECG etc. clearly and correctly by the person for whom it is
 Pharma Information System - Computer meant for. Some main areas in this category are:
checks Drug-Labels, Expiry dates, harmful
 E-mail
drug’s side effects etc.
 Chatting
 Surgery : Nowadays, computers are also used
 Usenet
in performing surgery
 FTP
Engineering  Telnet
 Video-conferencing
Design Computers are widely used in engineering
purpose.

One of major areas is CAD (Computer Aided Design). Government

That provides creation and modification of images.
Computers play an important role in government.
Some fields are:
Some major fields in this category are:
 Structural Engineering - Requires stress and
 Budgets
strain analysis for design of Ships, Buildings,
 Sales tax department
Budgets, Airplanes etc.
 Income tax department
 Industrial Engineering - Computers deal with
 Male/Female ratio
design, implementation and improvement of
 Computerization of voters lists
integrated systems of people, materials and
 Computerization of driving licensing system
equipment.
 Computerization of PAN card
 Architectural Engineering - Computers help in
 Weather forecasting
planning towns, designing buildings,
determining a range of buildings on a site
using both 2D and 3D drawings