Openoffice Spreadsheet

[sonny]

Well, as I'm always looking for an easy to understand book to master the spreassheet in OpenOffice and never finding one, I decided to create a blog to help beginners and advanced users in their use of OpenOffice Calc. The blog is call Mastering Openoffice Spreadsheet, it'll have how-to's and tricks for using Openoffice Spreadsheet. If you want to comment, ask a questions or need a little help with something in OpenOffice Spreadsheet just post in the blog and I'll answer there or in private as you see fit.

That'd be all guys.

[jackmc]

That'll be helpful. Most things seem the same as excel, but there are a few littel changes to get used to!

[Compucore]

But is it not normal to expect that. I remember have that same problem when I went from using lotus 1-2-3 in dos to windows version. The a switch snuck in over to excel now this. But don't fret we're all here to help each other out. I know I said thanks for those who helped in these forums.

Compucore

That'll be helpful. Most things seem the same as excel, but there are a few littel changes to get used to!

[ICUR2Ys]

Hi

You seem to be covering a lot of information well, however, I think that people who are new to spreadsheets would have an easier read if you could break up the long columns of text with some snippets of the spreadsheet showing your points instead of just describing it.

Good luck on this.

[sonny]

Hi

You seem to be covering a lot of information well, however, I think that people who are new to spreadsheets would have an easier read if you could break up the long columns of text with some snippets of the spreadsheet showing your points instead of just describing it.

Good luck on this.

Well the first part is the "theory", I'm going to put snippets of the spreadsheet and some exercises where people'd have to use this rules in order to achive a slick spreadsheet, but that'll be in Sunday afternoon (UTC -6), I'm still working on them.

[reclusivemonkey]

No. 1 biggest mistake people make in creating spreadsheets; combining data and formatting.

You should always leave all your data in a long continuous table, and then use this as a basis for creating the formatting you need, be it subtotals, pivot tables, charts, graphs, etc.

[sonny]

No. 1 biggest mistake people make in creating spreadsheets; combining data and formatting.

You should always leave all your data in a long continuous table, and then use this as a basis for creating the formatting you need, be it subtotals, pivot tables, charts, graphs, etc.

Yeap... that is correct... never combine data cells because it afects the workflow of your spreadsheet. Although in Openoffice it might be difficult not to do so, because when you want to centre a title between 2 or more columns you must use the combine and center option, in Excel you have an option call center in selected cells, so you don't combine the cells.

[reclusivemonkey]

Yeap... that is correct... never combine data cells because it afects the workflow of your spreadsheet.

That's not what I meant. By all means format the data on your spreadsheet however you like, but the data should be available somewhere in a straight, flat table.

[sonny]

That's not what I meant. By all means format the data on your spreadsheet however you like, but the data should be available somewhere in a straight, flat table.

Well that is helpful when you have a medium to big Dataset, then you take one sheet to take the information out from it, but if you only manage small amounts or information then you don't necessarily need a Dataset Sheet, you should only use it when you know you can get confused with so much info.

[badbadputer]

I did it before, had no problems, now either I have forgotten a step, or it no longer works at all....help...

In blank spreadsheet, I have copy/paste a range of words, they go across the 1st row. I need these words to go down the first column. So I have done the cut/selected cell/paste special/paste all/transpose/ok...and the words are still going across, just started at a different column!!!! help...pleasssssssssssssssseeeee.............