by Matthew Adams

Created on: December 02, 2009

The OpenOffice suite includes some good office software. Calc is the spreadsheet application that is included with OpenOffice. There are a few tips worth considering for Calc.

Firstly, regardless of what spreadsheet you are doing, it worth making use of the formatting options that Calc has. To format any cell, or range of cells, you should select the relevant cells and then right-click. From here, you can select format and that will bring up a formatting menu.

You may note that there are a few number formats included. Consider using a number format that is most suitable to your Calc spreadsheet. For example, there is a scientific number format, which may be more appropriate for those spreadsheets. You can actually select a few number formats from the main toolbar such as percentages.

In addition to this, the toolbar includes options to add or remove decimal places. Select a cell, and then the option to either add or remove decimal places appropriately.

With a spreadsheet, also consider using a bold font for spreadsheet headings and sub-headings. For this, select the relevant cells and then the bold option from the toolbar.

Also, consider adding borders to spreadsheets and cells. This can be done with the border options. Borders can be used around cells with headings, or subheadings.

Calc also includes a short-cut sum option for the sum function. Simply select the cell, and then the sum option on the function bar. Then the range of cells can be added.

The delete cells option is one that should be noted. With this option, you can select a range of cells and then delete the cells as selected. Select a range of cells, then press delete and you will be able to select what to delete from the cells.

Also, consider adding notes to a spreadsheet and spreadsheet cells. The notes can be added, and provide some good references to any particular cells. To add notes select the cell, right-click and then note. From here, you can enter the appropriate note.

Graphs and charts can be added to a spreadsheet, via the graph option. Before you select the graph option, select a cell where you feel the graph would be well placed. Also, consider ticking the 3d graph box, which will give 3d graphs.

Therefore, these are a few tips for Calc Spreadsheets. With the formatting options and graphs, some great spreadsheets can be set up.

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