JH writes:
Most of you will know about the fact that you can use a Microsoft
Windows calculator to add up a list of figures. If you haven't seen
it, so a search for the "calculator" program in the search box on
the Start menu (if you've got Windows Vista or 7 ... in Windows XP,
it's hidden in the list of programs under Accessories, I think).
I've used this calculator a lot in recent years, but I don't like
the fact that it's so small, and like most calculators, you can't
see a list of figures you've just typed in, to see if you've made a
mistake. Consequently, I end up totting everything up 2 or 3 times,
to check that I haven't made a simple error in entering up the
figures.
I realised a few days ago, how simple it is to use a spreadsheet to
add up a column of figures ... you can easily review what you've
just typed in, and the actual addition is a doddle.
If you've got Microsoft Office, you can use an Excel spreadsheet.
In Open Office (which is free to download from HERE), you can use
its spreadsheet.
Click on the OO icon on your Desktop to open it up, and then click
on the Spreadsheet icon.
Enter up your figures in any column you like ... I've put 3 amounts in cells
B3 to B5. You could add any text you like in column A, alongside the amounts.
Just above column B you will see the Greek letter, sigma, which is the
icon you press to add up. Before you do so, click in cell B6 to
highlight it, and then click on the sigma icon.
You will see the above pending addition of the figures in cells B3 to B5.
Now press the Enter key on your keyboard, to see the total. (I have
chosen to make the font bolder, to make the total stand out).
You can edit any of the figures you like in cells B3 to B5, by simply
typing over them. You could change one of the figures to a zero, if you
have entered a figure twice by mistake. You can also use zeros to fill
any gaps in a long list of figures. After editing, simply click on the
total, and a new total figure will magically appear.
What about subtraction, multiplication and division?
Say you'd like to subtract 2 from 4 ...
In any cell, type in this formula .... =4-2
and then press the Enter key, to give you the result.
For multiplication and division, the formulae are ... =4*2 and =4/2
Press the Enter key for the result. Easy-peasy.
To save your work, I use File > Save As, as you would to save a Word
document. Give your work a title and a date, and also add the suffix:
.ods ... for example, 110221 food.ods would indicate a food bill for
21 Feb 2011. Typing a date in this way helps create a list of items
in a folder, listing everything in your folder in date order.
To print out an OO document, you will need to change it to a PDF file,
which is easy-peasy. Click on File > Export as PDF > Export > save as
a PDF file, which you can then print out. You will see that the
spreadsheet will lose its tabular layout when it's printed out.
I've written a bit more about OO spreadsheets in my post dated 19/1/11.
