Spreadsheet Software

Spreadsheet Software

1. The benefits of spreadsheets

   • You can perform 'what if' investigations
   • Automatic recalculation
   • Accurate calculation
   • Easy to produce graphs and charts

2. Components of spreadsheets

   • Labels which are used for titles, headings, names identifying rows and columns of data
   • Data - are the values (text/numbers) that you enter into the spreadsheet
   • Formulas

3. Functions

   • Definition - A function is a specialised calculation that the spreadsheet software has memorized
   • Examples of functions
     • Average: =AVERAGE(A3:A7)
     • Sum: =SUM(B5:B12)
     • Maximum: =Max(D2:D4)

4. Referencing

   • Relative cell referencing
     • The cells move when they are copied
   • Absolute cell referecing
     • The cell stays fixed, locked, held in position when cells are copied

5. Formatting data

   • Data
   • Integer
   • Percentage
   • Currency
   • Text

6. Formatting your spreadsheet

   • Alignment
   • Text: font, size, colour
   • Borders
   • Rotating text
   • Cell merging