Beginning OpenOffice 3: From Novice to Professional

Chapter 4. Spreadsheets with Calc

Although word processing may be regarded as the core application in any office suite for general users, spreadsheets are starting to find their way into more homes, classrooms, and offices as users discover the benefits of organizing data in more useful ways. And that, in a nutshell, is what a spreadsheet does; it takes pieces of information entered by either humans or some process and then allows the user to display and interrogate it to make something meaningful.

In this chapter, you'll use OpenOffice.org's Calc program to create a couple of simple projects, including a very basic accounting spreadsheet and a more ambitious home budget system. These two jobs will allow you to explore the most commonly needed ...