Introducing Ms. Formula Although it would be a bit overkill, you can actually use Calc as a normal calculator.

This exercise is actually more useful than one might think, because it shows us that: - formulas are entered into cells - formulas begin with "=" - formulas are used to return something different than what we put in

Please remember what they tried to teach us at school, because the same rules apply in Calc; multiplication and division are done before adding and subtraction! Which means that =2+3*4 results in 14, not 20..

SUM() Formula
Now well try to sum these numbers, enter the formula as following: =sum(A1:A5) Start entering the forumula =sum( and nothing else! Nowclick onthe top most cell that contains the numbers, and hold the mouse button down while you drag down until you have marked the entire area you want to evaluate. Enter ), the ending paranthesis.

What happened now? Calc actually entered the cell addresses for you! Now, try changing the uppmost value. Do that by clicking once on the cell, and start typing the number you want entered: Calc automatically updates the sum to reflect the changes: Do the same by deleting last number. TRY AVERAGE() which is similar to sum formula

Calculate DATE & TIME

Formula to check current date is =now()

Create Links Between Cell Ranges (Quickly)

In the example below, we have a table on the sheet labelled First. We want to link to the bottom row from the sheet labelled Second Select the desired range for linking b9:D9, then select Edit - Copy Now go to the sheet from where we will be linking. Select the start cell of the new range (corresponding to B9 ) Now select Edit - Paste Special. The Paste Special dialog is shown below. Select the Links option on bottom left.

Autoformat
The Autoformat feature in Calc is used to assign preset formats to a range of cells - creating attractive, professional-looking table designs at the press of a button.First, select the cells you want to format. From the menu, select Format - AutoFormat In the Autoformat dialog box, select the desired Autoformat

For example, to calculate someones age (in years)In OpenOffice CALC, we can use =YEARS(A1;NOW();0) For calculating number of monthsIn OpenOffice CALC, we use = MONTHS(A1;NOW();0) For calculating number of daysIn Openoffice CALC, we can use.. =INT(DAYS(now();A1))

Conditional Formatting: Comparing two Lists

In the sheet below, we have two lists of INDIAN States. In B Column and D Column. We would like to identify the list entries that are unique to each list. This technique can also be applied to two versions of the same list to identify additions/removals. Step 1: Select B2:B19 and open the Conditional Formatting dialog - below. We have already defined a formatting style that has a darker background. In the Conditional Formatting dialog, select the Formula isoption from the drop down list on the left and enter the formula COUNTIF($D$2:$D$19;B19)=0. Choose the predefined style. Exit the dialog. We apply similar conditional formatting to the D2:D19 array. I will leave that as an exercise for the reader. The result after the conditional formatting is applied. Those cells that are shaded dark do not have a matching entry in the other list.

Data Validation:
For each cell, you can define in advance what type of contents is valid for that cell. This allows you to guide users through data entry in OpenOffice.org Calc by restricting cells to receive specific values and ranges.

For selected cells, a drop-down list of possible values can be defined. In this tutorial, we show how this is done. Step1: Select the required cell and open the data validation dialog as shown below.

Step2: In the Criteria tab of the validation dialog, the Allow option is itself a dropdown list. We select List.