INTRODUCTION TO SPREADSHEET

INTRODUCTION TO SPREADSHEET

A spreadsheet is an interactive computer application for organization, analysis and storage of data in tabular form. Spreadsheets are developed as computerized simulations of paper accounting worksheets. The program operates on data entered in cells of a table. Each cell may contain either numeric or text data, or the results of formulas that automatically calculate and display a value based on the contents of other cells. A spreadsheet may also refer to one such electronic document.

Spreadsheet users can adjust any stored value and observe the effects on calculated values. This makes the spreadsheet useful for "what-if" analysis since many cases can be rapidly investigated without manual recalculation. Modern spreadsheet software can have multiple interacting sheets, and can display data either as text and numerals, or in graphical form.

Examples of Spreadsheet Package

·         Google Sheets - (Online and free)

·         iWork Numbers - Apple Office Suite.

·         LibreOffice -> Calc (Free)

·         Lotus 1-2-3 (Discontinued)

·         Lotus Symphony - Spreadsheets.

·         Microsoft Excel

·         OpenOffice -> Calc (Free)

·         VisiCalc (Discontinued)

Uses Of Spreadsheet

 History

Although spreadsheets have been used for hundreds of years, the electronic version first appeared in 1978 with a program known as "VisiCalc." In the early 1980's, Lotus 1-2-3 appeared on the scene with Microsoft's Excel debuting a few years later. When Microsoft launched its Windows operating system in 1987, Excel was the first program released for it. "When Windows finally gained wide acceptance with Version 3.0 in late 1989, Excel was Microsoft's flagship product," writes D.J. Power in "A Brief History of Spreadsheets." "For nearly three years, Excel remained the only Windows spreadsheet program, and it has only received competition from other spreadsheet products since the summer of 1992."

Lists

You can create lists, from shopping lists to contact lists, on a spreadsheet. For example, if you entered store items to a spreadsheet along with their corresponding aisles, you could sort by aisle and print before your shopping trip. Your list would provide an aisle-by-aisle overview. The sorting power of spreadsheets becomes more evident when entering more data. Maintaining personal or professional contacts allows you to sort by every field. For example, a salesperson might enter all clients and then sort by zip code allowing him to plan his day with geographic efficiency.

Accounting

Beyond sorting, spreadsheets are invaluable calculators. By entering the appropriate mathematical functions into cells, you can turn a simple spreadsheet into an accounting page. You can list credits in one column and debits in another. The auto-sum feature speeds calculations and can be set up to maintain running totals. And with the flexibility of spreadsheet programs, data used in equations can be anywhere on the sheet or in the workbook. Adding additional pages (sometimes called worksheets) allows you to organize information to suit your needs. Data from anywhere in the workbook can be used in your calculations.

Time Sheets

Besides adding and subtracting integers, spreadsheets can also perform those calculations on time-based numbers. Formatting cells to reflect data as a time (as opposed to simple integers) can allow you to use the spreadsheet as a time sheet. Additionally, you can include descriptions of assorted job functions, employee names, etc. giving you the ability to sort by those to time incurred for any of your chosen fields.

Database Use

Although spreadsheets are not true relational databases, they can be designed and formatted to function as simplified ones. For example, if you need to track pricing of a particular product, enter its price only one time. For all subsequent references to that price, point to the original entry as opposed to re-entering the price. When you need to change the price, change it in its original cell and all corresponding references will update automatically.

Chart Creation

Charts and graphs create better depictions of trends and percentages than raw numbers. As they say, "A picture's worth a thousand words." Spreadsheet programs can automatically convert your data into the visual depiction of your choice, whether it's a pie chart, bar chart or line graph.

Features of Spreadsheet Package and Terms

1.         Row

In Microsoft Excel, a row runs horizontally in the grid layout of a worksheet. Horizontal rows are numbered with numeric values such as 1, 2, 3. Vertical columns are numbered with alphabetic values such A, B, C.

Each row in the worksheet has its own row number which is used as part of a cell reference such as A1, A2, or M16. You can select an entire row by clicking on the row heading (ie: the number running along the left side of the grid layout). In the example above, we have selected row 3.

2.         Column

 A column is a vertical series of cells in a chart, table, or spreadsheet. Below is an example of a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet with column headers (column letter) A, B, C, D, E, and F. As you can see from the picture below, column H is the highlighted column in red and the selected cell D8 is in column D.

3.         Cell

A cell is the intersection between a row and a column on a spreadsheet that starts with cell A1. Below is an example of a highlighted cell in Microsoft Excel; the cell address, cell name, or cell pointer "D8" (column D, row 8) is the selected cell and the locationof what is being modified.

4.         Worksheet

An Excel worksheet is a single spreadsheet that contains cells organized by rows and columns. A worksheet begins with row number one and column A. Each cell can contain a number, text or formula. A cell can also reference another cell in the same worksheet, the same workbook or a different workbook. In Excel 2010, the maximum size of a worksheet is 1,048,576 rows by 16,384 columns.

5.         Workbook

A workbook is an Excel file that contains one or more worksheets. Each of the workbook's worksheets are in separate tabs on the bottom of the Excel window. By default, a new Excel workbook will contain three worksheets. You can switch between worksheets by clicking on the worksheet's tab on the bottom of the Excel window. In Excel 2010 the number of worksheets in a workbook is limited only by your computer's available memory.

6.         Chart

A chart is often called a graph. It is a visual representation of data from a worksheet that can bring more understanding to the data than just looking at the numbers.

A chart is a powerful tool that allows you to visually display data in a variety of different chart formats such as Bar, Column, Pie, Line, Area, Doughnut, Scatter, Surface, or Radar charts. With Excel, it is easy to create a chart.