Advanced Spreadsheets

Use paste special options: add, subtract, multiply, divide. Paste special options help in making some quick calculations and formatting changes by a special copy paste function. We need to have some data to use the special paste function. From the available data, simply right-click on any cell and copy that cell to the clip board.…

Name cell ranges, delete names for cell ranges. To name a cell range, click on ‘Insert’ from the main menu bar. From the resulting menu, click on ‘Names’ and from the sub-menu which gets generated, click on ‘Define’. This will open the ‘Define Name’ dialog box. In this dialog box, under ‘Name’, give the name…

Insert, edit, delete, show, and hide comments/notes. To insert comments is a worksheet, select the cell to which you need to insert the comment and right-click on this cell. This will open a menu from which you need to click, ‘Insert Comment’. This will give you a small text box attached to the cell as…

Show all formulas in a worksheet, rather than the resulting values. To show formulas in the worksheet instead of the resulting values, click on ‘Tools’ from the main menu bar. From the resulting drop-down, click on ‘Options’. This opens the ‘Options’ wizard. In the ‘Options’ wizard, under ‘LibreOffice Calc’, click on ‘View’. Then under ‘Display’,…

Trace precedent, dependent cells. Identify cells with missing dependents. Trace precedent gives us the cells on which the value of the current selected cell depends. To trace the precedent of a cell, select the cell and then click on ‘Tools’ from the main menu bar. From the resulting drop-down menu, click on ‘Detective’ and from…

Set and edit validation criteria for data entry in a cell range like: whole number, decimal, list, date, time. To set validation criteria for data entry in a cell range, click on ‘Data’ from the main menu bar, and from the resulting menu, click on ‘Validity’. This will open the ‘Validity’ dialog box. In this…

Create named scenarios. A scenario is a tool in Calc which helps in testing ‘what-if’ questions. Anything which depends on a particular condition can be defined using a scenario. Say you need to calculate some amount in different currencies; you can have different scenarios for different currencies and can use them as per the requirement.…

Use automatic sub-totaling features. Automatic sub-totaling features help in displaying the sub-totals of particular sections of a table. To use automatic sub-totaling features, first of all make sure that you have automatic filters enabled for all the columns for which sub-totaling needs to be done. After this, select any one cell from the entire range.…

Apply advanced filter options to a list. Advanced filter options help in filtering the data more precisely than it is possible with the default methods available in Calc. To apply advanced filter options to a list, select the list which needs to be filtered. After selecting the list, click on ‘Data’ from the main menu…

Automatically filter a list in place. To automatically filter a list, select the complete list which needs to be filtered. After selecting the list, click on ‘Data’ from the main menu bar and from the resulting drop-down click on ‘Filter’. From the sub-menu which is generated, click on ‘AutoFilter’. This will create a drop-down symbol…