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2.3.6 Spreadsheet Data Area

     

The spreadsheet data area takes up most of the NExS window. The spreadsheet is a rectangular grid made up of columns (identified by letters) and rows (identified by numbers). Each block within this grid is a cell, which is where you enter data and formulas. For spreadsheets larger than the window, NExS shows only part of the spreadsheet on screen at a time. To access other areas, you can scroll through the spreadsheet using the scroll bars or arrow keys on your keyboard. The NExS spreadsheet area includes column and row buttons and cells.

Column Select Buttons

   

A horizontal row of buttons above the spreadsheet data area that identify each column of cells in the spreadsheet (4096 in all). The first 26 columns are labeled with single letters (A to Z); the remaining columns are labeled with double and triple letters (AA to FAN). The column of the current selection is highlighted in reverse video or a different color, depending on your monitor. Clicking a column button selects the entire column of cells. Dragging the right edge of a column button resizes the column.

Row Select Buttons

   

A vertical column of buttons to the left of the spreadsheet data area that identify each row (1 to 32,767) of cells in the spreadsheet. The row of the current selection is highlighted in reverse video or a different color, depending on your monitor. Clicking a row button selects the entire row of cells. Dragging the bottom edge of a row button resizes the row.

``Select All'' Button

    A push button at the intersection of the row and column buttons (in the upper left section of the NExS display) selects all cells in the spreadsheet: A1..FAN32767.

Cells

  A cell is the intersection of a row and column in the Spreadsheet Data Area. Cells can contain numeric or text constants, dates and time, formulas, and graphs. Constants and calculated values are visible on screen, but the formulas that produce those values are generally invisible.

Formulas are viewed and changed in the Edit Line; they appear only when the cell is highlighted. A rectangle in the body of the sheet indicates the current cell. This is the cell that will be affected by your next action. Each cell is identified by an address that contains the column and row coordinates in the matrix. For instance, the address of the first cell in the spreadsheet is always A1; the cell in column D, row 4 has the cell address D4. With 4096 columns and 32,767 rows, the NExS spreadsheet contains more than 134 million cells. However, the actual size of your spreadsheet is limited by the memory capacity of your computer system, which is usually far less than the capacity of the spreadsheet.

The amount of information in each cell and the nature of the entries themselves determine how many cell entries you can make before you run out of memory. There is a good reason, though, for NExS to provide a spreadsheet grid larger than you can ever fill; it gives you the flexibility to develop long, narrow spreadsheets or wide ones with few rows.

Cell Range

   

A cell range is a rectangular group of cells that are grouped so that operations or formulas act on several cells at once. Ranges are identified by the cell addresses of two opposite corners, usually the top left and bottom right corners.

Multiple Views

 

NExS contains the primary spreadsheet data area which has all of the elements shown in Figure 2.1. In addition, you may create multiple secondary windows of the spreadsheet data area which are displayed as popup windows. Secondary windows contain only the spreadsheet data and scrolling bars. They do not have a menu bar, edit line, and message line.

Each secondary window can be sized, navigated, and manipulated independently using the main menu bar along with standard scrolling and window management facilities. To create a secondary data window:  

To remove a secondary data window:

Scroll Bars

   

Because the spreadsheet display can show only part of a large spreadsheet, you may need to scroll through the spreadsheet to view other sections (or create a secondary window). Scroll bars, which appear on the right and bottom edges of the spreadsheet view, allow you to scroll through the spreadsheet just as though it were printed on a continuous roll of paper. On each scroll bar, a slider bar indicates:

  1. the size of your spreadsheet view relative to the total area used by the spreadsheet, and

  2. the current position of the spreadsheet view in relation to the total area used by the spreadsheet.

If the slider fills the entire scroll bar, then the current view displays the entire spreadsheet.

To move the view left or right one column at a time:

  1. Move the mouse pointer to the arrow at the left or right of the horizontal scroll bar.

  2. Click the left mouse button.


NExS is careful not to skip over columns when paging to the left or right. Each time you request a change of view, NExS considers the width of the display and width of columns to determine how many columns to display. Because you can modify the width of columns and the size of the display, NExS is sometimes unable to move left or right exactly one column.

To move the view up or down one row at a time:

  1. Move the mouse pointer to the arrow at the top or bottom of the vertical scroll bar.

  2. Click the left mouse button.
To move the view one page at a time:

  1. Move the mouse pointer to an empty area at either end of the vertical scroll bar.

  2. Click the left mouse button.

To move the view anywhere in the spreadsheet:

  1. Move the mouse pointer into the slider.

  2. Press the left mouse button and drag the slider until the view reaches the desired location.

  3. Release the mouse button.

To move the view to the top or bottom of the used portion of the spreadsheet:

  1. Move the mouse pointer into the slider.

  2. To move to the top, press the [Ctrl] key and click the up arrow on the elevator bar at the same time.

  3. To move to the bottom, press the [Ctrl] key and click the down arrow on the elevator bar at the same time.


The Go To operation allows you to jump to a designated cell address. Top positions you in cell A1. Bottom positions you in cell A32767. The Find command allows you to jump to a cell with the designated contents.

Message Line

  The message is displayed at the bottom of the primary spreadsheet display. It is used to display status and error messages about a current operation or calculation condition.

   figure337
Figure 2.6: Message Line


next up previous contents index
Next: 2.3.7 Window Frame Up: 2.3 NExS Display Previous: 2.3.5 Tool Bar

NExS User's Guide, Version 1.4.5
Grey Trout Software
11 April 1999