Paste Special I

September 19th, 2005

In a series of short tips, we introduce the Paste Special feature.

A quick and easy way to multiply an array of numbers by a constant without using a formula…

In the example below, we wish to multiply B5:B20 by 10. Temporarily enter 10 into an empty cell. Select it and then Cut or Copy

Select the target range, then click on Edit - Paste Special . In thePaste Special dialog, unselect Paste All and Formats. Also selectMultiply. Now click OK …

We are done! The modified cell range.

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Paste Special II - Removing formulae

September 20th, 2005

The paste special feature is useful for preserving the values in a spreadsheet - but removing the formulae that generated those values. This may be required to preserve proprietary equations.

To remove the formulae for a range of cells, select and copy the desired range. Do not unselect the range. Now click on Edit - Paste Special - see below.

Make sure the Formulas box is unchecked. After you click OK, the formula is removed but the value is preserved.

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Using Names as constants

September 15th, 2005

There are many mathematical and statistical constants in use that are needed in spreadsheets. For OpenOffice Calc, only PI has been hardwired as a function call - PI()

Using defined names is a quick and easy way to define constants in your spreadsheet that will also make your formulae more legible and maintainable. There will also be no need to have hidden sheets where the constants are defined. In this example, we will define Euler’s constant - e

Open the Define Names dialog as shown below.

Instead of assigning/associating the name with a particular cell, assign a fixed value as shown below. Exit the dialog

The named constant can now be used in formulae as shown below. Note that Names defined in this way do not appear in the name box - which is just above the cells area on the left.

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Conditional Formatting I

March 13th, 2005

Conditional formatting is a mechanism that allows the user to apply formatting to a cell or range of cells based on defined conditions. If the rules (conditions) are met, then the specified formatting is applied. In OOo Calc, you can apply up to 3 rules in a cell or range of cells.

In the example below, we have an array of numbers. To illustrate how conditional formatting works, we will apply different formatting to those cells whose values are greater than the average of the range.

We first need to define a new formatting style.

Apply the desired formatting to an isolated cell and invoke the Styles and Formatting dialog as shown below.

Here, we click on the New Style from Selection icon.

This allows us to add our own custom style to the Style catalog.

We will now make use of our newly defined style in the Conditional Formatting dialog, which is enabled as shown below.

We select Condition 1 and the settings are shown below. The Cell STyle drop down list allows to to select any of the styles from the catalog - including any custom style we have defined.

You must use absolute addressing when referencing cells and cell ranges.

The final result of applying conditional formatting on the selected range of cells.

See also: Creating Custom Cell Styles