Module 6b · LibreOffice Calc: making spreadsheets 30 min

In Module 6 you saw that LibreOffice Calc replaces Excel. This module puts your hands on the keyboard: create a spreadsheet, enter your data, total a column, tidy the layout and print without cutting off the table. Good news: nearly every move is one you already make in Excel. The same cells, the same formulas, the same logic.

By the end of this module you will be able to:

• Create a new spreadsheet and find your way around rows, columns, cells and sheets
• Enter data and numbers, moving with Tab and Enter
• Total a column with =SUM() or the Σ button, and copy a formula down
• Tidy the layout: bold headers, colours, borders, column widths, and freeze the header row
• Save as .ods or .xlsx and print without cutting off the table

Creating a new spreadsheet

On Windows you opened Excel from the Start menu. On Linux the move is the same, with the Activities menu in place of the Start menu:

1. Click Activities at the top-left (or press the Super key, the one with the Windows logo).
2. Type Calc. The LibreOffice Calc icon appears.
3. Press Enter. A blank sheet opens: rows, columns, cells, and sheet tabs along the bottom. Exactly like Excel.

You can also open LibreOffice on its own and click Calc Spreadsheet in the left column. Every cell has an address: the column (A, B, C…) followed by the row (1, 2, 3…). So the top-left cell is A1, just like Excel.

Entering data and numbers

Click a cell and type. Enter confirms and moves down a cell; Tab confirms and moves right. To fix a cell, double-click it, or click once and edit in the formula bar at the top. All identical to Excel.

You want to…	In Excel	In Calc
Confirm and move down	Enter	Enter, identical
Confirm and move right	Tab	Tab, identical
Edit a cell	Double-click or formula bar	Double-click or formula bar
Undo	Ctrl+Z	Ctrl+Z, identical

A useful tell: by default text aligns left and numbers (and dates) align right. If a number shows on the left, Calc usually read it as text, often because of a stray space.

Adding things up: the =SUM() formula

The most useful everyday formula totals a column of numbers. In Excel you typed =SUM(...); in Calc it is exactly the same: =SUM().

1. Click the cell where you want the total (just below the column of numbers).
2. Type =SUM(, then select the cells to add with the mouse, for example B2 to B10.
3. Close the bracket and press Enter. The total appears: =SUM(B2:B10).

Faster still: select the column of numbers and click the Σ (Sum) button in the toolbar. Calc writes the formula for you. To repeat a calculation across columns, grab the small square at the bottom-right of the cell and drag sideways: the formula copies and adjusts, like Excel's fill handle.

Making the table readable

The same tools as Excel, in the same places:

• Bold headers: select the first row, then Ctrl+B.
• Fill colour and borders: the "paint bucket" and "borders" buttons in the toolbar, like Excel.
• Column width: drag the border between two column letters, or double-click it to fit the content.
• Freeze the header row: click cell A2, then View → Freeze Rows and Columns. The first row stays visible as you scroll down, exactly like "Freeze Panes" in Excel.

Saving and printing

Calc saves in .ods by default, its own format. For a colleague who works in Excel, save as .xlsx: File → Save As, open the format list under the file name, choose Excel 2007-365 (.xlsx). A dialog asks which format to keep: click "Use Excel 2007-365!". Same logic as Writer in Module 6a.

To print: Ctrl+P. But first, a spreadsheet-specific trap: a large table often spills onto several pages.

You now know how to create a spreadsheet, enter data, total it, format it, save and print. The quiz runs through those moves. In Module 6c, on to Impress, the PowerPoint replacement.