Just added a lesson on DataPilot that shows how to master large amounts of data with DataPilot. This is one of the really, really big strengths of Calc, and is highly recommended reading!


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Tags: Calc, Lessons, DataPilot

Just added a lesson on formatting that shows how easy it is to change the appearance of a spreadsheet in no-time. Sometimes changing the look of a sheet can enhance how the information is received by the end user, either it is yourself or, perhaps even more importantly, others.

This is just a quick dip into the water, but it covers the most used features.

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Tags: Calc, Lessons, Formatting

Just added a lesson with =LEN() which can be used for counting the number of characters in a cell or text string. On its own it obviously doesn’t do very much, but with combined with other formulas new opportunities are uncovered.

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Tags: Lessons, Calc, =LEN()

The transition to one, single format for all lessons has now been completed, and I hope it will benefit us all. It has taken some time, but now it’s done

I will start focusing on new lessons for Calc, and on improving the lessons in other ways, but more on that at a later stage...

Regards,
Roar Malmin



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Tags: Lessons

We are now in the process of changing some of the lessons from one format to another.

There are two reasons for this; the first is that we have now gone through the different formats, and came to the conclusion that the format used in lessons like =SUM() and =NOW() (and most other by now) is the most effective one, both for learning and for producing. The second reason is that Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 6 and older are very non-compliant, and messes up the other formats, in varying degrees.

As soon as all lessons have been changed to the chosen format, we will start making new lessons again.

The two formats that will be removed, are the ones where you click to get to the next step. Both of them has the advantage that they provide as little information as possible for each step, which is possibly less confusing, but I truly believe the chosen format will fully usable.

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Tags: Lessons

As some of you might have noticed, some of the lessons does not like Internet Explorer 6 very much. This is related to the "step"-effect used on some of the lessons, where each step is listed on the left hand side.

For now there are no workaround if you have Internet Explorer 6, but this will be fixed. Please note that all lessons work well inn Internet Explorer 7 and any other web browser, such as Opera, FireFox and Safari (to mention a few). These are all free of charge.

I apologize for inconvenience, and hope to fix this in a few weeks.

Regards,
Roar Malmin

Tags: Lessons, Internet Explorer, Opera, FireFox, Safari

Just added a lesson with the powerful formula =IF(), which can be used for performing different actions, depending on the conditions.

In its simplest form it is very easy, but you can develop to be as complex as you like to match your task.

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Tags: Lessons, Calc, =IF()

Just added another part to the Q&A-section, regarding Pivottable and Datapilot.

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Tags: Calc, Q & A

In addition to the new forum, we’ve also added a Q & A section.

We will NOT be able to answer all the questions that we get, I realize that now, but we’re trying the best we can to answer as many questions as possible. From now on some selected questions will be added to the Q & A section, and we hope it can be a good help to others as well.

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Tags: Calc, Q & A

Just added a lesson with the formula =MID(), which is used for extracting any given number characters from a cell or other text, starting from where you specify.

This is as easy formula, but it’s still very powerful, probably more powerful than both =LEFT() and =RIGHT().

There have been some activity on the forum, but remember; the more the merrier Don’t be afraid to post there, and it will probably get you answers faster, and more answers, than mailing us!

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Tags: Lessons, Calc, =MID()

Just added a lesson with the formula =RIGHT(), which is used for extracting any given number characters from a cell or other text, counted from right

This is as easy formula, but it’s still very powerful.

We have also added a Links-page, to help you find useful resources on the net.

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Tags: Lessons, Calc, =RIGHT()

Just added a lesson with the formula =SUMIF(), which is used for summing lines meeting the criteria you specify. This works kinda like =SUM(), but with a powerful twist.

This is a medium difficult formula, but is very powerful.

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Tags: Lessons, Calc, =SUMIF()

Just added a lesson with the formula =TRUNC(), which is used for cutting off decimals.

And, further good news; this is also one of the easier formulas

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Tags: =TRUNC(), Lessons, Calc

Just added a lesson with the formula =ROUND(), which is used for rounding values.

This is also one of the easier values.

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Tags: =ROUND(), Lessons, Calc

Just added a lesson with the formula =RAND(), which is used for creating random numbers.

This one is both relatively easy and, if used creatively, quite powerful.

From now on there will be more frequent updates on this site, still focusing on Calc. There is another lesson ready to be published early next week. And there are a lot more in the pipeline already!

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Tags: Lessons, Calc, =RAND()

We are working on multiple lessons for Calc at the moment, and we expect to start publishing the first ones at the beginning of September!

This includes both more formula lessons, but also tips and tricks.

Tags: Lessons, Calc

Now we have finally added a lesson with one of the more advanced formulas, =VLOOKUP(), and more lessons will follow, so please continue to visit us.

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Tags: Calc, formulas, =VLOOKUP()

We’ve added two more formulas to the lessons, =NOW() and =LEFT().

Now we've finished the next lesson, which teaches you how to use the =average() formula, which is very similar to the =sum() formula explained in the previous lesson.

We have now put up the first real formula in a lesson, =sum(), which is extemely useful!

We’ve added a new lesson to the Calc repository, where we’re starting to deal with formulas.

We’ve also removed those highly unfinished Writer and Impress pages -- these will be back as soon as we start developing lessons for them.

You can expect another lesson next week, as usual.

As this week has been rather busy, with finalizing this site and the first four lessons, the next lesson will be presented to you next week.

In the next lesson will start working with formulas in Calc, which is where the magic of spreadsheets lies.