Running Linux, 5th Edition - Matthias Kalle Dalheimer [131]
MS Office offers a single motion to move a single cell, while OOoCalc requires a double motion involving first a highlight and then a move. The OOoCalc process is annoying because it's more complicated, but in the end it's effective and not that difficult to master and remember (because the old method is soon forgotten).
Adjusting column widths and row heights
To change the width of a column, bring the mouse pointer up into the grid's column headings, labeled A, B, C, and so on. Note how the mouse pointer changes to a double horizontal arrow when it rolls over any column divider. While the arrow is visible, simply move it to the right or left to increase or decrease the width of the column immediately to the left of the divider. To put a column back to its default width, right-click on the column heading to call up the Column Width dialog. Check the empty box labeled "Default value" and press the OK button. The column will now snap back to its default width (0.89 inches).
To adjust the height of a row, apply the procedure just shown for adjusting column width, but with the mouse cursor on the top or bottom of a row heading at the left edge of the page. To restore a row's default height, apply the procedure just shown for restoring the default column width, but at the left edge of the page on the desired row heading.
Merging cells
To merge multiple cells, first highlight the group of cells you wish to merge, then select Format → Merge Cells → Define from the main menu. This will create one cell that contains the contents of the cells in the range you highlighted. OOoCalc's recognition of data can be quite sophisticated. For instance, if one column contains Jun and another contains 3, the date 06/03 followed by the current year appears in the merged cell.
Freezing and splitting windows
It's hard to navigate through larger spreadsheets because the column and row headings disappear from view. The Window → Freeze and Window → Split commands permit you to lock column and row headings into place while scrolling to view other sections of the spreadsheet.
To lock down your column and row headings, click on the cell where you want the freeze to take effect and select Window → Freeze from the main menu. This will put a check mark on the Freeze item on the drop-down menu and lock the columns to the left of the highlighted cell, as well as the rows above the cell. The spreadsheet initially shows just lines to outline the frozen cells, as can be seen in Figure 8-21.
Figure 8-21. Freezing the column and row headings
Now you can move down and to the right. Note in Figure 8-22 how column headings stay fixed and visible as we move down the spreadsheet. A similar effect takes place with the column B row headings at the left if we scroll through the spreadsheet to the right.
Another interesting way to leave parts of your spreadsheet visible is to choose Windows → Split instead of Window → Freeze. Now you can click on any pane and scroll it. The pane you clicked on will move, along with one of the panes next to it depending on whether you scroll up and down or right and left. The other two panes will stay still.
Figure 8-22. Column and row headings are frozen
To remove the Freeze or Split settings, simply click the checked selection on the drop-down menu, and the freeze or split lines will go away. Freeze and Split settings "travel" with a document when it is saved with either of the settings checked.
Page Break View
Page Break View offers a detailed view of the current spreadsheet's page breaks for printing. To turn on Page Break View, select View from the main menu and click on Page Break View in the drop-down menu. This sets a check mark at the selection. To turn off Page Break View, uncheck this selection on the drop-down menu.
You can quickly set or adjust page breaks by dragging the outside blue