FEATURES OF ELECTRONIC SPREADSHEET SOFTWARE

1. Workbook. This is a collection of multiple worksheets in a single file
2. Worksheet. This is a single page of a workbook. It is an equivalent of a work area in Microsoft Word. A worksheet is made up of rows and columns which intersect to form cells. Worksheets are labelled sheet1, sheet2, sheet3 by default, but they can be renamed. A workbook by default has 3 worksheets, however, these can be increased in the user’s interest and renamed
3. Columns. These are vertical lines that run through the worksheet. Worksheet columns are labelled by letters; A, B, C, D, E… which are displayed in grey buttons across the top of the worksheet
4. Rows. Are horizontal lines across a worksheet. Worksheet rows are labelled by numbers; 1, 2, 3, 4, 5… which are displayed in grey buttons across the left of the worksheet
5. A cell. This is an intersection of a column and a row. Each cell on the spreadsheet has a cell address. A cell address is the unique name of a cell. It is given by the column letter and row number, e.g. A1, B5, G6, D12, C1, A4, B3, etc. Cells can contain; text, numbers, formulas, etc.
6. Range. It is a group of adjacent cells defined as a single unit. A range address is a reference to a particular range. It has a format of top-left cell address: bottom-right cell address. e.g. D5:G10
7. Value. This is a numerical entry in a cell. All values are right-aligned in a cell by default.
8. Labels. This is a text entry in a cell. All labels are left-aligned in a cell by default
9. Name box. This displays the address of the selected cell or cells. Also you can rename a selected cell or cells using the name box
10. Formula bar. Is a bar at the top of the Excel window that you use to enter or edit values or formulas in cells or charts
11. Auto-fill; this is the feature that allows you to quickly fill cells with repetitive or sequential data such as chronological dates or numbers, and repeated text. To use this feature, you type one or two initial values or text entries, and then Autofill does the rest using the fill handle, which is the small black square in the lower-right corner of the selection. When you point to the fill handle, the pointer changes to a black cross. Autofill recognises series of numbers, dates, months, times and certain labels.
12. Sorting data is to arrange records in either ascending or descending order.
13. Filtering data is the displaying of records that satisfy the set condition from the parent list.
14. Graphs. A graph is a pictorial representation of the base data on a worksheet. Most spreadsheets refer to graphs as charts. A chart is a graphical representation of data. A chart may be 2-D or 3-D
15. What-if analysis. Is a process of changing the values in cells to see how those changes affect the outcome of formulas on the worksheet. For example, varying the interest rate that is used in the paying-back table to determine the amount of the payments.
16. Freezing panes. This is where rows and columns are frozen such that they remain visible as you scroll through the data especially if the database is too big to fit on one screen.