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ALITE /R
Version 1.20r
June 1993
TRIUS Inc.
P.O. Box 249
N. Andover, MA 01845-0249
Tel. (508) 794-9377
Fax. (508) 688-6312
Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc.
All Rights Reserved Worldwide
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
| This document is for evaluating the Shareware copy of ALITE /R |
| Use of the software package and this document beyond a 30-day |
| evaluation period requires registration! |
| ---------------------------------------- |
| Distribution of printed copies of this manual is Prohibited! |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ALITE is a copyrighted program protected by both U.S. and
international copyright law. If you obtained ALITE from a shareware
disk vendor, an on-line computer service or bulletin board, a friend
or colleague, or another similar source, you have an unregistered
(trial) copy. You are authorized to use this copy without charge for
a limited period of time under the terms of the ALITE license
agreement. After this time is up, you must register and pay for ALITE
to continue using it.
This method of distribution is known as "shareware". It allows you to
determine whether ALITE meets your needs before you pay for it.
Payment of the registration fee entitles you to:
-- A disk with the latest version of ALITE, registered to you.
-- One copy of the enhanced, printed and bound ALITE manual.
-- Free technical support for 90 days.
-- A subscription to the TRIUS newsletter.
If you purchased a complete copy of ALITE with printed manual
your copy came with a registration card. Return this card promptly to
TRIUS, Inc. to ensure you are registered with us, and to receive
technical support and notices of future upgrades.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright ., TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
----------------------------------------------------
REGISTRATION INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . 2
LIMITED WARRANTY . . . . . . . . . 7
WHAT IS A SPREADSHEET . . . . . . . . . 8
GETTING STARTED . . . . . . . . . 8
ALITE OPERATING REQUIREMENTS . . . . . . . . . 9
PRINTERS . . . . . . . . . 9
INSTALLATION . . . . . . . . . 9
STARTING THE PROGRAM . . . . . . . . . 10
STARTING FROM ANY DIRECTORY . . . . . . . . . 12
ORGANIZATION OF ALITE . . . . . . . . . 12
FILES NAMES . . . . . . . . . 13
BASIC OPERATIONS . . . . . . . . . 14
FUNCTION KEYS . . . . . . . . . 15
MOVING AROUND THE WORKSHEET . . . . . . . . . 17
ENTERING INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . 18
ENTERING LABELS . . . . . . . . . 18
ENTERING VALUES . . . . . . . . . 18
ENTERING FORMULAS . . . . . . . . . 19
ENTERING GRAPHICS CHARACTERS . . . . . . . . . 19
EDITING A CELL . . . . . . . . . 20
FORMULAS AND FUNCTIONS . . . . . . . . . 20
ENTERING FORMULAS . . . . . . . . . 22
NAMING/USING BLOCKS . . . . . . . . . 23
POINTING . . . . . . . . . 23
TYPING . . . . . . . . . 23
SETTING FORMATS . . . . . . . . . 23
COPY AND MOVE . . . . . . . . . 24
COPY VALUES . . . . . . . . . 24
COPY FORMULAS . . . . . . . . . 24
ABSOLUTE/RELATIVE ADDRESSES . . . . . . . . . 24
MOVE VALUES . . . . . . . . . 25
MOVE FORMULAS . . . . . . . . . 25
INSERTING ROWS/COLUMNS . . . . . . . . . 26
DELETING COLUMNS . . . . . . . . . 27
CIRCULAR REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . 27
SAVING & RETRIEVING . . . . . . . . . 28
EXPORTING PART OF WORKSHEET . . . . . . . . . 28
RETRIEVING THE WORKSHEET . . . . . . . . . 29
COMBINING WORKSHEETS . . . . . . . . . 29
LEAVING THE WORKSHEET . . . . . . . . . 30
PRINTING . . . . . . . . . 30
GRAPHS . . . . . . . . . 36
GRAPHICS COMMAND SUMMARY . . . . . . . . . 36
@FUNCTIONS . . . . . . . . . 42
STRING FUNCTIONS . . . . . . . . . 43
MATH FUNCTIONS . . . . . . . . . 44
FINANCIAL FUNCTIONS . . . . . . . . . 46
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 3
LOGICAL FUNCTIONS . . . . . . . . . 47
STATISTICAL FUNCTIONS . . . . . . . . . 47
SPECIAL FUNCTONS . . . . . . . . . 48
DATE AND TIME FUNCTIONS . . . . . . . . . 50
DATA MANAGEMENT . . . . . . . . . 51
DATA FILL . . . . . . . . . 51
DATA SORT . . . . . . . . . 52
DATA BIN . . . . . . . . . 53
DATA REGRESSION . . . . . . . . . 53
DATABASE OPERATIONS . . . . . . . . . 54
MACROS . . . . . . . . . 55
MACRO KEYWORDS . . . . . . . . . 57
ADVANCED MACROS . . . . . . . . . 59
TSR (MEMORY RESIDENT) MODE . . . . . . . . . 63
INDEX . . . . . . . . . 64
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 4
ALITE LICENSE AGREEMENT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The ALITE program and all other programs and materials distributed
or shipped with it are Copyright TRIUS, Inc., 1988-1993, and are
protected by U.S. and international copyright law. In the rest of
this document, this collection of programs is referred to simply
as "ALITE". You are granted a license to use your copy of ALITE
only under the terms and conditions specified in this license
agreement.
A "registered" copy of ALITE is a copy distributed on diskette
bearing the original TRIUS and ALITE registered trademarks,
purchased from TRIUS, Inc. or from an authorized re-seller,
accompannied by a printed bound manual.
A "shareware" copy of ALITE is a copy distributed on diskette or
via an electronic bulletin board, on-line service, or other
electronic means, obtained from a shareware disk vendor, or
obtained from another individual, without any printed
documentation, other than what is contained on the disk.
Shareware copies of ALITE are distributed to allow you to try the
program before you pay for it. They are Copyright 1993 TRIUS,
Inc., and do not constitute "free" or "public domain" software.
You may use a shareware copy of ALITE at no charge for a trial
period of up to 30 days. If you wish to continue using ALITE
after that period, you must purchase a registered copy. If you
choose not to purchase a registered copy, you must stop using
ALITE, though you may keep copies and pass them along to others.
Your registered copy of ALITE may only be used on one computer at
any given time, unless you have a site license, in which case,
ALITE may only be used on the number of computers specified in
your site license agreement.
You may install your registered copy of ALITE on a computer
attached to a network, or remove it from one computer and install
it on a different one, provided there is no possibility that your
copy will be used by more than one user, unless you have a site
license, in which case there should be no possibility of the
program being used by more users than it is licensed for. A
"user" is defined as one keyboard which is connected to a computer
on which ALITE is installed, regardless of whether or not the user
of the keyboard is aware of the installation or use of ALITE on
the system.
You may copy any version of ALITE for normal backup purposes, and
you may give copies of the PROGRAM to other individuals, which
they may also use and copy subject to the terms of this agreement.
If you copy the shareware version of ALITE for others, you must
include all of the files distributed with it, including this one.
You may not make any copies of the printed and bound ALITE manual,
or copies of a printed version of this file without explicit
written permission from TRIUS, Inc.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 5
You may NOT distribute ALITE other than through individual copies
of the SHAREWARE version passed to friends and associates for
their individual use. Specifically, you may not place ALITE or
any part of the ALITE package in a commercial library, or
distribute it with any other product or as an incentive to
purchase any other product, without permission from TRIUS, Inc.
You may not reverse-engineer, disassemble, modify, decompile or
create derivative works of the product. You acknowledge that the
product includes certain trade secrets and confidential
information, all of which are the copyrighted intellectual
property of TRIUS, Inc.
ALITE is a trademark of TRIUS Inc. and the TRIUS Logo is a trademark
of TRIUS, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide.
The ALITE User's Manual is copyrighted and all rights are reserved.
The reproduction of this document, in whole or part, or its conversion
to electronic medium are prohibited unless prior consent, in writing,
has been given by TRIUS, Inc.
TRIUS is a trademark of TRIUS, Inc.
ALITE is a trademark of TRIUS, inc.
EPSON is a trademark of Epson America Inc.
IBM is a trademark of International Business Machines, Inc.
LOTUS 1-2-3 is a trademark of Lotus Development Corporation
HERCULES is a trademark of Hercules Corporation
SYMPHONY is a trademark of LOTUS Corporation
MS-DOS is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
dBASE III is a trademark of Ashton Tate
Additions and modifications to this program and the manual may be made
periodically as needed and they should be considered additions to the
material presented herein.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 6
LIMITED WARRANTY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THIS PROGRAM IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY
KIND, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE
ENTIRE RISK AS TO QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THESE PROGRAMS IS WITH YOU.
SHOULD THE PROGRAM PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU (NOT TRIUS, INC.) ASSUME THE
ENTIRE COST OF ALL NECESSARY REPAIR, SERVICING, OR CORRECTION. IN NO
EVENT WILL TRIUS, INC. BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY
LOST PROFITS, LOST SAVINGS, OR OTHER INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES
ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THESE PROGRAMS, EVEN IF
TRIUS, INC. HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. THIS
WARRANTY GIVES YOU SPECIFIC LEGAL RIGHTS, AND YOU MAY ALSO HAVE OTHER
RIGHTS WHICH VARY FROM STATE TO STATE. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE
EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL
OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES SO THE ABOVE MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. YOU
ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ THIS AGREEMENT, UNDERSTAND IT, AND AGREE
TO BE BOUND BY ITS TERMS AND CONDITIONS. YOU FURTHER AGREE THAT IT IS
THE COMPLETE AND EXCLUSIVE STATEMENT OF THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN US, WHICH
SUPERSEDES ANY PROPOSAL OR PRIOR AGREEMENT, ORAL OR WRITTEN, AND ANY
OTHER COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN US.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 7
WHAT IS A SPREADSHEET
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A spreadsheet is a large grid of cells, each uniquely identified by a
column, row coordinate. In ALITE, this grid is made up of 2,048 rows
by 128 columns i.e., 262,144 cells. Each cell may contain values,
text or a formula relating information in other cells. Note that
although all these cells are available in ALITE, the amount of
information that can be stored in a single worksheet depends on the
amount of conventional RAM available on your system.
Since a typical PC monitor can only display 25 lines of 80 characters
each, you can only look at a portion of this large grid of cells at one
time.
GETTING STARTED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The basic files that are distributed with the ALITE program are
described below:
ALITE.FLS The main program compressed archive
INSTALL.EXE Installation Program
LICENSE.DOC Contains ALITE license agreement
READ.ME Last minute corrections, new features, etc.
VENDOR.DOC Information about distributing Shareware copies
See the READ.ME file on the diskette for a description of any
additional files that might be distributed with ALITE. The
READ.ME file also contains the description of any new features,
that may have been added to the program last minute.
To view the READ.ME file on your screen, use the command from the DOS
prompt:
A>TYPE READ.ME [ENTER]
To print the contents of the READ.ME file on your printer, make sure
your printer is on-line and use the command from the DOS prompt:
A>COPY READ.ME PRN [ENTER]
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 8
ALITE OPERATING REQUIREMENTS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ALITE will operate on any IBM PC or fully compatible MS-DOS system.
The program requires 150k minimum free RAM to be loaded. The RAM,
above 150k, available on your system will determine the amount of data
that can be stored with ALITE. Spreadsheet data is stored using a
sparse matrix technique which only allocates space required by each
cell.
***********************************************************************
* NOTE: ALITE uses a program overlay technique to free up more RAM *
* for data. As such, if the program is run from a floppy disk, *
* that disk should not be removed from the drive until you *
* have exited ALITE. *
***********************************************************************
VIDEO MONITORS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The video monitor/card combinations currently supported by ALITE
are:
MONOCHROME TTL (No Graphics), HERCULES MONO GRAPHICS (or
compatibles), CGA, EGA and AT&T.
PRINTERS
~~~~~~~~
ALITE provides access to printer control codes, allowing special
features of your particular printer to be used. No special printer
drivers are required because all text is sent to the printer (LPT1) as
straight ASCII data.
Graphs can be printed using any EPSON, or other fully graphics-
compatible, dot matrix printer.
For more information on controlling the printer, see the section
discussing the PRINTER menu commands.
INSTALLATION
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Installation of ALITE could not be simpler:
1. Start your computer and make sure you are at the DOS prompt.
2. Enter the ALITE master diskette in drive A or B.
3. At the DOS prompt, type A: (or B: depending on what drive you
have entered the diskette in) and press [ENTER].
4. Type INSTALL and press ENTER.
Now just follow the simple instructions on the screen.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 9
STARTING THE PROGRAM
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The system configuration and certain default parameters can be specified
when the program is started. Various configuration options can be
invoked by a number of command line switches (each switch is preceded by
a slash [/] character).
The general form to start the program is:
ALITE /switch1/switch2/switch3......
The various switch options are explained below. They can appear on the
command line in any order:
** ATT - AT&T Monochrome System.
Set this switch if you are using ALITE on an AT&T System to
produce graphics with a resolution of 640x400.
** AUTO=X - Autoload Worksheet.
Automatically load a worksheet upon program startup.
** BK=X - Screen Blanking Time
If your computer is left inactive (no key pressed) for X-seconds,
the screen will blank out to prevent phosphor burnout due to long
periods of reverse video, until a key is pressed again. If a
blanking time of 0 is used, screen blanking will be effectively
disabled. Default X=300 (i.e., 5 minutes).
** CTR - Column Divider Centered
Centers the column heading letters over each column. The default
setting for the top column heading is right justified:
** DIR=Path - Sets the Default Directory/Data Path.
The default data drive and subdirectory is the drive and
subdirectory from which the program was started. This switch
allows you to change the default drive/directory.
** DV=X - Column Division Character
Specify the column division character. The default character for
the top column heading is the forward slash:
** E - Enhanced Graphics Adaptor
This switch specifies an IBM Enhanced Graphics Adaptor or
equivalent available for graphics. The resolution on the EGA screen
will be 640x350 pixels with multiple colors.
** H - Hercules System.
This switch specifies that you are using a Hercules Mono-Graphics
board or clone. The resolution of the screen, when plotting
graphics, will be 720x348 pixels and will use the graphics page at
$b000. To force graphics to the second graphics page at $b800
follow the H with a 2, i.e., /H2.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 10
** MONO - Monochrome (B&W)
Change all colors to a white/black color scheme. This can be used
on monitors which do not display all colors visibly, such as LCD
monitors found on most laptops.
** MY=X - Currency Prefix
This switch allows the user to specify a new character (X) to be
displayed in place of the currency Dollar Sign (when a block is
formatted as currency). This is useful for foreign currencies like
the Pound.
** R - Load the program as a TSR, using EMS, or one of the
disk drives for swapping. Press Alt LeftShift / or Alt \ or
Alt ~ to start the program after it is installed as a TSR.
** RX - Load the program as a TSR, using XMS (Extended Memory)
for swapping.
** RD - Load the program as a TSR, using either C: or the drive
specified by the /SW=X switch, for swapping (C: is default)
** SET=$MGFB - Set Menu, Graph, Foreground, Background Colors.
This switch allows you to specify the Menu Window Color, Graph
color, the Foreground color and the background color every time you
start the program. The dollar sign ($) preceding the numbers, must
always be included as part of this switch and the numbers that are
used to specify the colors must be in hexadecimal form (one digit
for each color). If only two color numbers are specified, ALITE
assumes they are to be used for foreground and background colors.
** SW=X - (X is A, B, C, D...) Specify which drive to be used for the
temporary swap file. Used with the /RD command line switch.
** TP=X - Column Heading Character
Use this switch to change the character you see on the top column
heading line (the dot). If you specified /TP=*, on the command
line, the top column heading would be:
********A/*******B/*******C/*******D/*******E/****
** U - Unload the program from memory (if it was loaded
using the /R command line switch, above). Remember to save your
data before unloading the program.
Any combination of valid switches (depending on your system) can be
used. For example, ALITE /CTR/P/SET=$146
Starts ALITE with the column headings centered, in the panel menu
mode, and with colors: blue for the graph, red for the foreground and
brown for the background.
By creating individual batch files, you could start ALITE on a
number of different systems, without having to remember all the switches
required.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 11
STARTING ALITE FROM ANY DIRECTORY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ALITE can be started from any drive/directory on your hard disk
simply by typing ALITE. To do so, you must first perform the
following:
1. Set a DOS environment variable (ALITE) to the drive and path of the
ALITE.EXE, .HLP, .MSG, and HTREE.EXE files (these files must all be
in the same directory), using:
SET ALITE=Drive:\Directory (Example SET ALITE=C:\ALITE)
The above command may be included in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file so the
variable is set automatically every time you start your computer.
2. Make sure that the directory where the ALITE files are located is
included in your system's Path command.
If done correctly, typing ALITE and pressing [ENTER] from any directory
will start the program.
After loading ALITE, a message screen will be displayed. Press
any key to enter into the spreadsheet and begin your work.
***********************************************************************
* NOTE: ALITE uses a program overlay technique to free up more RAM *
* for data. As such, if the program is run from a floppy disk, *
* that disk should not be removed from the drive until you *
* have exited ALITE. *
***********************************************************************
ORGANIZATION OF ALITE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All ALITE commands are accessed through menus which are invoked by
pressing the slash [/] key, which is usually located on the lower
right side of the keyboard, just above the space bar.
When the [/] key is pressed, the main menu window will appear in the top
left of the screen. As you will see later, window menus provide you
with a useful trail through the different levels of menus in the
program.
The menu pointer can be moved by using the cursor arrow keys. Pressing
[LEFT], [UP] or [BACKSPACE] will move the selection bar up. Pressing
[RIGHT], [DOWN] or [SPACE] will move the selection bar down.
To select a command or sub menu, use the cursor keys to highlight the
option you want and press the [ENTER] key OR press the key corresponding
to First Letter of the desired option.
The display menu window can be shifted between the left and right sides
of the screen by pressing the period [.] key.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 12
FILE NAMES
~~~~~~~~~~
All spreadsheet files are saved with an extension of WKS. This is
done automatically. You need only specify the root name. (e.g., when
prompted to specify a file name for saving your current data, entering
MYDATA and pressing [ENTER] will save your data in a file called
MYDATA.WKS).
Even though ALITE will generate files with the extension "WKS", it
will attempt to read any file with extensions "WK?". This includes
"WKS" files generated by LOTUS 1-2-3 Ver. 1A, "WK1" files generated
by LOTUS 1-2-3 Rel. 2.0, "WRK" files generated by SYMPHONY, etc.
Text files generated with the /PrintTo, File option, have the extension
"PRN" and are in ASCII format. This means that these print files can be
imported by virtually any word processing program.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 13
BASIC OPERATIONS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
STATUS LINE
~~~~~~~~~~~
A line of status information is displayed at the bottom of the
screen, displaying useful information like the name of the worksheet
file currently in memory, the amount of free memory available and
status of the keyboard modes.
Cap Caps lock is ON
Num Numeric keys active on keypad
Ovr Indicates overstrike mode when editing cell
End The END key has been depressed, the next cursor keystroke
initiates a block movement
COMMAND WINDOW
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Powerful commands for manipulating the spreadsheet may be accessed by
activating the main menu with the use of the [/] key. This key is
usually located on the lower right side of the keyboard, just above the
space bar.
Once this key is pressed, a window containing the main menu commands
will appear on the top left corner of the screen.
The first option in the menu will be highlighted by a moveable pointer.
The command area line, on the top of the screen, will display
additional information about the highlighted option. The pointer can be
moved by pressing the [UP] and [DOWN] cursor keys. The [LEFT] and
[RIGHT] keys may be used in place of the [UP] and [DOWN].
If the menu window is hiding some useful information, or you don't like
its position, press the period [.] key and the window moves to the right
top part of the screen. Press period [.] again and it returns to its
original position. Once the menu window has been placed either on the
left or the right side of the screen, it will appear there every time
the menu is accessed until it is moved again or until the program is
exited.
To select a command or sub menu, use the cursor keys to highlight the
command you want and press the [ENTER] key. An alternative way is to
press the key corresponding to the first letter of the desired option.
Once a selection is made, a new window appears at the same location as
before. This window is actually made up of two parts. The top part
displays the option you selected in the previous menu. The bottom part
is a menu as before, with the first option highlighted. Again, you can
select an option from this menu either by highlighting and [ENTER] or by
pressing the key corresponding to the first letter of the option.
Once you have made your selection, a new window appears with the top
part displaying the selections you made in the previous two menus, and
the bottom part displaying the options of the new menu.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 14
As you can see, with this menuing technique, at any time you can tell
exactly what you are doing, what level menu you are in and how you
got there.
Refer to the MENU COMMAND SUMMARY section to learn about the different
commands and options available.
FUNCTION KEYS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
F1 - Help Function Key
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After pressing [F1], a split screen is displayed with the topic list on
the left and the chosen topic's information on the right.
Press the up/down cursor keys to move the highlighted cursor to the
desired topic. To move around within the help topic list, press the
[HOME] key to go to the top of the list; the [END] key to go to the
bottom of the list; the [PAGE UP] key to go to the top the list that
is visible on the screen; press the [PAGE DOWN] key to go to the
bottom of the list that is visible on the screen. To search quickly
for a topic, press the first letter of the desired topic.
Press the [ENTER] key to select the topic and the cursor will move to
the informational help window on the right side of the screen.
Once a help topic has been chosen and entered, use the up/down cursor
keys to scroll through the file. The highlighted bottom boundary of a
file disappears when the end of the file has been reached.
To exit one help topic and enter another, hit the [ENTER] or the [LEFT]
cursor key, scroll up or down to the desired topic, and hit the
[ENTER] key. The first letter quick-search method may also be used.
To exit the help menu altogether, hit the [ESCAPE] key.
F2 - Edit Function Key
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pressing the F2 functions key places a copy of the contents of the
current cell on the second line of the command panel area, and invokes
the edit mode. For more information about the edit mode options, refer
to the section about editing.
F3 - Macro Function Key
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The F3 function key allows execution of a macro by name or by cell
reference. When F3 is pressed, a prompt appears requesting the name of
the macro that you want to execute. The default address is the one
specified the last time F3 was invoked during the current session. You
can either type the name of the macro you want to execute and press
[ENTER] or press [ESC].
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 15
Pressing [ESC] in response to the prompt will display a pick list of
block names to choose from. Move the cursor to the desired macro name
and press [ENTER].
F4 - Absolute Address Function Key
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pressing F4 while in the middle of entering a formula, makes the address
of the cell that the cursor is located on absolute (both row and
column). Pressing F4 once more makes only the column of the current
cell absolute and pressing it for the third time makes the reference
relative.
NOTE: This function key is only active when entering an equation in
the pointing mode. It is not active when editing a cell.
F5 - GoTo Function Key
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The GOTO function key allows you to position the cursor on a cell
indicated by name or by reference. When the prompt for the destination
appears, pressing [ESCAPE] will present a window of block names from
which to choose. The default address is the address specified last time
F5 was invoked during the current session.
F6 - Window/Location Function Key
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The F6 function key toggles the cell cursor between the current location
and the last location the cell cursor occupied. When the Sheet,
Windows command has been invoked, pressing the F6 key will toggle the
cursor between the two windows. When the Sheet, Borders command has
been invoked, pressing the F6 key will toggle the cursor into and out of
the border area.
F9 - Calculate Function Key
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When the ready mode is active, pressing F9 results in all cells being
recalculated.
Another feature of the F9 key is that it performs the calculation of any
equation, at any point in the ALITE operation, where a numerical
value is prompted. When editing a formula, pressing F9 replaces the
entire formula with its evaluated result.
Example:
Cell A1 contains the value 1
Cell A2 contains the value 2
Place the cursor in cell B1 and press the following keys:
/scsA1+A2 [F9] [ENTER]
|
Function Key
This will set the width of column B to 3, i.e., the value of cell A1
plus the value of cell A2.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 16
F10 - Graph Function Key
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pressing F10 displays the currently defined graph. If no graph has been
defined, a beep will sound and an error message will be displayed.
MOVING AROUND THE WORKSHEET
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Each key performs the following action:
[HOME] Move the cursor to cell position A1
[UP] Move the cursor up one row
[PGUP] Move the cursor up 20 rows
[DOWN] Move the cursor down one row
[PGDN] Move the cursor down 20 rows
[LEFT] Move the cursor left one column
[RIGHT] Move the cursor right one column
[END] This key acts in combination with the next cursor key
pressed. It causes the spreadsheet to scan in the
indicated direction until a change of state occurs.
For example, a column of numbers with a blank cell in
the middle will result in the cursor stopping at the
blank cell. Subsequent [END] [DOWN] will jump to the
bottom of the column.
[END][UP] Move to far top of block
[END][DOWN] Move to far bottom of block
[END][LEFT] Move to far left of block
[END][RIGHT] Move to far right of block
[END][HOME] Move to lower right corner of worksheet
Other movement keys:
[TAB] Move one page right
[SHIFT][TAB] Move one page left
[F5] Go to specified cell
[F6] When the /Sheet Window option has been selected,
pressing F6 moves the cursor between the two windows.
With only one window active, pressing F6 toggles
between the current and the last position of the
cursor.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 17
ENTERING INFORMATION
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ENTERING LABELS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A label is any sequence of characters which is not preceded with a digit
or mathematical operator. Digits may be entered as labels if they are
preceded with an apostrophe ['], a caret [^], a quote ["], or a
backslash [\] character. These characters are special formatting
characters which perform the following:
['] - Left justifies the label within the column
[^] - Centers the label within the column. If the label is wider
than the column, the result is left justified.
["] - Right justifies the label within the column. If the label
is wider than the column, the result is left justified.
[\] - Repeats the character which follows, to the width of the
column.
[|] - Sends the characters that follow to the printer as a setup
string. (The "|" character is not displayed on screen).
Several examples follow:
ENTER RESULT
-------------------------------------------------------------
'Sample Left justifies label in column
^2-Section Centers label in column
"Amount Right justifies label in column
\= Column is filled with equal signs
|\027\015 Sends setup string to printer. Please note
that all decimal control characters are
preceded by backslash [\] and must be three
digits in length. The default prefix
character is an apostrophe ['] which will
automatically be inserted as the first
character.
ENTERING VALUES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A value is any sequence of digits. ALITE supports 11 significant
digits. Very large (or very small) numbers are entered by using
exponential notation.
For example, the number 2.3 times ten to the power 15 would be entered
as follows:
2.3E15 [ENTER]
All entries must be completed by pressing the [ENTER] key. If that key
has not been pressed, the [BackSpace] key may be used to delete the
previously entered digit.
The limiting range of numbers recognized by the program is:
1.0E-37 < | X | < 1.0E+37
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 18
If a cell contains only asterisks, "*********", it's an indication that
the width of the column is insufficient to hold all the characters
required to display the number. To make the value visible, either
expand the column width or change the format of the cell.
ENTERING FORMULAS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A formula consists of a series of numbers, cell references or functions
separated with the following mathematical operators.
[-] - negation [>] - greater than
[+] - addition [<] - less than
[-] - subtraction [=] - equal to
[*] - multiplication [<=] - less than or equal
[/] - division [>=] - greater than or equal
[!] - factorial [<>] - not equal to
[%] - percent [()] - parentheses
[^] - exponentiation
A formula must start with one of the following characters:
- + ( @ or a digit.
The following examples assume that cell A1 contains the value 4.
Type Result Comment
-------------------------------------------------------------
1.1+2*3+5^2 32.1 --
+A1*2+5.5 13.5 --
@SQRT(A1)+5 7.0 --
(2*A1+3)*3 33.0 --
-5.1+2 -3.1 --
2>3 0 Result is False
3>2 1 Result is True
5>=2 1 Result is True
5<>4 1 Result is True
6=6 1 Result is True
6=5 0 Result is False
ENTERING GRAPHICS CHARACTERS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ALITE supports high bit ASCII characters (sometimes
referred to as graphics or box characters). To create one of these
characters, hold the [ALT] key down and enter the decimal code of the
character you want using the numeric pad (on the right side of your
keyboard).
NOTE: Some graphics characters can be printed only if they are
supported by your printer.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 19
EDITING A CELL
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pressing [F2] causes the contents of the current cell to be placed on
line 2 of the command panel. The mode indicator is changed to EDIT and
the character cursor is positioned at the end of the line. Make
changes by moving the character cursor to the desired position and
start typing.
When in the edit mode, editing is set to insert mode (text under and to
right of the cursor will be shifted to the right as characters are
typed). The insert mode can be toggled on/off by pressing the insert
[INS] key. The opposite of insert mode is overwrite mode which is
indicated by an increase in cursor size and the display of the OVR
status indicator (text is overwritten by new typing).
After all changes have been made you must press the [ENTER] key to
insert the changes into the current cell in the worksheet.
FORMULAS AND FUNCTIONS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WHAT IS A FORMULA
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Relationships between cells are formed using algebraic, statistical or
logical expressions (formulas). Once a formula is typed in and [ENTER]
is pressed, it is evaluated and the result is placed in the cell.
Examples are given below:
CELL CONTENTS EXPLANATION
--------------------------------------------------------------
A1 +A10+B1 Add contents of
A10 to contents
of B1. Result
appears in A1.
K1 +C2/(D4-F9) Subtract contents
of F9 from contents
of D4, divide contents
of C2 by this total.
Result appears in K1.
O13 @SUM(G1..G26) Sum the contents of
cells G1 through G26
(inclusive). Result
appears in O13.
This is short list of examples to get you acquainted with the concept of
formulas. The section on @FUNCTIONS gives a list of the available
functions and examples of how to use them in formulas.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 20
WHAT IS A FUNCTION?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Each function begins with an at-sign [@]. The number of arguments
required by each function is fixed. All function arguments must be
enclosed in parentheses. The general form for using a function is as
follows:
@function(argument1,argument2,........)
Details about the functions available in ALITE and the way to
invoke them are provided in the section "@FUNCTIONS".
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 21
ENTERING FORMULAS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are two ways to enter a formula into an ALITE cell. One is
to type the whole formula and the second is to point to the refered
cells.
For example let's say that you want to enter the following formula in
cell B6.
@SUM(A5..A12)+A1/(B1*C3)
This could be accomplished in two ways as shown below (assuming that the
cursor is already in cell B6).
POINTING METHOD:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TYPE PRESS SHOWN ON CONTROL PANEL
------------------------------------------------------------------
@SUM( @SUM(
[LEFT] @SUM(A6
[UP] @SUM(A5
(period). @SUM(A5..A5
[DOWN](7 times) @SUM(A5..A12
)+ @SUM(A5..A12)+
[HOME] @SUM(A5..A12)+A1
/( @SUM(A5..A12)+A1/(
[RIGHT] @SUM(A5..A12)+A1/(B1
* @SUM(A5..A12)+A1/(B1*
[RIGHT] @SUM(A5..A12)+A1/(B1*C1
[DOWN] @SUM(A5..A12)+A1/(B1*C2
[DOWN] @SUM(A5..A12)+A1/(B1*C3
) @SUM(A5..A12)+A1/(B1*C3)
[ENTER] @SUM(A5..A12)+A1/(B1*C3)
And the calculated value is displayed in cell B6.
TYPING METHOD:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With the cursor positioned on cell B6, type
@SUM(A5..A12)+A1/(B1*C3)
and press [ENTER]. The calculated value will appear in cell B6, and the
above equation will show on the control panel.
Cell References
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cell references can be either absolute or relative. An absolute cell
has the row or column to be fixed preceded by a '$', i.e. $A1 fixes the
column portion of the cell reference. A block copy of a formula with
this cell reference will not alter the 'A' portion of the cell. $A$1
fixes both the row and column portion of the cell. Without the '$' all
copies of the cell formula will result in a translation of the cell
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 22
reference which maintains the relative reference. Cell references must
be preceded by either a '+' or '-' sign or a parenthesis.
See the section on copying and moving for more information on relative
and absolute references.
NAMING/USING BLOCKS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A block of cells can be assigned a name by invoking the /Block, Name,
Create command from the main menu.
When using a block in an ALITE operation, it may be specified by
using one of two possible methods: pointing to the cell or block of
cells, or actually typing in the block (upper left cell followed by
two periods and then the lower right cell) or block name (if one has
already been assigned to it).
POINTING
~~~~~~~~
Pointing to a cell simply involves moving the cursor. It is best to use
this method in response to COPY or MOVE commands. When asked for a
block, move the pointer. Notice that the pointer expands on the screen.
In the middle of the leading edge of the pointer you will see a small
blinking cursor. This indicates the corner of the block which you can
expand or contract. To switch to the next corner press the period [.].
If you press the period 4 times, you will return to your starting
position. When the block has been completely highlighted, press the
[ENTER] key. This fixes the block permanently and allows any action to
occur. i.e. if the block was entered in response to a COPY command, the
copy will be initiated.
TYPING
~~~~~~
Typing a block may be done by specifying diagonally opposite cell
corners of the block. Each cell reference is separated by two (2)
periods [.].
Example: A1..D5 defines the same block as D1..A5. When the entry is
complete press the [ENTER].
SETTING FORMATS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Format refers to the appearance of a cell. There may be a difference
between the way the contents of a cell is displayed and the way the
value of that cell is stored internally. It helps to keep that in
mind at all times, e.g. if a cell contains the value 1.2345, formatted
to fixed with 2 decimals will display 1.23 (although any calculation
involving the cell will use the value 1.2345).
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 23
Ranges of cells may be formatted using the /Block, Format command.
Details about the types of formats available in ALITE can be found
in the command summary at the end of this manual.
COPY AND MOVE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The CopyCell and MoveCell commands can be used to copy or move values, formulas
or text that exist in a cell or in a group of cells. Both commands need
the user to specify the 'From range' and the 'To range'. When copying
or moving formulas, what ends up in the 'Copy or Move To' range depends
on the formulas being transferred. Formulas that contain relative
references are translated by the copy command. Values, text and
absolute references are not translated.
COPY VALUES
~~~~~~~~~~~
Using the CopyCell command on a value duplicates the value in the "FROM"
cell into the "TO" cell.
For example, to copy the value from cell B5 to cell C6, simply enter the
following sequence of commands (assuming the pointer is already on cell
B5):
/c [ENTER] [RIGHT] [DOWN] [ENTER] (Pointing Method)
or
/c B5 [ENTER] C6 [ENTER] (Typing Method)
COPY FORMULAS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ABSOLUTE/RELATIVE ADDRESSES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Formulas can use absolute or relative cell references. The type of
reference does not effect the result of the calculation, but it does
affect what gets transferred during a CopyCell or a MoveCell command. An
absolute reference is identified by a '$' sign preceding either the
column letter, the row number or both.
Let's take an example of three cells containing the following:
cell B1 contains +A1+A2
'' B2 '' +A1+$A2
'' B3 '' +A1+$A$2
The value result in cells B1, B2 and B3 should be identical.
Now copy the cells B1, B2 and B3 to C2, C3 and C4 respectively, and
let's see what the new cells contain.
cell C2: +B2+B3
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 24
Copied from an original formula, in B1, that said: "Add the contents of
the cell one column to the left (A1) to the contents of the cell one
column to the left and one row down (A2)."
cell C3: +B2+$A3
Copied from an original formula, in B2, that said: "Add the contents of
the cell one column to the left (A1) to the contents of the cell in
column A ($A) and one row down."
cell C4: +B2+$A$2
Copied from an original formula, in B3, that said: "Add the contents of
the cell one column to the left (A1) to the contents of the cell in
column A ($A) and in row 2 ($2)."
MOVE VALUES
~~~~~~~~~~~
Moving values is a simple operation that relocates the value from a cell
into another specified cell.
For example, to move the value from cell B5 to cell C6, simply enter the
following sequence of commands (assuming the pointer is already in cell
B5):
/m [ENTER] [RIGHT] [DOWN] [ENTER] (Pointing Method)
or
/m B5 [ENTER] C6 [ENTER] (Typing Method)
MOVE FORMULAS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The rules that apply to copying formulas also apply to moving formulas.
Let's consider the same example of the three cells containing the
following:
cell B1 contains +A1+B4
'' B2 '' +A1+$B4
'' B3 '' +A1+$B$4
'' B4 '' 5
The values displayed in cells B1, B2, B3 and B4 should be identical.
Now move the cells B1, B2, B3 and B4 into C1, C2, C3 and C4
respectively. Let's see what the new cells contain.
cell C1: +A1+C4
Notice the translation of B4 to C5. This occured because B4 was within
the moved block. The reference to A1 remains unchanged because it was
outside the block.
cell C2: +A1+$C4
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 25
Absolute symbol does NOT keep column reference from changing for the
move operation.
cell C3: +A1+$C$4
Moved from original location but the formula changes the same as in cell
C2.
As you can see, NO translation occurs for cell references OUTSIDE the
block being moved. References to cells inside the block ARE translated
to reflect the new position.
INSERTING ROWS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Insert Rows function is invoked by the commands:
/Sheet, Insert, Row
To insert a row, let's say between rows 3 and 4, position the cursor on
any cell in row 4 and press the following keys:
/sir [ENTER]
This will insert a blank row 4 and all the rows between the original row
4 and the bottom of the worksheet will move one position down.
To insert 3 rows between rows 6 and 7, bring the cursor to any cell in
row 7 and type the following:
/sir . [DOWN] [DOWN] [ENTER] (Note: Yes, that is a period)
This will insert three blank rows after row 6, and all the rows between
the original row 7 and the end of the worksheet will move three
positions down.
NOTE: You will get a message if any cells would be lost at the
bottom of the worksheet.
INSERTING COLUMNS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inserting columns works exactly the same as inserting rows. The
inserted column will take on the column width of the adjacent column to
the right.
NOTE: You will get a message if any cells would be lost at the
right of the worksheet.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 26
DELETING ROWS/COLUMNS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Deleting rows or columns is similar to the inserting procedure.
Caution: Any cell reference to a deleted cell will result in an ERR
replacing the reference.
CIRCULAR REFERENCES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When a calculation model in a worksheet gets sophisticated, it is
sometimes difficult to keep track of the referenced cells in each
formula.
Occasionally two or more cells accidently, directly or indirectly refer
to each other. Even worse, you can have a number of cells that are
circularly referenced so that convergence of the calculation is
impossible.
Consider the following:
Cell A10 contains: +D21+5
Cell C11 contains: +W90+5
Cell D21 contains: +AA10+5
Cell W90 contains: +X500+5
Cell X500 contains: +A10+5
Trying to trace the circular reference in this group of cells could take
a significant amount of time and cause severe headaches.
If a circular reference is discovered, a message will appear on the
Worksheet, Summary (/SS) screen.
Circular reference recalculation only allows one iteration of the
referenced cells. If more iterations are desired, they can be
accomplished by pressing the F9 (re-calculate) key, or by automating the
process with the following short macro:
{Let A1,10} <--- Name this cell '\A'
Back: {Calc} <--- Name this cell 'Back:'
{if A1>0}{Let A1,A1-1}{Jump Back:}
{Quit}
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 27
SAVING & RETRIEVING
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SAVING THE WORKSHEET
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To save the entries you have made in the worksheet, press the [/] key to
bring up the main menu. Select the FILE command choice by moving the
cursor to highlight that word. Press [ENTER]. You will see a new menu
of file command choices.
Select the STORE command. A file management window will open
displaying the current drive and directory, the current file name (if
this is a file you retrieved from disk), and a listing of all files in
the current drive/directory.
You may move through the various areas of the file management windo
using the arrow keys. Pressing F1, at any time, will sort the listed
file names by name, extension, size or date, successively.
If the worksheet is new, you may either move the cursor to the file
name area and type in a name, or move the pointer to an existing
filename in the list and press [ENTER]. If you enter a new name,
please note that the following characters are not allowed in a file
name:
"," "*" "/" "?" "#"
If a worksheet with the same name already exists on your data disk, the
program will ask if you want to "cancel", make a "backup" or "replace"
the the old file (on the disk) with the contents of the current
worksheet in the computer.
If you choose to make a backup, the file on disk will be renamed with
the extension .WKB and the new file will be saved with an extension .WKS
SAVING PART OF THE WORKSHEET (EXPORTING)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sometimes it may be appropriate to save only a small portion of the
spreadsheet. This may be achieved by using the /File Xport command.
Once the Xport command has been selected, ALITE will prompt for the
name of the .WKS file. Type the name and press [ENTER]. Do NOT add an
extension when you type the name as this is performed automatically by
ALITE.
After you have specified the name of the file, the program asks for the
range to be exported. The range can be specified by either pointing or
typing, or a range name can be used.
The specified range will then be exported to a .WKS file.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 28
RETRIEVING THE WORKSHEET
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To retrieve a worksheet select the /File, Retrieve command.
A file management window will open, similar to that in the /File,
Store, displaying worksheet files present in the default directory.
Only one page of names is displayed at a time. To view more files,
simply use the down arrow.
Select your file by moving the pointer to highlight the file or type the
file name and then press [ENTER].
COMBINING WORKSHEETS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The /FILE MERGE command will combine any designated worksheet file with
the current file starting at the position occupied by the spreadsheet
pointer. The information merged from the new file will overwrite any
information present in the cells.
WARNING: Information in cells overwritten cannot be recovered.
When /File Merge is selected, choose either to merge the whole file or a
named range from a specified file. Once this choice has been made, you
are asked to specify whether to merge the formulas in the named range or
file or just the calculated values in the range.
NOTE: When the Merge-Range-Formulas is selected, the cell
relationships are retained in the new worksheet.
If a cell of the file being merged (from disk), contains a formula, and
you selected /File, Merge, [All/Range], Value, then the last values
contained in the cells when the worksheet was saved will be used in the
merge operation.
If you selected /File, Merge, [All/Range], Formula, then for cells in
the file on disk that contained values, those values will be used in the
merge operation. For cells that contained formulas, however, the
contents of the current cells will be replaced with the formulas from
the file on disk.
You will now be provided with three options for the merged information;
ADD, DIFF, and REPLACE.
ADD will cause the cell contents of the file being merged to be added to
the contents of the current file cells.
DIFF will cause the cell contents of the file being merged to be
subtracted from the contents of the current file cells.
REPLACE will cause the cell contents of the file being merged to replace
the contents of the current file cells.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 29
LEAVING THE WORKSHEET
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MAKE SURE THAT YOU SAVED YOUR LATEST VERSION OF THE WORKSHEET!
(see previous section on saving your worksheet).
Access the command menu by pressing the [/] key. Select the EXIT
command. You will be given a second chance to change your mind when
ALITE asks if you want to quit, YES or NO. Highlight the word YES.
ALITE will prompt you one last time, asking if you have saved your
worksheet. If you wish to return to the worksheet, press [ESC],
otherwise press [ENTER]. The program will now return to DOS.
If you performed the above keystrokes by accident and did not intend to
leave the spreadsheet, you are out of luck because all spreadsheet
information in the computer memory has been lost.
PRINTING
~~~~~~~~
You can print any portion of the spreadsheet to either a PRINTER or a
print FILE (on your disk) or append a print file by selecting the
"PrintTo" option from the main menu.
PRINT TO A PRINTER
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To get into the printer menu, press the following sequence of keys.
/pp
Which stands for / PrintTo Printer.
You are now in the print menu where all the print variations and
options may be defined. The main Print menu contains the following
commands:
Range Stands for the rectangular area of the spreadsheet
which is to be printed. tHIS MUST BE DEFINED PRIOR
TO PRINTING.
Border Print specified row(s) and/or column(s) as a border on
every page of the output.
LineFeed Advance the paper in the printer a single line.
Formfeed Advance the paper in the printer to the top of the next
page.
Options Allows access to Sub-menu of printer options; margins,
page length, header, footer, format type and printer
setup string. (See print menu explanations for further
details).
Adjust Synchronize the program's top-of-page with the printer
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 30
top-of-page. The page and line counter are reset to 1.
Note: If this synchronization is not done, you may
get several blank lines in the middle of the
printed page. This is the gap allotted to
skip over sheet perforation.
Go Starts the printer printing.
All print output is directed to the printer attached to the parallel
port (LPT1). To direct information to be printed to alternate ports use
the Print, File command. As an example, to send output to serial port
#1 (COM1), type:
/PrintTo File COM1. [ENTER]
and execute the Adjust Go commands.
PRINTER BORDERS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The PrintTo Printer Borders command allows you to select row(s) and/or
column(s) from your worksheet that you wish to have printed on every
page. This is especially useful for large multi-page spreadsheets where
you need to have column headings or row descriptors printed on your
output. The Printer Borders command operates similar to Worksheet
Borders.
The print range need not be adjacent to the borders you've selected.
This allows you to print part of a ledger complete with row and column
headings.
When Printer Borders is used, you must be careful when specifying the
ranges. The rows and columns specified as your print border MUST NOT be
included as part of your print range: you may end up with duplicate
rows or columns in your output.
To clear Printer Borders, select None under the Borders menu.
PRINTER OPTIONS - MARGINS & PAGE LENGTH
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ALITE default margin settings are 0 for the left margin and 80 for
the right margin. Both margins are measured in characters from the left
side of the page. Using the default settings, you are able to print a
range of up to 80 characters wide. Setting the left margin to 10 allows
you to print a range 70 (80 minus 10), characters wide.
If you've selected condensed print and your output continues to
additonal pages while leaving a large right margin, chances are your
right margin needs to be increased to accomodate the width of your print
range.
The default top and bottom margin setting is 2 lines. The margins are
measured from the physical end of the page to the header or footer in
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 31
lines. If the top margin is set to 0, the header line will print on the
first line of the page. If the top margin is set to 2 lines, the header
will print on the third line of the page. A one line space is
automatically left between the header or footer and the print range.
The default page length is set to 66 lines. Most dot matrix printers
default to 6 lines per inch, so no changes are required if you are
printing on 11 inch long paper. If you wish to change the lines per
inch spacing to 8, you must also change the lines per page to 88 (8 lpi
X 11 inches) for headers, footers, and page breaks to work properly.
Some laserjet printers default to a value other than 66 lines per
inch. If this is the case, you must adjust the page lines accordingly.
Note that if you have set your top and bottom margins equal to 0 and
your page length equal to 66 lines, you are able to print a range of
60 rows on a page before the program will skip to a new page. One
line at the top and bottom of the page is reserved for the perf-skip
feature. Two lines each are reserved for headers and footers; one for
the line of text and the second line serves as a spacer between the
header or footer and the body of the text.
PRINTER OPTIONS - HEADERS & FOOTERS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Centering headers and footers can be performed by separating pieces of
text with the "|" character. i.e., if you have the following in your
header line:
PAGE|TITLE|DATE
This will be translated into:
PAGE TITLE DATE
The first word, "PAGE", is left justified since it is not preceded by a
"|" character.
The second word, "TITLE", is centered since it is preceded by the first
"|" character.
The third word, "DATE", is right justified since it is preceded by the
second "|" character.
PRINTER OPTIONS - PAGE NUMBERS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sequential page numbering can be achieved by placing the "#" character
in the header/footer line, e.g., placing the following in your header line,
REPORT|TITLE|PAGE: #
would result in the header line:
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 32
REPORT TITLE PAGE: X
where X would be the actual page number starting with page 1
NOTE: Selecting /PPAdjust resets the page counter to 1.
PRINTER OPTIONS - DATING A PAGE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Placement of the current date on the top/bottom of a printed page can be
achieved by placing the "@" character in the header/footer line.
i.e. Placing the following in your header line,
REPORT|TITLE|DATE: @
would result in the header line if 12-Jan-90 were the current date:
REPORT TITLE DATE: 12-Jan-90
PRINTER OPTIONS - EMBEDDED CODES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You can place text enhancement printer control codes directly into a
print range. This can be achieved by placing;
|\xxx\yyy
in the first column of the print range, where xxx and yyy are your
printer's control codes.
For example, if your print range was A1 to H20, by putting the following
in the FIRST column (A1) of the print range,
|\027\069 (This is the setup string for emphasized print on an
EPSON printer. Note that the prefix character [|]
will not be displayed).
the result is emphasized text on an Epson printer.
NOTE: Any data on the remainder of the line containing the printer
control codes will not be printed. An entire line may be
hidden during printing if a single "|" is placed in the first
column.
If you try to enter text-enhancing control codes inside a label, you'll
find that when you enter Alt 027, you exit the edit mode. That's
because control characters (ASCII less than 32), are translated by the
program as Arrow keys, Esc key, etc. To enter control characters, you
need to use the Edit Bypass Function key, [F3]. The sequence is: F3 Alt
nnn. F3 is only active for one control character and must be pressed
every time additional control characters are to be embedded.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 33
For example, if you want to print "This is a CONTROL code sample" on an
EPSON printer with only the word "CONTROL" in condensed mode, the
following keystrokes should be used:
This is a F3 [Alt] 015 CONTROL F3 [Alt] 018 code sample.
The 015 code turns the condensed print mode on and the 018 code turns
the condensed print mode off.
Page breaks can be forced by placing a single "|" followed by two colons
"::" in your text. This must be placed in a cell that is in the left-
most column of your print range. Information in cells to the right of
the page break command will not be printed.
A page break can also be inserted into your worksheet by using the
following command:
/ Worksheet Insert Page
This command will insert a new row and place "|::" in the cell at the
current cursor location.
PRINTER OPTIONS - TYPE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The output can be printed (to printer or file) in one of the following
formats.
AS SEEN Prints the output in row and column format (as
displayed on screen) with headers, footers, and
page breaks.
CONTENTS Prints a columnar listing of all non-blank cells
and their contents. Useful for printing cell
formulas.
NOFORM Prints the output without header and footer
information and suppresses page breaks.
CONTROLLING THE PRINTER
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Most printers can be controlled by sending a sequence of ASCii control
codes to your printer. (For details and control codes, refer to your
printer's user's manual).
Commonly used codes for the EPSON series of printers are:
\027\069 Turn on Emphasized text (or \027E)
\027\070 Turn off Emphasized text (or \027F)
\015 Turn on Condensed text
\018 Turn off Condensed text
The three digit number 027 stands for the [escape] code and the three
digit number 069 stands for the capital letter 'E'.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 34
Printer codes may be entered by selecting the following PRINT commands:
OPTION SETUP
The spreadsheet accepts codes only if they are separated by the back-
slash character [\] . To select the emphasized text mode, type the
following in response to the prompt for the setup string (remember to
use 3 digits):
\027\069 [enter]
To change the string, re-select the SETUP option.
PRINT TO A FILE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To create an ASCII file (which contains the print range) for transfer to
other programs (like databases or word processors) use the following
procedure. Type:
/pfTEST [ENTER]
Which stands for / PrintTo File. At this point the program asks for the
name of the print file. Type the name of the print file (in this case
TEST) and press ENTER. An extension of ".prn" will automatically be
attached to the file name. If you have already sent output to the print
file during the current ALITE session, the name of the print file
will appear at the prompt line and you can select it by just pressing
ENTER.
If you wish to append an existing ASCII print file, select / PrintTo
Append. This command will print the selected range to the end of the
specified print file.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 35
GRAPHS
~~~~~~
ALITE provides you with the capability to create high-quality
graphs from your spreadsheet data. Hardcopy output can be generated on
a 9-pin dot matrix printer, or a .PIC file can be created for use with
your word processing or other graphics program.
Five types of graphs can be created:
X-Y Bar Pie Line Stack
Many options are available to customize graphs for business
presentations as well as for engineering and scientific analyses, etc.
Graphs can be scaled on both the X (horizontal) axis and the Y
(vertical) axis so that the entire graphed range (or a portion of the
range) may be displayed. A logarithmic adjustment to either or both of
the x and y scales may be performed to produce log or semi-log graphs.
All data points are specified by ranges in the spreadsheet.
The graph menu (/G) will display the following choices:
Type Series Labels Options Reset Name View Plot Quit
Up to six curves may be displayed on a single graph. Each curve
corresponds to one of the Y ranges, A through F.
The following provides details on all the options available to allow you
to create customized graphs.
GRAPHICS COMMAND SUMMARY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GRAPH TYPES, X-Y GRAPH
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In an X-Y graph, the Y-range values are presented as a function of X,
i.e., y=f(x). Both ranges must contain values, and there must be a 1 to
1 correlation between the X- and Y-range elements.
NOTE: If the X-range contains labels and you attempt to display an
X-Y graph, the Y values will all be plotted at X=0 since the
value of a label is zero.
LINE GRAPH
~~~~~~~~~~
In the line graph, the Y values are plotted along the vertical axis
using lines, symbols, or both. The X range data are treated as labels,
whether numbers or text.
The spacing along the X-axis will be equal. ALITE automatically
generates a Y scale based on the maximum value in the Y range.
The line graph is best suited for displaying data trends over a period
of time.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 36
BAR GRAPH
~~~~~~~~~
A bar graph is similar to the line graph in that the Y range must be
values and the X range is treated as labels. Vertical bars equal to the
magnitude of the Y-values extend upward from the X-axis.
The bar widths are automatically determined by ALITE. The greater
the number of Y values being plotted, the narrower the bars. To
differentiate the Y ranges, ALITE assigns a unique shading to each
bar for ranges A through F.
The bar graph may be used for comparing data for specific periods of
time.
STACKED BAR GRAPH
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A stacked bar graph is similar to the bar graph. However, the vertical
bars represent the cumulative value of the Y values, with each Y value
having a shaded height equal to its magnitude. The last defined Y-range
will be plotted on the bottom of the bars, proceeding upwards from F to
A.
A stacked bar graph is best for showing the relative values of each part
to the total for a series that varies with time.
PIE GRAPH
~~~~~~~~~
A pie graph shows the relative value relationships for a single Y range
(the A range) with each data item represented as a slice of the pie.
The X range will be used as labels for each pie slice. ALITE will
calculate and display the fraction of the pie represented by each slice.
Since the pie graph has no axes, X- and Y-axes titles are not used, as
well as the options grid and format.
To display the pie slice fractions as percentages, select / Graphics
Options Scale Y-Scale Format Percent and specify the number of decimal
places. ALITE also has the ability to create and display an
"exploding" pie graph, where selected slices can be separated from the
pie. To explode a slice, the distance in pixels for that slice must be
specified in the B range. You may wish to start with a pixel value of
10 and experiment until you find a value that is satisfactory.
The pie graph is useful for depicting the relative contribution made by
each data item to the whole.
SERIES (X A B C D E F)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Specify the X and Y ranges for the graph. Ranges can be specified
either by the pointing or typing method, or by using a predefined range
name.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 37
A basic difference between X-Y type graphs and other types of graphs
should be remembered.
Line graphs and bar graphs represent a set of values as vertical
distances. The only numeric scale in this type of graph is the one
along the vertical axis. The horizontal axis displays all items in the
X range in a non-numeric, equally spaced sequence of text, (e.g. dates,
names of cities, etc.).
The X-Y type graphs are two-dimensional. They represent pairs of values
as a function of their horizontal and vertical coordinates.
LABELS
~~~~~~
Define a range of labels that are to be used to mark each of the data
points on the specified graph range. A one-to-one correspondence is
needed between the range being plotted and the labels for that range.
ABOVE - Labels to be placed above each of the data points.
BELOW - Labels to be placed below each of the data points.
LEFT - Labels to be placed to the left of each of the data points.
RIGHT - Labels to be placed to the right of each of the data points.
NONE - Cancel data labels previously defined for the selected range.
GRAPH OPTIONS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GRAPH OPTIONS - LEGEND
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Allows the user to enter text which describe the Y ranges
LINE - The graph legends appear in a single line beneath the X-axis.
TABLE - The graph legend appears to the right of the graph.
NONE - If this option is selected, the graph legend is cancelled.
GRAPH OPTIONS - FORMAT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Set the format for the graph or Y ranges. You can set the format for
either the entire graph or individually for each data range. The
formats available are shown below.
NONE - Do not plot lines or symbols (plot nothing).
LINES - Connect data points with lines only. No symbols shown.
NOTE: Only contiguous Data points will be connected.
SYMBOLS - Identify data points with symbols only.
BOTH - Identify data points with symbols and connect with lines.
DEPTH - Depth toggles the 3-D bar mode for bar graphs on and off.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 38
GRAPH OPTIONS - TITLES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Specify the titles to appear on the graph. The selections available
from the Titles menu are:
First - Define main title string on graph.
Second - Define second title string on graph.
X-Axis - Define the X-axis title.
Y-Axis - Define the Y-axis title.
GRAPH OPTIONS - SCALE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SCALE options allow you to change the way the X-and Y-axes are displayed
on your graph.
AUTO - Program selects lower and upper scale limits automatically.
MANUAL - Scaling of the selected axis is specified by the user. If
MANUAL is selected, the user must specify the UPPER and LOWER
limits, which default to a value of 0.
UPPER - Upper value limit that will be used in drawing the axis.
LOWER - Lower value limit that will be used in drawing the axis.
FORMAT - Specify the value/label format to be used in displaying the
values for the selected axis.
STEP - Specify the number of intervals to be used between the upper and
lower values selected for this axis.
EXP - Specify an exponential scaling of the selected axis.
NOTE: When EXP and the UPPER and LOWER limits have been manually
selected for an axis, ALITE will utilize the appropriate
multiple of 10 in order to display a complete exponential cycle.
NORMAL - Cancel the Exponential option for the selected axis.
GRAPH OPTIONS - GRID
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Select a horizontal and/or vertical grid at each scale division on your
graph with a solid or dotted line.
HORIZONTAL - Draw a horizontal line at each scale division of the Y-axis.
VERTICAL - Draw a vertical line at each scale division of the X-axis.
BOTH - Draw a horizontal line at each scale division of the Y-axis
and a vertical line at each division of the X-axis.
CLEAR - Clear Grids. No grid (vertical or horizontal) will be drawn.
DOT - Specify a dotted grid line. This is usually preferable since
it does not interfere with the solid lines of the actual graph.
SOLID - Specify a solid grid line. This is useful if the user is
designing graph paper, or for other special applications.
GRAPH OPTIONS - COLOR
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Select between pattern fills or solid color fills for use with bar,
stacked bar, and pie graphs.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 39
RESET
~~~~~
Reset all the options for the entire graph or for a selected range back
to the default settings.
NAME
~~~~
This option allows you to have more than one graph and associated
settings and titles defined in a single worksheet.
USE - Select one of the previously named graphs and make it the
current graph. All current settings are replaced with
the named graph's settings. The named graph will be
viewed after its selection.
CREATE - Create a name for the current graph settings and save the
graph settings under that name.
DELETE - Delete one of the previously named graph settings.
MERGE - This command allows you to superimpose a NAMED graph and
the currently defined graph. The NAMED graph will be
scaled on the right side of the graph with its own set of
scaling factors, limits, formats, etc.
NOTE: To disable the merge feature select:
/Graph, Name, Reset
SPLIT - This command allows you to display a NAMED graph and the
currently defined graph one above the other. The NAMED
graph will be displayed as the bottom graph. Each graph
will have its own set of scaling factors, limits,
formats, etc. NOTE: To disable the split feature
select:
/Graph, Name, Reset
RESET - Reset the merge or split option so that only one
graph will be displayed.
VIEW
~~~~
View the graph currently defined. The resolution depends on your
graphics board:
CGA 640 x 200 pixels, 1 color
Hercules 720 x 348 pixels, 1 color
EGA 640 x 350 pixels, 16 colors
AT&T 640 x 400 pixels, 1 color
PLOT
~~~~
Enter the menu for producing hard copy of the current graph on a dot
matrix printer via LPT1.
Plots generated by ALITE are sized according to user specified
values. The maximum size is 8.5 inches horizontal by 11 inches
vertical.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 40
PLOT - IMAGE
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Specify the height, width, top, bottom and left margins for the graph.
Dimensions are in decimal inches times 100. Six inches is entered as
600.
HIGH - Specify the height of the graph to be generated on the
printer.
WIDE - Specify the width of the graph to be generated on the
printer.
TOP - Specify the top margin, which is the distance between the
top of the paper and the top of the graph. The top
margin includes the graph titles.
BOTTOM - Specify the bottom margin, which is the distance
between the bottom of the paper and the graph
legend. The bottom margin includes the graph
legend.
LEFT - Specify the distance between the Y-scale title and
the Y-scale division labels.
NOTE: To adjust the left margin, which is the
distance between the left side of the paper and the
Y-scale title, use /PrintTo Printer Options Margin Left.
PLOT - DENSITY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Specify the graph print density.
LOW - Specify single pass density for the printer. Selecting
this option is recommended for plotting draft graphs
because the printing speed is about twice as fast as high
density.
HIGH - Specify a high resolution print option. This option will
produce a dark, good quality graph using a double printer
pass.
PAPER
~~~~~
Specify the physical HEIGHT and WIDTH of the paper.
EJECT
~~~~~
Advance the printer to the top of the next page.
GO
~~
Start printing the graph according to the options specified above.
Printing of the graph can be stopped at any time by pressing the [ESC]
key.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 41
CREATING A GRAPH
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A simple graph can be created by performing the following steps:
1. Select Graphics from the main menu
2. Specify the X range
3. Select the range of at least one of the Y ranges (A thru F)
4. Select the type of graph desired
5. Select VIEW to display the graphics on the screen.
NOTE: ALITE will only display your graph if you have a
graphics-type video card. An error message will be displayed
if ALITE determines you have the incorrect video card
type.
The user can view the current graph by either pressing the function key
F10 from the ready mode, or by selecting the /Graph, View command.
By selecting the OPTIONS command, graph titles, grids, scales, legends,
labels, and formats for your graph may be specified, allowing you to
customize your graph.
SAVING A GRAPH
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When a spreadsheet is saved, the current graph settings and named graph
settings are saved with it. When the file is retrieved, those graph
settings are retrieved as well. The user can then view the current
graph by either pressing the function key F10 from the ready mode, or
the selecting the /Graph, View command.
Sometimes more than one graph might need to be created from the data in
a worksheet. That's no problem. Instead of having to re-specify the
settings every time you want to look at a previous graph, you can use
the /Graph, Name, Create and Use commands.
When the /Graph, Name, Create command is invoked, the program saves the
current graph settings under the user specified name. To select and
view a named graph, select the /Graph, Name, Use command and select or
type the desired graph name. The selected graph becomes the currently
defined graph.
@FUNCTIONS
~~~~~~~~~~
A function is denoted by an @ (at) character preceding a function
keyword. The following functions act upon the argument (represented by
'x') contained within the parenthesis. The argument may be a value or
formula which refers to other cells within the spreadsheet.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 42
STRING FUNCTIONS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+Cell Syntax: +Cell Address
-----------------------------
This has the same effect as when used with values. The above entry
indicates that the current cell will always have the same contents as
Cell, whether Cell contains a string or a value.
[@@] Syntax: @@(Cell)
-------------------------
The @@ function is used to indirectly address the location described by
the string in Cell (another spreadsheet cell).
NOTE: If the indirectly referenced cell changes, you must
refresh the value with the F9 key or the {CALC} macro.
@CHR Syntax: @CHR(Num)
--------------------------
Returns the ASCII character corresponding to Num (fractional values are
ignored).
@LENGTH Syntax: @LENGTH(String)
----------------------------------
Returns the number of characters in String. Please note that spaces are
also characters.
@MID Syntax: @MID(String,Start,Num)
-------------------------------------
Returns a substring from String Num characters long, starting at
position Start (from the left).
@N Syntax: @N(Cell)
----------------------
Similar to @S. This function inspects Cell, and returns the value
contained in it. If the cell is blank, or contains a string, then the
function returns zero.
@ORD Syntax: @ORD(String)
------------------------------
Returns the decimal ASCII code of first character of String. All other
characters in String are ignored.
@REPEAT Syntax: @REPEAT(String,Num)
----------------------------------------
Repeats the String argument Num times.
@S Syntax: @S(Cell)
----------------------
This function inspects Cell, and returns the string contained in it. If
the cell is blank, or contains a numeric value, then the function
returns a null string.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 43
@S acts as a filter and will only return a string reference. It may be
used in cases where a referenced cell may contain either a value or a
string, without generating an error condition.
@STR Syntax: @STR(Value,Num)
-------------------------------
Returns a string made up of Value with Num digits after the decimal.
@UPPER Syntax: @UPPER(String)
---------------------------------
Converts all characters of String to upper case. Numbers and special
characters remain unchanged.
@VAL Syntax: @VAL(String)
-----------------------------
Converts String into a numeric value. String may also be a string
function, but you cannot embed value formulas in the String. If a value
formula is embedded, then the value of zero is returned.
MATH FUNCTIONS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(The arguments for all trigonometric functions must be in radians)
@ABS Syntax: @ABS(x)
-----------------------
Returns the absolute value of the argument.
@ACOS Syntax: @ACOS(x)
-------------------------
Arc cosine of value, returns radians.
@ASIN Syntax: @ASIN(x)
-------------------------
Arc sine of value, returns radians.
@ATAN Syntax: @ATAN(x)
-------------------------
Arc Tangent of value, returns radians.
@COS Syntax: @COS(x)
-----------------------
Cosine of angle x in radians.
@SIN(x) Syntax: @SIN(x)
--------------------------
Sine of angle x in radians.
@TAN Syntax: any value in radians
-------------------------------------
Tangent of angle x in radians.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 44
@EXP Syntax: @EXP(x)
------------------------
Exponential of x (raise 'e' to the 'x' power).
@FALSE
------
Constant which has a value of 0.
@INT Syntax= @INT(x)
-----------------------
Integer value of argument. The fractional part of the number is
truncated and the integer remainder is returned.
@LOG Syntax: @LOG(x)
------------------------
Returns the logarithm to base '10' of the argument, (a negative argument
will result in an error).
@LN Syntax: @LN(x)
----------------------
Returns the natural Logarithm (base 'e') of the argument, (a negative
argument will result in an error).
@MOD(x,y)
---------
Modulo division, returns the remainder of x divided by y.
@NA
---
Constant which has a value of -1.
@PI
---
Constant which has a value of 3.1415926536
@RAND
-----
Returns a new random number with each recalculation.
@ROUND(x,y)
-----------
Rounds the value of x to y digits right of the decimal. Negative
numbers round to left of decimal.
@SQRT(x)
--------
Returns the square root of argument, (a negative argument will result in
an error).
@TRUE
-----
Constant has a value of 1.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 45
FINANCIAL FUNCTIONS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PLease note that in using the financial functions, all interest rates
must be expressed in decimal fractions. Furthermore, the interest
rate must use the same periods as the payment. If a monthly payment
is desired, the interest rate must be expressed as a monthly rate
(equal to the annual rate divided by 12).
@FV Syntax: @FV(Annuity,Interest Rate,Period)
------------------------------------------------
Annuity = Periodic payment amount
Interest = Periodic interest rate
Period = Number of periods
Returns the future value corresponding to an annuity occurring over the
specified period.
@IRR Syntax: @IRR(Guesstimate Interest Rate,Range)
-----------------------------------------------------
Guesstimate Interest Rate = Best guess at internal rate of
return periodic interest rate
Range = Cell range which contains the cash
flow return values
Returns the Rate of Return per period associated with a cash flow. The
solution is iterative and may result in more than one correct answer.
@NPV Syntax: @NPV(Interest Rate,Range)
------------------------------------------
Interest Rate = Periodic interest rate
Range = Cell range which in which the series of cash
flows is to be stored
Returns the net present value of a cash flow over interest period.
@PMT Syntax: @PMT(Principal,Interest Rate,Period)
----------------------------------------------------
Principal = Principal amount
Interest Rate = Periodic interest rate
Period = Number of periods
Returns the amount of an annuity equal to the principal amortized over
the period.
@PV Syntax: @PV(Annuity,Interest Rate,Period)
------------------------------------------------
Annuity = Periodic payment amount
Interest = Periodic interest rate
Period = Number of periods
Returns the present value corresponding to an annuity occurring over the
specified period.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 46
LOGICAL FUNCTIONS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@IF Syntax: @IF(Test argument,arg1,arg2)
-------------------------------------------
If the test is true, Arg1 is returned, otherwise Arg2 is returned.
TEST can utilize logical operators '>,<,=,<>' etc., or refer to the
result of a cell with a logical result in it.
@ISNUM Syntax: @ISNUM(Cell)
------------------------------
This function is similar to the @ISSTR function. It will return 1 for
TRUE if the cell contains a number or a formula, 0 for FALSE.
@ISSTR Syntax: @ISSTR(Cell)
------------------------------
This function checks to see if the specified cell contains a label. It
returns 1 for TRUE if the cell contains a string or a label, 0 for
FALSE.
STATISTICAL FUNCTIONS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@AVG Syntax: @AVG(Range)
---------------------------
Returns the average of all values in the Range.
@COUNT Syntax: @COUNT(Range)
-------------------------------
Returns the number of elements in Range, (blank cells are ignored).
@FACT Syntax: @FACT(X)
-------------------------
Returns the factorial of X.
@MAX Syntax: @MAX(Range)
---------------------------
Returns the maximum value in Range.
@MIN Syntax: @MIN(Range)
---------------------------
Returns the minimum value in Range.
@STD Syntax: @STD(Range)
---------------------------
Returns the standard deviation of the elements in Range.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 47
@SUM Syntax: @SUM(Range)
---------------------------
Returns the sum of all values in Range.
@VAR Syntax: @VAR(Range)
---------------------------
Returns the population variance of Range.
SPECIAL FUNCTONS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@CASE Syntax: @CASE(Num,Arg2,....Argn)
-----------------------------------------
Num = Any number or calculated value
Arg1...ArgN = Any number, string, character
Returns the NUM-th argument from the argument list, e.g.,
@CASE(2,"A",17,"ABC",4) = 17
@COLS Syntax: @COLS(Range)
-----------------------------
Returns the number of columns in the specified range.
@HTABLE Syntax: @HTABLE(Criterion,Range,Offset)
-------------------------------------------------
Criterion = Value to be used for match in top row of range
Range = Cell range which contains criterion range as top
row and includes data value table
Offset = Number of rows down in data value table from which
to return a value
Returns the value at a vertical offset in the column that matches the
criterion. This function operates as follows:
Search starts at the upper left cell and proceeds until a value is found
which is greater than the criterion. The position of the previous value
is then used as a starting offset into the table. The offset is added to
the top row and the value at the offset position is returned by the
function.
@HTERP Syntax: @HTERP(Cell,Range,Offset)
-------------------------------------------
Perform a straight-line interpolation based on table specified by Range.
It operates similar to @HTABLE function, but returns an interpolated
value rather than a value in the table.
@LINK Syntax: @LINK("Filename>Cell")
--------------------------------------
NOTE: Double quotes and the '>' character are necessary.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 48
As the name indicates, it links cells in the current worksheet to cells
in a worksheet on disk.
Once this function is entered, a link is created but it is not updated.
As a result, as soon as this function is entered, the cell frequently
displays 'ERR'. Do not panic, the created links are not updated until
the /File, Uplink command is executed. At that time, the values in the
referenced cell of the indicated worksheet on disk are retrieved and
placed in the calling cell.
NOTE: The last value saved in the referenced cell from the file on
disk will be used, i.e., no recalculation will take place
prior to extracting the value from the referenced cell.
@ROWS Syntax: @ROWS(Range)
-----------------------------
Returns the number of rows in the specified range.
@VTABLE Syntax: @VTABLE(Criterion,Range,Offset)
--------------------------------------------------
Criterion = Value to be used for match in left column of range
Range = Cell range which contains criterion range as left
column and includes data value table
Offset = Number of columns right in data value table from
which to return a value
Returns the value at a horizontal offset in the row that matches the
criterion. The @VTABLE function operates as follows:
Search starts at the upper left cell and proceeds until a value is found
which is greater than the criterion. The position of the previous value
is then used as a starting offset into the table. The offset is added to
the top row and the value at the offset position is returned by the
function.
@VTERP Syntax: @VTERP(Cell,Range,Offset)
-------------------------------------------
Similar to @HTERP, but scans vertically (row by row).
DATE AND TIME FUNCTIONS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The functions below are based on the number of days since Jan 1, 1900.
In order to have the value displayed in a date form, the cell(s) have to
be formated with one of the date formats (see formatting section).
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 49
@DATE Syntax: @DATE(Year,Month,Day)
--------------------------------------
Year = Value corresponding to last two digits of year
Month = Value corresponding to month of year, 1-12
Day = Value corresponding to day of month, 1-31
Returns a unique integer for each day since January 1, 1900.
@DATEVAL Syntax: @DATEVAL("MM/DD/YY")
---------------------------------------
Convert the string argument to a date number representing the
month(MM):day(DD):year(YY). Note that the cell can be formatted to
display the above VALUE in a date format.
@DAY Syntax: @DAY(x)
-----------------------
Based on a unique day assigned to 'x', computes the day in the month of
that date.
@HOUR Syntax: @HOUR(Value)
-----------------------------
Returns the hours corresponding to the fractional portion of Value. The
integer portion of Value (representing days) is ignored.
@MINUTE Syntax: @MINUTE(Value)
---------------------------------
Returns the minutes corresponding to the fractional portion of Value.
The integer portion of Value (representing days) is ignored.
@MONTH Syntax: @MONTH(x)
---------------------------
Based on a unique day assigned to "x", computes the month in which that
day occurs.
@SECOND Syntax: @SECOND(Value)
----------------------------------
Value = Any number or calculated value in days or value formula
Returns the seconds corresponding to the fractional portion of Value.
The integer portion of Value (representing days) is ignored.
@TIMEVAL Syntax: @TIMEVAL("HH:MM:SS")
----------------------------------------
HH = Value representing number of hours
MM = Value representing number of minutes
SS = Value representing number of seconds
Convert the string argument to a real number representing the
hour(s):minute(s):second(s) as a fraction of a day. Note that the cell
can be formatted to display the above VALUE in a time format.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 50
NOTE: The time value is calculated using the following formula:
Hour + Min/60 + Second/3600
──────────────────────────
24
@TODAY
------
Returns the unique number corresponding to today's date referenced to
January 1, 1900.
@TODAY returns the number 32325 if today is July 1, 1988. If the cell
were formatted as Date D-M-Y, then the date 1-Jul-88 is displayed.
NOTE: @TODAY is NOT automatically updated when a spreadsheet is
retrieved, even if the recalculation mode is set for
automatic. You must recalc the spreadsheet by manually
pressing the [F9] function key or by macro command.
@YEAR Syntax: @YEAR(x)
-------------------------
Based on a unique day assigned to 'x', computes the year in which that
day occurs.
DATA MANAGEMENT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In addition to the typical spreadsheet format, ALITE includes
powerful DATA commands which enhance your ability to create
sophisticated data management applications, what-if tables, etc.
DATA FILL
~~~~~~~~~
The Data-Fill command allows you to fill a range with an arithmetic
sequence of equally spaced values.
For example, assume that you want to fill a range of cells with real
values that range from 3 to 43 in increments of two.
Move the cursor to the begining of the range. Invoke the Data-Fill
command (/DF), enter range to fill, the starting value (in this case 3),
and the increment value (2). Voila!
DATA SORT
~~~~~~~~~
The Data Sort command is used to rearrange the information in a
worksheet in alphabetical or numerical order. The sorting process
operates on rows. Every row within the specified sort range will be
sorted in the same order.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 51
Two sorting criteria can be specified (i.e. two different columns), if
desired, the primary and secondary sort criteria. The secondary
criterion is used in cases where more that one row (in the specified
primary criterion column) contain the same information, i.e., as a
tie-breaker. See the simple example below:
Original Range Sorted on B Sorted on B & A
-------------- -------------- -----------------
.....A/.......B/ .....A/.......B/ .....A/.......B/
1 Jim Jones 1 Jim Jones 1 Bill Jones
2 John Wilson 2 Bill Jones 2 Jim Jones
3 Mike Williams 3 Mike Williams 3 Mike Williams
4 Bill Jones 4 John Wilson 4 Dave Wilson
5 Dave Wilson 5 Dave Wilson 5 Mike Wilson
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 52
DATA BIN
~~~~~~~~
The Data Bin command creates a frequency distribution table displaying
the count of values in a range that falls within given ranges, bins, as
well as the frequency of values within that range. The bins are a block
of values, in ascending order, placed anywhere in the worksheet.
The requirements for setting up the bins are:
1. The bin values are contained in a single column block, and
2. There are two blank columns directly to the right of the bin
range. (This is the area that will be filled by the /DB
command).
Once this command is invoked, the user is prompted to supply the
"Analysis" range and the "Bin" range.
ANALYSIS range, as the name indicates, is the range containing the
values that the user needs to perform the frequency distribution on.
BIN range is the column containing the bin (group) values, with two
blank columns to the right. An example of a Data Bin operation is shown
below:
ANALYSIS RANGE BINS
-------------- -----------
1.5 1 0 0
2.0 3 4 0.50
3.5 6 4 0.50
2.5
5.0
1.2
3.3
4.4
DATA REGRESSION
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Data Regress command allows you to determine the coefficients which
correspond to a least squares fit of a straight line to a set of X and Y
data.
Consider an example that has X-values in cells A4..A9 and Y-values in
cells B4..B9. Now follow the sequence of keystrokes presented below:
/DRXA4..A9~YB4..B9~OD4~
This will invoke the Data Regress command. The program will prompt for
the X (or independent) range;
(A4..A9)
the Y (or dependent) range;
(B4..B9)
and the location that you want the output to be placed (D4).
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 53
The Y-Intercept and slope of a straight line going through the data
points will then be displayed in cells D4 and D5. Additionally, values
for R squared, the sum of the X squared values, the sum of the Y squared
values, and the sum of the X*Y values are also displayed.
DATABASE OPERATIONS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A database is information stored in a range of one or more rows and
columns. The information that can be stored in a database is almost
anything that one normally keeps track of.
Each row (all the information for one customer) is called a record of
the database. Each column has a heading identifying the information
stored in the cells beneath it. Each heading is called a "field" of
the record.
Once the information is stored in this database format, you can look at
it many different ways and gain valuable information from it using the
ALITE database commands.
There are three ranges in the Database Menu which must be defined. The
INPUT range, the CRITERION range and the OUTPUT range.
The operations that can be performed, based on the above ranges, are:
FIND - Highlight records that match the criterion
range.
EXTRACT - Copy records that meet the criterion range into
the output range.
The three ranges and the operation of the ALITE database are
explained in the following sections.
The Input Range
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The input range is the entire area where the database information is
stored or, alternatively, the portion of the database that you want to
use for the database operations. When the input range is specified,
you must include the headings as the top row of the range.
The Criterion Range
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The criterion range contains the criteria that will be used to perform
the FIND or EXTRACT operations on the Input range of the database. The
minimum number of rows that can be used to define the criterion range
is two. The top row ALWAYS contains the field headings exactly as
they appear in the database. It is good practice to copy these
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 54
headings from the database itself to assure that they are exactly the
same. Subsequent rows contain the actual criteria. Criteria fall into
two categories: character comparisons and numeric comparisons.
Character comparisons can be performed by looking for an exact match or
by using wildcard characters. The "?" substitutes for any single
character in the comparison string. The "*" will match all characters
to the right of the asterisk position. An ellipsis "..." (3 dots)
preceding a string will search each record for the occurence of that
string.
Numeric comparisons can be performed by using all of the logical
operators defined in the Logical Operators section.
Criteria placed in adjacent columns are treated as logical ANDs, while
criteria placed in adjacent rows are treated as logical ORs.
ALITE provides you with the option to facilitate the inputting of
criteria. The command / Data Input Criteria operates similar to / Data
Input Form described earlier. After the criteria range is selected, a
criteria input form will appear in the middle of the screen. The user
can then enter the criteria for each field heading. If multiple matches
for the same heading are desired, ALITE will generate a second form
once the first form has been completed. An example of Data Input
Criteria is shown in the database example.
Although this might sound complicated, an example later on will
demonstrate how all these rules work.
The Output Range
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The EXTRACT command causes records that match the criteria to be placed
in the output range. The output range should contain the headings of
the fields from which information is to be extracted.
Reset
~~~~~
The RESET command resets the data input, output and criteria ranges.
MACROS
~~~~~~
A macro is a sequence of keystrokes which may be activated by pressing
the combination of the Alt key and a letter key or by using the [F3] key
macro execute. An example macro would be the following:
{RT}{RT}{DN}
The words/letters in braces represent an action keystroke. The above
macro will move the pointer two cells to the right and one cell down. A
macro may be placed in any cell and must have a special type of RANGE
NAME assigned to its location. The special range name is the backslash
[\] followed immediately by any letter from 'A' thru 'Z' or the
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 55
numbers 0 through 9. For example:
\A
This specific macro may be activated by pressing the [alt] key and the
letter 'A' simultaneously. Therefore, even though the backslash is used
to define the range name it actually represents the [alt] key.
If you desire a macro to automatically execute upon retrieval of a
spreadsheet, name your macro '\0' ( Zero). When ALITE retrieves
your spreadsheet, it searches for a macro named '\0'. If one exists, it
is automatically executed. You can have only one auto-executing macro
in a spreadsheet.
NOTE: To edit an auto-executing macro, it may be necessary to use
the / File Merge command to keep the macro from auto-executing
as it would if / File Retrieve were used.
DEFINING A MACRO
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The powerful macros that are supported by ALITE provide a complete
programming environment for most applications. Macros can be chained
together to provide self running applications that do virtually anything
that can be done manually through the command mode.
Macro commands can be typed in directly from the keyboard. This
requires that you know the exact sequence of macro commands to perform
the desired action ahead of time.
EXECUTING A MACRO
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are two ways to execute your macro. The first step is to name
your macro. To define a range name, type the following: /BNC which
stands for /BLOCK, NAME, CREATE.
After you press the letter 'C'(for CREATE) ALITE will prompt
YOU for the name of the range. Now type the range name and press the
[ENTER] key AFTER you are finished. (Be careful, don't include any
spaces in the range name). The next step involves typing (or pointing)
the cell which the macro occupies. If the macro was in cell A1, then
type A1 [ENTER]. The simplest method of executing macros is to name your
macro using the special range name character \ followed by a single
letter as discussed previously. Pressing the [ALT] key and the letter
name of your macro simultaneously will execute your macro. Naming your
macro \0 (zero) will create a macro that will auto execute each time the
spreadsheet is retrieved.
A second method to execute a macro is by pressing the [F3] Macro Execute
function key. Type in the name of your macro and hit [ENTER], and
ALITE will execute your macro.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 56
MACRO MENU ESCAPE SEQUENCE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This feature allows the user to develop multi-level menu driven
applications.
Pressing [ESC] while a macro menu is displayed, instead of stopping the
macro execution, can return the user to the previous menu or to any
other execution point or action.
The menu structure is such that the cell to the right of the last menu
option is blank, but the cell two rows below it can contain a macro
command to be executed if the [ESC] key is pressed while the menu is
being displayed.
Example: Consider the following menu macro setup,
-------A/-------B/-------C/-------D/-------E/-------F/--
1
2 Retrieve Duplicate ..Blank..
3 Get Data Copy the data ..Blank..
4 /FRDATA~ /BCdata1~b10~ {JUMPMENU START}
5 {RET} {RET}
6
The macro menu displayed with this macro would look like:
┌───────────┐
│ Retrieve │
│ Duplicate │
└───────────┘
If you press the [ESC] key, execution would be transferred to the macro
menu called "START" (this example assumes that you have defined another
macro menu called START).
MACRO KEYWORDS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All menu commands in ALITE can be invoked from within a macro with
the key-letter (the first letter in the command). In addition, the
following cursor movements have macro keywords:
MACRO
COMMAMD MEANING
------- ------------
{LT X} - Move cursor X cells to the Left
{RT X} - Move cursor X cells to the Right
{DN X} - Move cursor X cells Downward
{UP X} - Move cursor X cells Upward
{PGUP X} - Move cursor X pages (20 Rows) Up
{PGDN X} - Move cursor X pages (20 Rows) Down
{BS X} - Backspace X characters to the Left of the
cursor
{PGRT X} - Move the cursor X pages to the Right
{PGLT X} - Move the cursor X pages to the Left
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 57
{HOME} - Move cursor to cell A1
{END} - Same as the [END] key
{NAME} - Name, show matrix of names
{ABS} - ABS, make cell reference absolute [F4]
{GOTO} - GoTo a specified cell, [F5]
{WINDOW} - If window active toggles the cursor between
windows otherwise toggle the cursor between
the current and previous cursor locations,
[F6]
{CALC} - Recalculate all cells, [F9]
{GRAPH} - View the specified graph, [F10]
{EDIT} - Places the current cell in the Edit mode
{ESC X} - Represents the [ESC] (Escape) key. It
allows you to back out of X menus, or
cancel an option.
~ - Tilde (~), same as the [ENTER] key
NOTES: 1. The keystroke [ENTER] in a macro is represented by the
tilde (~).
2. All macro commands MUST be enclosed in curly braces {}.
3. The X in the above listing is optional, i.e., {RT 5}
moves the cursor to the right 5 cells, whereas {RT} moves
the cursor to the right just one cell.
Macros are executed from left to right in a given cell and proceed row
by row until a blank cell is reached, the [ESC] key is pressed or the
{QUIT} macro keyword is executed.
For example, assume that cells A5 and A6 contain the following macro:
(when typing a macro, remember to start each line with a single quote to
avoid executing the commands as you are typing).
Cell CONTENTS
A5 '{HOME}/c~.{RT}{RT}~
A6 '{GOTO}A1~/m.{RT}~B10~{GOTO}B12~/Be~
Assign a range name, \T, to cell A5 by pressing:
/bnc\T [ENTER]
When you press ALT-T the macro is interpreted as follows:
MACRO
COMMAND ACTION TAKEN
------- ------------
{HOME} Cursor moves to cell A1
/c Copy command is invoked.
~ Copy From is A1, Copy To is shown.
. Cursor is anchored at cell A1.
{RT}{RT} Cursor expands two cells onto cells B1 & C1
~ Copying takes place, contents of cell A1
are copied to cells B1 and C1. Execution
is transferred to A6.
{GOTO}A1~ This is the same as pressing F5, typing A1
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 58
and pressing [ENTER] in command mode.
Cursor moves to A1.
/m Move command is invoked.
. Pointer is anchored. Move From A1..A1 is
shown.
{RT} Cursor moves to B1. Move From A1..B1
shown.
~ Move From complete. Move To A1 is shown.
B10~ Cursor moves to B10, contents of cells A1
and B1 are moved to cells B10 and B11.
{GOTO}B12~ Cursor moves to B12.
/b Block submenu is selected.
e Erase command invoked
~ Contents of cell B12 are erased.
Execution of the macro stops, provided cell A7 is blank.
ADVANCED MACROS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The advanced macro capabilities of ALITE complete a powerful
programing environment. Using these macros, you can set up your own
custom menus, set up programming loops, branching and execute sub-
routines.
NOTE: All commands below may ONLY be used in an executing macro.
{?}
---
Pauses macro execution and awaits keyboard input. Useful for
interrupting macro to allow movement around worksheet or entry of data.
Macro execution continues only after [ENTER] or [ESC] is pressed.
{BEEP}
------
Produces a beep sound. This macro could be useful at the end of
unattended macro(s) to signal the user that some task is completed, or
to get the user's attention when a prompt for information is introduced.
{CURSOR}
--------
This variable refers to the cell occupied by the current position of the
cursor.
Example:
Assume that cells A1 through A100 contain the values 1., 3., 4.5, and 8.
randomly distributed. Let's say that you want to replace all occurences
of the value 8. with 1.25.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 59
The following macro would do the trick for you:
Cell Contents Explanation
B1 0 Set a counter cell
B2 {GOTO A1} Go to begining of range
B3 {If CURSOR=8}{LET CURSOR,1.25} Set the criterion
B4 {LET B1,B1+1} Increase counter by 1
B5 {IF B1=100}{JUMP OUT} Check if all 100 cells
have been processed (if
the counter cell reached
100). If yes, jump out
of the loop.
B6 {DN} Move the cursor down
one cell.
B7 {JUMP BEGIN} Repeat the loop
B8 {QUIT} Stop executing macro.
** Don't forget to define the following range names:
Range Name Cell
BEGIN B3
OUT B8
\A B2 <-Press Alt-A to start macro
{IF Condition}Action...
-----------------------
If the 'condition' is met, then proceed with the identified 'action' in
the same cell, otherwise continue with the macro in the cell below this
command. This macro command is very similar to the if-then-else
structure found in many programming languages. It is important to
remember, however, that the "then" action goes in the same cell as the
IF test.
Example: {goto}a1~Macro Example~
{IF Test>2}{JUMP a50}
{calc}
Explanation: Position cursor on cell A1. Place the string 'Macro
Example' in that cell. If the value of the cell named 'Test' is greater
than 2, go to cell A50 and start executing the macro in that cell. If
the value of 'Test' is less than 2, then recalculate the spreadsheet.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 60
{JUMP Location}
---------------
This macro instructs the program to continue executing at a new
'location'. The 'location' can either be a cell location (A1, B345, AG5)
or a range name that was created with the /Block, Name, Create command.
Be careful, this command is different than the {GOTO} macro command.
{JUMP} simply tells the program which macro to execute next, whereas,
{GOTO} transfers the cell pointer to the specified cell.
Example: {goto}a1~Macro Example~
{JUMP a50}
Explanation: Go to cell A1, place the string 'Macro Example' in that
cell and then jump to cell A50 and execute the macro in that cell, while
the cell pointer is still at A1.
{LET A1,EXPRESSION}
-------------------
Evaluates the formula "EXPRESSION", and places the value in A1. Use of
this command does not require that you physically move the cursor to A1
before entering data, therefore, it can reduce moving back and forth
between various portions of the worksheet. EXPRESSION can be any valid
mathematical or logical expression.
Example: {Let A3,A3+1} increments the value in cell A3 by one.
{MENUJUMP Location}
-------------------
Transfers execution to the macro menu at "Location". Allows the user to
make a menu selection, and then executes the macro identified below that
menu selection.
The macro menu has to follow the guidelines given below:
- Two rows are used for the creation of the menu. Each menu
option can be up to 30 characters long.
- The cell to the right of the last item of the menu must be empty
to indicate the end of the menu.
- Each selection is placed in an individual cell in the first row.
- Each cell in the second row contains the explanation of the
command in the cell above it. Whenever the user moves the
cursor highlighting one of the menu options, the control panel
displays the explanation for that menu selection.
A macro menu performs identically to the standard ALITE command
menus.
Hint:
Avoid menu entries that start with the same character, so that an option
can be selected by a unique first letter. The menu converts all
selections to upper case, so that menu selections 'Trial' and 'tRIAL'
would look the same to the program when executing a command.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 61
When a user selects one of the items in the menu, ALITE starts
execution of the macro on the third row in the column of the selected
menu choice.
{QUIT}
------
Stops execution of the macro and returns to the 'Ready' mode.
{RET} or {RETURN}
-----------------
When this command is encountered, execution is returned to the cell just
below the last {CALL} command, i.e., to the macro that called the
subroutine terminated with {RET}. If no {CALL} command exists, and a
{RET} command is encountered, a macro error occurs.
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 62
Terminate and Stay Resident (TSR) Operation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Version 1.20r of the program introduces a new, very powerful feature;
the ability to run the program in a TSR (memory resident or background)
mode.
If ALITE is started using the /R, /RX, or /RD command line switch, the
the program gets initialized, and then it conveniently swaps itself to
EMS, XMS or DISK respectively, leaving behind a signature that only
uses about 7K of conventional memory (RAM). You can specify the drive
to be used for the swap file, by using the /SW=X command line switch.
For example, ALITE /RD /SW=D will use drive D for the the temporary
swap file. If the /SW command line is not used, then drive C is used
for swapping. Note that the temporary swap file(s) are created in the
root directory of the specified drive. They have a system attribute
and should NOT be deleted by the user. They are automatically deleted
by the program when it is unloaded using the /U command line switch
(see below).
Once ALITE has been loaded (as described above), you can activate it at
any time using [Alt LeftShift /] or [Alt \] or [Alt ~] (without
the square brackets, of course). For example, the program may be
activated by tapping the backslash [\] key while holding down the [Alt]
key. You can activate ALITE at the DOS prompt, in the middle of a
wordprocessing program, while using a database program, or any other
text-based application.
To return to the foreground program, from ALITE, simply execute the
/Sheet, Exit, Yes command sequence.
You may also transfer information from ALITE to a pure ASCII disk file
that you can then quickly import to another application (may be the
underlying program). To do that, select Transfer from the main menu,
highlight the cell range you want to transfer and press [ENTER]. You
will be prompted to specify a file name (including a path). Once
that's done, the file will be created. Please, note that no warning
will be given if the specified file already exists! It will be over-
written automatically.
If you want to totally unload the program (freeing up even the 7K
signature), then at the DOS prompt, simply type ALITE /U and press
[ENTER]. You will be prompted to confirm your decision and unload the
program.
Whenever you are ready to issue the above, ALITE /U DOS command, or
you reach for the power switch on your computer, think about whether
you've saved your data. If you unload ALITE from memory, or
restart (re-boot) your computer, or turn off the power without first
saving your data to disk (/File, Save from within ALITE), any
changes you've made since the last save will be LOST!
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 63
INDEX
~~~~~
[/] key 12
ABSOLUTE/RELATIVE ADDRESSES 24
ADVANCED MACROS 59
AT&T Monochrome System 10
Autoload Worksheet 10
Background Loaded 63
BAR GRAPH 37
Cell Reeferences 22
CGA 9
CIRCULAR REFERENCES 27
Colors 11
Column Divider Centered 10
Column Division Character 10
Column Heading Character 11
COMBINING WORKSHEETS 29
command line switches 10
CONTROLLING THE PRINTER 34
COPY AND MOVE 24
COPY FORMULAS 24
COPY VALUES 24
CREATING A GRAPH 42
Currency Prefix 11
DATA BIN 53
DATA FILL 51
DATA MANAGEMENT 51
DATA REGRESSION 53
DATA SORT 52
DATABASE OPERATIONS 54
DATE AND TIME FUNCTIONS 50
Default Directory/Data Path 10
DEFINING A MACRO 56
DELETING ROWS/COLUMNS 27
Deskjet 9
EDITING A CELL 20
EGA 9
EJECT~ 41
Enhanced Graphics Adaptor 10
ENTERING FORMULAS 19
ENTERING FORMULAS 22
ENTERING GRAPHICS CHARACTERS 19
ENTERING INFORMATION 18
ENTERING LABELS 18
ENTERING VALUES 18
EXECUTING A MACRO 56
F1 - Help Function Key 15
F10 - Graph Function Key 17
F2 - Edit Function Key 15
F3 - Macro Function Key 15
F4 - Absolute Address Function Key 16
F5 - GoTo Function Key 16
F6 - Window/Location Function Key 16
F9 - Calculate Function Key 16
FILES NAMES 13
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 64
FINANCIAL FUNCTIONS 46
FORMULAS AND FUNCTIONS 20
GO 41
GRAPH OPTIONS 38
GRAPH OPTIONS - COLOR 39
GRAPH OPTIONS - FORMAT 38
GRAPH OPTIONS - GRID 39
GRAPH OPTIONS - SCALE 39
GRAPH OPTIONS - TITLES 39
GRAPH TYPES 36
GRAPHICS COMMAND SUMMARY 36
GRAPHS 36
HERCULES 9
Hercules System 10
INSERTING COLUMNS 26
INSERTING ROWS 26
Installation 9
LABELS 38
Laserjet 9
LEAVING THE WORKSHEET 30
LINE GRAPH 36
LOGICAL FUNCTIONS 47
MACRO KEYWORDS 57
MACRO MENU ESCAPE SEQUENCE 57
MACROS 55
MATH FUNCTIONS~ 44
Memory Resident 63
menu window can be shifted 12
Monochrome 11
MONOCHROME (TTL) 9
MOVE FORMULAS 25
MOVE VALUES 25
MOVING AROUND THE WORKSHEET 17
NAME 40
NAMING/USING BLOCKS 23
PAPER 41
PIE GRAPH 37
PLOT 40
PLOT - DENSITY 41
POINTING 23
PRINT TO A FILE 35
PRINT TO A PRINTER 30
PRINTER BORDERS 31
printer control codes 9
PRINTER OPTIONS - DATING A PAGE 33
PRINTER OPTIONS - EMBEDDED CODES 33
PRINTER OPTIONS - HEADERS & FOOTERS 32
PRINTER OPTIONS - MARGINS & PAGE LENGTH 31
PRINTER OPTIONS - PAGE NUMBERS 32
PRINTER OPTIONS - TYPE 34
PRINTING 30
PRN 13
READ.ME 8
REQUIREMENTS 9
RESET 40
Reset 55
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 65
RETRIEVING THE WORKSHEET 29
SAVING & RETRIEVING 28
SAVING A GRAPH 42
SAVING PART OF THE WORKSHEET (EXPORTING) 28
SAVING THE WORKSHEET 28
Screen Blanking Time 10
select a command 12
SERIES (X A B C D E F) 37
SET ALITE= 12
SET=$MGFB 11
SETTING FORMATS 23
STACKED BAR GRAPH 37
STATISTICAL FUNCTIONS 47
STATUS LINE 14
STRING FUNCTIONS 43
Supress Border 11
The Criterion Range 54
The Input Range 54
The Output Range 55
Transfer (while TSR) 63
TSR 63
TYPING 23
VIEW 40
WARRANTY 7
WHAT IS A FUNCTION? 21
WHEN AN ERROR OCCURS 28
WK1 13
WKS 13
WRK 13
X-Y GRAPH 36
@@ 43
@ABS 44
@ACOS 44
@ASIN 44
@ATAN 44
@AVG 47
@CASE 48
@CHR 43
@COLS 48
@COS 44
@COUNT 47
@DATE 50
@DATEVAL 50
@DAY 50
@EXP 45
@FACT 47
@FALSE 45
@FUNCTIONS 42
@HOUR 50
@HTABLE 48
@HTERP 48
@IF 47
@INT 45
@IRR 46
@ISNUM 47
@ISSTR 47
@LENGTH 43
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 66
@LENGTH 49
@LINK 49
@LN 45
@LOG 45
@MAX 47
@MID 43
@MIN 48
@MINUTE 50
@MOD(x,y) 45
@MONTH 50
@N 43
@NA 45
@NPV 46
@ORD 43
@PI 45
@PMT 46
@PV 46
@RAND 45
@RATE 47
@REPEAT 43
@ROUND(x,y) 45
@ROWS 49
@S 43
@SECOND 50
@SIN(x) 44
@SQRT(x) 45
@STD 48
@STR 44
@SUM 48
@TAN 44
@TODAY 51
@TRUE 45
@UPPER 44
@VAL 44
@VAR 48
@VTABLE 49
@VTERP 50
@YEAR 51
{BEEP} 59
{CURSOR} 59
{DELAY} 60
{IF} 60
{JUMP} 61
{LET} 61
{MENUJUMP} 61
{QUIT} 62
{RET} 62
{?} 59
-- ALITE --------- Copyright 1993, TRIUS, Inc. --------- Page - 67