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H E L P
Please select the item you would like help with:
1. Attributes 12. Load
2. Blank 13. Move
3. Color of screen 14. New
4. Copy 15. Print
5. Cursor movement 16. Quit
6. Delete 17. Recalc
7. Directory 18. Save
8. Enter 19. Teach (Macros)
9. Formula 20. The FreeCalc Auditor
10. GoTo 21. User supported software
11. Insert 22. WP (Word Processing)
23. Xport
ESC Return to main menu
{ A T T R I B U T E S
There are two options available on the Attributes Menu. The
first option is used to change the width of a column(s). The
second option is to change the number of decimal places of the
numeric values in your spreadsheet.
To change the column width, select the column width option
on the Attributes Menu. You will then be asked for the starting
column number and the ending column number (the "thru" number).
You can change one column or several columns. Column widths may
range from zero (for a "hidden" column - the column exist, but it
is not displayed on the screen) to 70.
To change the number of decimals, select the number of
decimals option on the Attributes Menu. The number of decimals
can range from zero (only whole numbers will be displayed) to
six. Changing the number of decimals only effects the display of
the numbers on the screen and when you print your spreadsheet.
FreeCalc will always use six decimal places when it computes the
formulas you create.
{ B L A N K
The Blank option will erase the value of a single cell (if
you want to erase an entire row or column see the Delete option,
if you want to erase all the cells see the New option).
After selecting the Blank option you will be asked for the
location of the row and column for the cell you want to blank.
If you want to remove the contents of the current cell, just
press the ENTER key twice, since FreeCalc will assume that it is
the current cell that you want to remove. If you want to blank
another cell, merely insert the row and column number for that
cell when prompted.
{ C O L O R
If you have a color monitor and a color card in your
computer you can change the color of the text that appears on the
screen and the color of the border that is around the screen.
Find the diskette that has the file called COLOR.EXE on it.
Type in the word "color" to start the program. You will be asked
what you want to change and will be shown the available colors.
You may have a monochrome (not a color) monitor, but find
the images are indistinct because you have a color circuit board
in your computer. To make these images more clear, boot the DOS
disk and, after you get the "A>" prompt, put in the FreeCalc disk
and type the following: "copy no-color.fil color.fil". Press the
ENTER key.
NOTE: This option will work only if you have a color card on
your computer.
{ C O P Y
The Copy option allows you to copy a group of cells to
another part of your spreadsheet. You can copy a row, column or
a range of cells. The original cells will remain intact (if
you want to move the cells see the Move option).
After selecting the Copy option you will be asked to enter
the starting row and column of the cells to be copyed. You can
use any of the cursor movement keys (see the Cursor movement help
for more info) to move around in the spreadsheet if you are
uncertain of the starting and ending points. The cursor keys
allow you to "point" to the cell rather than having to type in
the number. Enter the starting row and press either the ENTER or
TAB key to move to the starting column. Next enter the ending
row and column. You can change any of the starting or ending
points my pressing the ENTER or TAB key until the cursor returns
to the item you want to edit. Once you have correctly entered
the starting and ending points, press the ESC key.
You will then be asked for the row and column that you want
to copy the cells to. Enter that number (or use the cursor
movement keys to point to the row you want to copy to).
If you are copying a formula, you will be asked if you want
to "adjust" the formula. Adjusting the formula will alter the
formula's reference to any specific cell.
{ C U R S O R M O V E M E N T
The white box located in row 1 column 1 when you start
FreeCalc is called the Cursor. The following keys will move the
Cursor:
UP - Move to the line above the current line
DOWN - Move to the line below the current line
LEFT - Move one column to the left
RIGHT - Move one column to the right
HOME - Top left corner of the screen
END - Bottom right corner of the screen
PGUP - Move up one screen
PGDN - Move down one screen
CTRL & RIGHT - Move one screen to the right
CTRL & LEFT - Move one screen to the left
CTRL & HOME - Move to the beginning of the spreadsheet
CTRL & END - Move to the last row of the spreadsheet
The second white box on the screen is called the Action
Cursor, and it is located on one of the two lines on the bottom
of the screen. Move this cursor my pressing the F9 function key
to move left, and the F10 function key to move right.
{ D E L E T E
The Delete option will allow you to delete a row(s) or a
column(s). Any reference to a specific cell in any formulas will
be automatically adjusted.
After selecting the Delete option you will be asked if you
want to delete a row or a column. Select the desired action.
Next, you will be asked for the number of rows (or columns if
deleting columns) to be deleted. The last item you will be
required to enter is the starting row (or column if deleting
columns) to be deleted.
At any prompt asking for you to enter a number, you may use
the cursor movement keys (see the Cursor Movement help for more
info) to point to the row or column you want to use.
{ D I R E C T O R Y
The directory lists all filenames on a disk. Directories
can be obtained for either the Load or Save Menus by selecting
the "Display Directory" option. To obtain a directory, press the
D key. FreeCalc will default to displaying only spreadsheet
files (files ending in ".FC") on the current drive. You can
easily change the drive the directory will be created on by
entering the drive letter and a colon, e.g., type "b:*.*" if you
want a directory of all files on the disk in drive B. Type
"b:*.fc" to list only spreadsheet files on drive B.
The directory will display free space (in bytes) left on
your disk. It will also list the filenames, number of bytes each
file occupies, and the date and time they were created or last
revised.
You can move the cursor around on the screen using UP, DOWN,
LEFT, and the RIGHT arrow keys, as well as the HOME, END, PGUP,
and PGDN.
Two options are available - load and delete. First move the
cursor so that the desired filename is highlighted. To load,
press the "1" key (NOTE: Be sure it is a spreadsheet file.); to
delete, press the "2" key. When your disk is full, use the
Delete option to remove old files from the disk to make room for
new ones.
{ E N T E R
The Enter option allows you to inform FreeCalc what type of
data you wish to enter into your spreadsheet. The two types are
numeric, and alpha. Numeric data are numbers, the negative sign,
the plus sign, and the decimal point. Alpha data can be any
character from the keyboard.
You can enter numeric data without selecting the Enter
option by just starting to type in a number. Alpha data cannot
be entered without first selecting the Enter option though.
Alpha data can be left justified, centered, or right
justified. After selecting the Alpha option from the Enter Menu
you can select the justification for the information you are
entering by pressing the F9 function key to move the
Justification Cursor to the left, and by pressing the F10
function key to move the Justification Cursor to the right. If
you continue to type once the current cell is full you will be
automatically moved to the cell to your right, if that cell is
empty and if the Word Processing mode is not selected (see the
help option for Word Processing for more info on Word
Processing).
Once you have completed entering the value for a cell, you
may press the ENTER key to exit the Enter mode. If you want to
continue to enter data, you may press the UP, DOWN, LEFT or RIGHT
arrow keys to end entering data for the current cell, and to move
the cursor in the desired direction.
{ F O R M U L A
Select the Formula option to define a relationship between a
cell or cells. For example, you might want to define a cell as
the sum of a column of numbers.
After selecting the Formula option you will be asked to
name the cell where you would want the results to be placed.
Next you will be prompted for the type of formula. There are two
types. The first type is called System Supplied Formulas. These
formulas include; Sum, Minus, Average, Greatest value, Least
value, and Count. System Supplied Formulas perform their action
on a range of cells, e.g., you might want to find the average of
a column of numbers. You will be asked to enter the starting row
and column. The cursor keys allow you to "point" to the cell
rather than having to type in the number. You can change any of
the starting or ending points my pressing the ENTER or TAB key
until the cursor returns to the item you want to edit. Once you
have correctly entered the starting and ending points, press the
ESC key.
The second type of formulas is the User Supplied formula.
This type of formula is written by you, the user. You can, for
example, multiple the number in Row 1 Column 1 by .25 by entering
the formula: "R1C1 * .25". User Supplied formulas can utilize
the four arithmetic functions by using the following signs: +, -,
*, and /.
{ G o T o
The GoTo option will allow you to move about in your
spreadsheet quickly. Although there are many ways of moving
about, the GoTo option allows you to reference a specific cell
and move directly to that cell.
The first item you will need to provide FreeCalc with is the
row you want to move to. You can enter the numeric value, or use
the cursor movement keys to "point" to the row you want to go to.
Next you will be asked for the column you want to move to.
Again, you can enter the numeric value, or use the cursor
movement keys to "point" to the desired cell.
{ I N S E R T
The Insert option is used to insert a blank row(s) or
a blank column(s). Any reference to a specific cell in any
formulas will be automatically adjusted.
After selecting the Insert option you will be asked if you
want to insert a row(s) or a column(s). Select the desired
action. Next, you will enter the number of rows (or columns if
inserting columns) to be inserted. The last item you will be
required to enter is the row (or column if inserting columns) you
would like the blank cells to follow.
At any prompt requesting a numeric entry, you may use the
cursor movement keys (see the Cursor Movement help for more info)
to point to the row or column you want to use.
{ L O A D
The Load option allow will take a spreadsheet from your disk
and "load" it into the FreeCalc program. With this option you
can work on a spreadsheet one day, save it, and then return to
work on it at a later time.
The Load Menu has two options. You can load a spreadsheet,
or display a directory (see the Directory help section for more
info on this option). When you load a spreadsheet, FreeCalc will
look for the spreadsheet on the current drive, in the current
subdirectory. If you want FreeCalc to look for a spreadsheet
elsewhere, you will need to include that information when asked
to name the file to be loaded. For example, if your spreadsheet
named expenses was on your B drive, you would type "b:expenses".
You can also load files that were not created by FreeCalc if
they follow two rules. First, the extension (the period and up
to three letters that can follow the filename) must be "FC"
(e.g., "expenses.fc"), and second, they must be comma delimited
fields (BASIC uses this approach - Alpha files have quotes around
them, numeric fields do not).
{ M O V E
The Move option is used to move a group of cells to another
part of your spreadsheet. You can move a row, column or a
range of cells. The original cells will be erased (if you want
to leave the original cells intact, see the Copy option).
After selecting the Move option you will be asked to enter
the starting row and column. You can use any of the cursor
movement keys (see the Cursor movement help for more info) to
move around in the spreadsheet if you are uncertain of the
starting and ending points. The cursor keys allow you to "point"
to the cell rather than having to type in the number. Enter the
starting row and press either the ENTER or TAB key to move to the
starting column. Next, enter the ending row and column number.
You can change any of the starting or ending points my pressing
the ENTER or TAB key until the cursor returns to the item you
want to edit. Once you have correctly entered the starting and
ending points, press the ESC key.
You will be asked for the row you want to move the cells to.
Enter that number (or use the cursor movement keys to point to
the row you want to move to). You will then be asked for the
column number. Type that number and press ENTER.
If you are moving a formula, you will be asked if you want
to "adjust" the formula. Adjusting the formula will alter the
formula's reference to any specific cell.
{ N E W
The New option will clear the current spreadsheet form your
cumputer's memory. If you have "saved" your spreadsheet to your
disk the spreadsheet will still exist on your disk - it is only
removed from the computer's active memory.
Before erasing the current spreadsheet, FreeCalc will tell
you that it is about to remove your current active sheet, and ask
if you want to continue with this action. This is a safety
feature which will allow you to change your mind should you
recall that you have not yet "saved" this spreadsheet, or if you
selected this option by mistake. Press the "N" key to instruct
FreeCalc not to continue with your original request. Press "Y"
to instruct FreeCalc to continue.
{ P R I N T
The Print option will create a "hard"copy" (i.e., a printed
copy) of your spreadsheet. You can select to send the copy of
your spreadsheet to your printer, or select to "print to disk".
The Print Menu has two options. The first option is "Print
sheet". This option will start the printing of the spreadsheet.
If you want to print only a portion of your spreadsheet, or if
you want to "print to disk", you will need to select "Change
print option" from the Print Menu. If you are uncertain as to
what you want to do, select the "Print sheet" option the first
time you print. This will print out the sheet, and if you later
decide that you want to change the print options, you can always
do it and reprint the spreadsheet.
If you select to change the print options, FreeCalc will
present you with the Change Print Options Menu. There are two
options on this menu. First, to change the cells to print, the
second, to print to disk. To change the cells to print, select
that option, and then enter the starting row and column along
with the ending row and column to print. Press the ESC key when
you have selected the desired range of cells. You will then be
returned to the Print Menu, where you can select the "Print
sheet" option. If you want to print to disk, you will have to
select that option, and then enter a filename. This will create
an ASCII file that will look just like the printed spreadsheet.
{ Q U I T
If you are working on a spreadsheet when you select the Quit
option you will be asked to confirm that you do in fact want to
end this session with FreeCalc. Respond "Y" to end the current
session; and a "N", or the ESC key, to continue working on
the current spreadsheet.
{ R E C A L C
The normal (or "default") setting is for FreeCalc to always
recalculate each formula whenever a number or formula is entered.
If you have a very large spreadsheet with many formulas, this can
cause a slight pause while FreeCalc is performing this task. You
might find that you would like for FreeCalc not to recalculate
each formula while you are entering a lot of new numbers. This
change is easily accomplished by selecting the Recalc option from
the Main Action Menu.
The Recalc Menu will ask you if you want to recalculate
after each numeric entry. Type an "N" to turn off the Recalc
option, and a "Y" to turn it back on.
While that Recalc option is off, you can still cause the
spreadsheet to be recalculated without having to turn the Recalc
option back on. Press the "!" (without the quotes), and FreeCalc
will recalculate the spreadsheet for you.
{ S A V E
The Save option will allow you to store a spreadsheet on a
disk for use later.
The Save Menu has two options. You can save a spreadsheet,
or display a directory (see the Directory help section for more
info on this option). When you save a spreadsheet, FreeCalc will
save the spreadsheet on the current drive, in the current
subdirectory. If you want FreeCalc to store your spreadsheet
elsewhere, you will need to include that information when asked
to name the file to be saved. For example, if your spreadsheet
named expenses was to be saved to your B drive, you would type
"b:expenses".
You will not need to type an extension (the extension is the
period and up to three letters that can follow the filename),
since FreeCalc will always use the extension ".FC".
If you want to save a spreadsheet to disk so that you can
use it by another program (e.g, Stilwell Software Products's
database program FreeFile), you will need to use the Xport option
(see the Xport help section).
{ T E A C H
You can assign a sequence of keystrokes to a single key,
thus saving time when performing repetitive tasks (this feature
is sometimes called "Macros").
First, select the Teach Menu to "teach" FreeCalc to perform
some task for you. You will be instructed to hold down the ALT
key and to then press any alpha or numeric key to name your
macro. You will then be returned to the Main Action Menu. The
word "Teach" will be blinking to inform you that you are in the
Teach mode. Every keystroke (up to 250 of them) will be recorded
and saved on your default disk for later use by any spreadsheet.
Once you have completed creating your macro you must tell
FreeCalc to end the Teach mode. You may do that in one of two
ways. You can select the Teach option again from the Main Action
Menu, or you can just press the ALT key and whatever alphanumeric
key you selected when naming your macro. Macros cannot be
"nested" (one macro cannot call another one).
To invoke a macro (to playback the keystrokes you entered),
just press the ALT key and the alphanumeric key you used when you
named your macro.
{ T H E F R E E C A L C A U D I T O R
The FreeCalc Auditor is a separate program available to
anyone who has contributes the $47.50 for FreeCalc at no extra
charge. Here is a list of its features:
(1) List all the places your spreadsheet's cells are
referenced (a cross-reference).
(2) List for any forward references.
(3) List any circular references.
(4) List all formulas.
(5) List stats about the spreadsheet (i.e., number of alpha
cells, number of numeric cells, number of formulas,
total cells used, total cells available, last row used,
last column used, and the number of decimal places used
when displaying or printing).
To obtain your copy of The FreeCalc Auditor, and to get a
copy of the printed manual, the current version of FreeCalc, and
support from Stilwell Software Products, send $47.50 to:
Stilwell Software Products
16403 North 43rd Drive
Glendale, AZ 85306
{ U S E R S U P P O R T E D S O F T W A R E
FreeCalc is a "user supported" program. What is meant by
that is, FreeCalc is available to anyone who wants to use it at a
no cost (if you get the program from Stilwell Software Products
we charge $10 to help cover the cost of postage and handling).
This method of distributing computer software allows you to try
the program without having to pay for it in advance. It also
allows you to freely share the program with other users without
the fear of prosecution by the owner of the program.
If you find FreeCalc of use, you are asked to send a
contribution of $47.50 to its author:
Stilwell Software Products
16403 North 43rd Drive
Glendale, AZ 85306
By sending a contribution you will become a register owner
of FreeCalc. You will received a printed copy of the manual and
will be eligible for support from us. You will also receive a
program called The FreeCalc Auditor at no extra cost. The
Auditor program will search your spreadsheets looking for
possible errors, will print out a listing of all formulas, and
will list all the places your spreadsheets' cells are referenced.
{ W P
It is possible to do limited word processing using FreeCalc
(if you find your need additional word processing features you
might want to look at Stilwell Software Products' word processor
called FreeWord).
To preform word processing with FreeCalc, change the width
of column 1 (see the help section for the Attributes option if
you are uncertain how to do this) to be whatever you want for a
left margin (e.g., 7). Next, change the width of column 2 for
the width of the document (e.g., 65). Select the WP option from
the Main Action Menu. Normally when entering a cell defined as
"Alpha", FreeCalc will automatically move you to the next column
once the cell if filled if that next column is empty. By
selecting the WP option and entering a "Y" to enter the WP mode,
you can turn that feature off. FreeCalc will then beep when you
have reached the end of the cell.
Select the Enter option from the Main Action Menu, and then
select to enter Alpha data. You can now start typing. When you
get to the end of the cell, FreeCalc will beep. You can press
the DOWN arrow key to move to the next row and remain in the
enter alpha data mode. You can also select to center the text
you are typing, to alien flush on the left side, or to alien
flush on the right side.
{ X P O R T
The Xport option will create an ASCII file that can be used
by other programs (such as Stilwell Software Products database
program FreeFile, or BASIC). The file created will not contain
the formulas from your spreadsheet, it will contain the results
of the formulas, as well as any alpha or numeric values you have
entered.
Alpha value will have double quotes around them. All cell
will be separated by commas. Each row will be written to the
file on one line, i.e., each row will end with a carriage return.
The first item you will be asked to respond to is whether
you would like to xport the entire spreadsheet. If you respond
with a "N" (for No), you will need to provide FreeCalc with the
starting row and column numbers as well as the ending row and
column number.
The second and final item that FreeCalc needs is the name of
the file you want FreeCalc to xport to. Enter the filename
(include the drive and/or path if desired) and press the ENTER
key.