home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- <?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
- <html>
- <head>
- <title>Functions</title>
- <meta name="filename" content="file13"/>
- <help:css-file-link xmlns:help="http://openoffice.org/2000/help"/>
- <!--The CSS style header method for setting styles-->
- <style type="text/css">
-
- p.P1{
- }
- span.T1{
- font-weight:bold;}
- </style>
- </head>
-
- <body>
- <p class="P1"/>
- <p class="Head1">Functions</p>
- <help:key-word value="" tag="kw88_89" xmlns:help="http://openoffice.org/2000/help"/>
- <help:key-word value="" tag="kw88_90" xmlns:help="http://openoffice.org/2000/help"/>
-
- <p class="Paragraph">In addition to ordinary arithmetic, formulas can contain more advanced mathematical functions. To
- insert a function in cell, first select the cell then choose <span class="T1">Insert>Function</span> from the menu
- bar. A window containing a list of functions appears. \putfig{functions.ps}{Entering a function in
- SOT Office Calc}{fig:functions}
- </p>
- <p class="Paragraph">Using the "Category" selector you may browse the list of all functions, or narrow the list to
- functions in a particular category (Financial, Statistical etc.) Single-clicking on the name of a
- function brings up a description of the function and its list of required arguments. Double
- clicking revels an editor where you can enter the relevant values into the function. The whole
- function description appears in a text box at the bottom of the window. When you've finished editing
- your function, pressing <span class="T1">OK</span> inserts the function into your spreadsheet.
- </p>
- <p class="Paragraph">Functions are written in the form =FUNCTION(argument1;argument2...),
- i.e. an equality sign, the name of the function, followed by a list of
- arguments enclosed in parentheses and separated by semicolons. Arguments
- can be actual numbers: 2, 647, 34.5, or strings of text: "Sales",
- "Smith", but are usually the addresses of other cells containing such
- values. For brevity, you can specify ranges of cells instead of listing
- each cell individually. For example, =SUM(C6:C20) will add up all the
- cells between C6 and C20 inclusive.
- </p>
- <p class="Paragraph">Some of the most common functions are listed below:
- </p>
- <ul class="L1">
- <li class="">
- <p class="Paragraph"> SUM(number1;number2...). The SUM function simply adds together all the cells listed in
- its arguments. <help:key-word value="" tag="kw88_91" xmlns:help="http://openoffice.org/2000/help"/>
- </p></li>
- <li class="">
- <p class="Paragraph"> AVERAGE(number1;number2...). The AVERAGE functions returns the statistical average of
- all the listed cells. <help:key-word value="" tag="kw88_92" xmlns:help="http://openoffice.org/2000/help"/>
- </p></li>
- <li class="">
- <p class="Paragraph"> CONVERT(value;currency1;currency2) converts the value from the first currency to the second.
- For example, if cell B2 contains a number representing a number of Finnish Marks, you can display
- the equivalent number of Euros in cell C2 by clicking in C2 and entering =CONVERT(B2;"FIM";"EUR").
- The quotation marks around the currency name are necessary---all textual arguments must be enclosed
- in double quotes. <help:key-word value="" tag="kw88_93" xmlns:help="http://openoffice.org/2000/help"/>
- </p></li>
- <li class="">
- <p class="Paragraph"> MAX(number1;number2...) <help:key-word value="" tag="kw88_94" xmlns:help="http://openoffice.org/2000/help"/>
- returns the largest value that occurs in the list of arguments.
- <help:key-word value="" tag="kw88_95" xmlns:help="http://openoffice.org/2000/help"/>
- </p></li>
- <li class="">
- <p class="Paragraph"> TODAY() takes no arguments, and simply displays the current date in the selected cell.
- </p></li>
- </ul>
- </body>
- </html>
-