Loadstar 17/017.d81/stein text

Text File | 2022-08-26 | 10KB | 642 lines

         ╙╘┼╔╬═┴╬ ╘┼═╨╠┴╘┼


α ╙EVERAL QUESTIONS REGARDING THE

GENERAL NATURE OF SPREADSHEETS HAVE

ARISEN SINCE ╠╧┴─╙╘┴╥ PUBLISHED AN

ABRIDGED VERSION OF ╘HE ╙TEINMAN

╙PREADSHEET ON ╔SSUE 15.

  ╘HESE QUESTIONS VARY IN NATURE FROM

"╫HAT SHOULD ╔ DO WITH IT, NOW THAT ╔

HAVE IT?" TO "╚OW DO ╔ GO ABOUT

CONSTRUCTING A TEMPLATE?"

  ╤UESTIONS ABOUT THE PURPOSES TO

WHICH A SPREADSHEET SHOULD BE PUT ARE

DIFFICULT TO ANSWER. ╙PREADSHEETS ARE

EXCELLENT FOR ROTE TASKS SUCH AS

BALANCING YOUR CHECKBOOK AND

THEY'RE EQUALLY USEFUL FOR PERFORMING

SOPHISTICATED FINANCIAL ANALYSES.

  ├OMPUTER OWNERS HAVE USED THESE

PROGRAMS TO TRACK ELECTRICAL USAGE IN

THEIR HOME AND TO TRACK THE CASH FLOW

OF THEIR BUSINESS.

  ╔T REALLY IS THE CASE THAT THE ONLY

LIMITATION IS YOUR IMAGINATION. ┴NY

TIME YOUR HAND REACHES FOR A

CALCULATOR, YOU MIGHT WANT TO

CONSIDER WHETHER A SPREADSHEET MIGHT

NOT BE MORE EFFICIENT FOR THE

PURPOSE. ╘HE ANSWER WON'T ALWAYS BE

AFFIRMATIVE, BUT THE NUMBER OF TIMES

YOU'LL RECOGNIZE THAT A SPREADSHEET

WOULD BE MORE USEFUL WILL BE

EYE-OPENING.

  ╔N THIS ISSUE, WE PRESENT AN

AMORTIZATION TEMPLATE FOR USE WITH

╙TEINMAN. ╫E'LL EXPLAIN HOW THE

TEMPLATE WAS CONSTRUCTED AND THAT

SHOULD ANSWER MANY OF THE TECHNICAL

QUESTIONS ABOUT USING THE PROGRAM

THAT HAVE ARISEN.

  ╘O THIS END, WE ARE ╬╧╘ REPEATING

THE OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS THAT WERE

INCLUDED ON ╔SSUE 15. ╔NSTEAD, WE'RE

ENCLOSING A COPY OF THE ╙TEINMAN

├OMMAND ├HART THAT WILL SUPPLEMENT

THE INSTRUCTIONS GIVEN ON ╔SSUE 15.

  ╞OR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE NEW TO

╠╧┴─╙╘┴╥, YOU MAY BUY THE BACK ISSUE

CONTAINING THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR

$9.95, OR YOU MAY PURCHASE THE ENTIRE

╙TEINMAN PACKAGE--CONSISTING OF A

64-PAGE MANUAL, THE COMMAND CHART,

AND THE FULL FOUR-MODULE PROGRAM--FOR

$29.95. ═ANY OF YOU WILL FIGURE OUT

THE OPERATION OF THE PROGRAM FROM THE

COMMAND CHART ALONE.

  ╘HIS ISSUE CONTAINS THE ABRIDGED

VERSION OF THE ╙TEINMAN SPREADSHEET

MODULE ALONG WITH TWO DATA FILES:

╠╧┴╬-24 IS THE AMORTIZATION TEMPLATE

AND ╠╧┴╬1 SHOWS AN EXAMPLE OF THE

TEMPLATE FILLED IN.


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╫╚┴╘ ╔╙ ┴ ╘┼═╨╠┴╘┼?


  ╔N SPREADSHEET PARLANCE, A TEMPLATE

IS THE SKELETON OF A SYSTEM OF

CALCULATIONS THAT CONTAINS ALL OF THE

LABELS AND FORMULAS NECESSARY TO

PERFORM A GIVEN FUNCTION.  ╔N

ESSENCE, A TEMPLATE IS A "FORM"

SPREADSHEET THAT CAN BE USED TO

CONSTRUCT SEVERAL SIMILAR SPREADSHEET

MODELS.

  ╔T IS WISE TO MAKE TEMPLATES

WHENEVER YOU KNOW THAT THERE WILL BE

MORE THAN ONE USE FOR A SYSTEM OF

CALCULATIONS.  ╨REPARING AND USING

TEMPLATES IS ONE OF THE WAYS OF

HARNESSING THE POWER INHERENT IN A

SPREADSHEET.

  ╘HE BEST WAY TO STUDY THE TEMPLATE

ON THIS ISSUE IS TO PRINT OUT THESE

INSTRUCTIONS AND THEN GET THE

TEMPLATE ON THE SCREEN.  ╘HAT WAY,

YOU'LL BE ABLE TO FOLLOW THE

DISCUSSION BY EXAMINING THE CELL

CONTENTS.


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╘╚┼ ═┴╦╔╬╟ ╧╞ ┴ ╘┼═╨╠┴╘┼


  ╬OW, YOU'RE READING THE PRINTOUT,

RIGHT?  ╧KAY, LET'S GET YOUR TEMPLATE

ON THE SCREEN.  ╟O TO THE END OF THIS

ARTICLE AND PRESS THE ┬RITISH POUND

SIGN (\) TO RUN ╘HE ╙TEINMAN

╙PREADSHEET.

  ╘HE PROGRAM WILL LOAD AND YOU WILL

BE ASKED THE NAME OF THE SPREADSHEET

TO LOAD. ┼NTER

    ╠╧┴╬-24

AND PRESS RETURN. ┘OU'LL BE ASKED IF

THIS IS A NEW SPREADSHEET.  ┴NSWER

"╬" AND YOU'LL BE PROMPTED TO INSERT

YOUR DATA DISK IN THE DRIVE.  ╔T'S

ALREADY THERE, SO ANSWER "┘" TO THE

QUESTION "╔S DISK DRIVE READY?" AND

THE TEMPLATE WILL LOAD.


     ********╫┴╥╬╔╬╟********
  ╘HERE IS ╬╧ ROOM ON THIS ISSUE
  TO SAVE YOUR CALCULATIONS. ╔F
  YOU WANT TO SAVE OFF THE DATA
  YOU ENTER INTO ╠╧┴╬-24, BE SURE
  TO HAVE A FORMATTED DATA DISK
  READY.
     **********************


  ╞IRST, LET'S LOOK AT THE STATUS

BAR, UNDER THE FILE NAME ╠╧┴╬-24.

╙OME ENTRIES ARE DIFFERENT THAN THE

DEFAULTS PRESENTED WHEN ╙TEINMAN IS

STARTED.

  ╘HE PRECISION INDICATOR HAS BEEN

CHANGED TO @2, THE FIXED DECIMAL

INDICATOR HAS BEEN CHANGED TO ╞2, AND

THE ORDER OF CALCULATION HAS BEEN

CHANGED TO HORIZONTAL, AS INDICATED

BY THE HORIZONTAL ARROW. ╘HESE

CHANGES REFLECT THE DOLLARS-AND-CENTS

NATURE OF THE DATA AND THE LAYOUT OF

THIS PARTICULAR TEMPLATE.


╨╠┴╬╬╔╬╟ ┴╚┼┴─

  ╙PREADSHEETS GENERALLY CALCULATE

FROM THE UPPER LEFT CORNER OF THE

MODEL TO THE LOWER RIGHT CORNER,

REGARDLESS OF THE ORDER OF

CALCULATION.  ╘HIS HAS IMMEDIATE

IMPLICATIONS IN TERMS OF MODEL

DESIGN.

  ┴LL DATA THAT IS CONSTANT AND IS

NEEDED FOR SUBSEQUENT FORMULAS SHOULD

BE AS NEAR THE TOP AND AS FAR TO THE

LEFT AS POSSIBLE (OR NECESSARY).

  ┴S WE LOOK AT THIS TEMPLATE, WE SEE

THAT PRINCIPAL, INTEREST, AND NUMBER

OF MONTHS OF PAYMENTS--ALL OF WHICH

ARE CONSTANTS FOR A GIVEN MODEL--ARE

ENTERED RIGHT AT THE TOP OF THE

TEMPLATE IN LINES 1, 2, AND 3,

RESPECTIVELY. ╔NTEREST IS ENTERED AS

A WHOLE NUMBER RATHER THAN AS A

PERCENTAGE.

  ╬EXT, WE'LL NEED TO KNOW WHAT THE

MONTHLY PAYMENT IS. ╔F YOU GO TO A

FINANCE COMPANY, THEY'LL TELL YOU.

┬UT SUPPOSE YOU'RE USING THIS

TEMPLATE TO DETERMINE WHAT AMOUNT YOU

CAN AFFORD TO BORROW AND PAY BACK IN

24 MONTHS, OR WHAT TERM YOU'LL

REQUIRE ON A LOAN OF $3000 IN ORDER

TO AFFORD THE PAYMENTS?  ╘HEN THE

PROGRAM WILL HAVE TO CALCULATE THE

MONTHLY PAYMENT FOR YOU.  ╘HE FORMULA

FOR THAT CALCULATION EXISTS IN ╠INE

4, ├OLUMN 4 (╠4├4).

  ╫HEN CONSTRUCTING TEMPLATES, IT'S

VITAL TO USE CLEAR, DESCRIPTIVE

LABELS SO THAT WHEN YOU RETURN TO THE

MODEL AT A LATER DATE, YOU WON'T BE

WONDERING WHAT YOU INTENDED FOR A

GIVEN CELL. ╘HAT'S THE PURPOSE OF THE

LABELS THAT YOU SEE THROUGHOUT THIS

TEMPLATE.


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╒╙╔╬╟ ╙╘┼╔╬═┴╬ ╞╒╬├╘╔╧╬╙ ╘╧

╠╔╟╚╘┼╬ ╘╚┼ ├╧╬╙╘╥╒├╘╔╧╬ ╠╧┴─


  ╧NCE THE CONSTANTS AND LABELS HAVE

BEEN PROVIDED FOR, IT'S TIME TO SET

UP THE MEAT OF THE TEMPLATE.  ╔T'S

HERE THAT A GOOD SPREADSHEET LIGHTENS

YOUR LOAD.

  ╞OR EXAMPLE, ├OLUMN 1 CONTAINS THE

NUMBER OF THE PAYMENT YOU ARE MAKING,

BEGINNING IN ╠INE 9 WITH PAYMENT 1.

╔T'S NOT A TERRIBLE BURDEN TO ENTER

EACH NUMBER, 1 THROUGH 24, ON THE

PROPER LINE, BUT THERE'S AN EASIER

WAY.

  ┴T ╠9├1, A 1╞0 WAS ENTERED. ╘HE 1

REPRESENTS THE FIRST MONTHLY PAYMENT

AND THE ╞0 SPECIFIES THAT THIS CELL

WILL HAVE NO DECIMAL POINTS, THUS

OVERRIDING THE DECIMAL INDICATOR ON

THE STATUS BAR.

  ┴T ╠10├1, WE CONSTRUCT A FORMULA

THAT SAYS "╘AKE THE PRECEDING LINE

AND ADD 1 TO IT." ╘HE FORM OF THE

FORMULA IS:

    +╠9├1+1╞0

  ╬OW IT'S EASY TO GET THE REST OF

THE NUMBERS BY REPLICATING THE

FORMULA IN ╠10├1 THROUGH AS MANY

CELLS AS NEEDED.  ╨RESS THE ╞7

FUNCTION KEY TO REACH THE ├ONTROL

═ODE, PRESS ╙╚╔╞╘-╥ AND SPECIFY

RELATIVE REFERENCING. ╓OILA! ╘HE

NUMBERS 1 THROUGH 24 APPEAR IN ├OLUMN

1.

  ┬OTH FOR VISUAL CONTINUITY AND AS

AN AID IN WRITING A FORMULA, WE SET

╠8├4 EQUAL TO THE PRINCIPAL AMOUNT BY

SPECIFYING THAT THE VALUE IN ╠8├4 IS:

    +╠1├2

  ╫E USED THE FORMULA TO REFERENCE

THE DATA SO THAT IF WE GO BACK AND

CHANGE OUR PRINCIPAL AMOUNT IN ╠1├2,

THE CHANGE WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE

REFLECTED THROUGHOUT THE

CALCULATIONS.

  ╬OW WE CAN USE ╠8├4 TO CONSTRUCT

OUR INTEREST PAYMENT FORMULA IN

├OLUMN 2.

  ╔N ╠9├2, WE NEED TO DETERMINE HOW

MUCH INTEREST WILL BE PAID THE FIRST

MONTH.  ╘HE FORMULA IS OUTSTANDING

PRINCIPAL TIMES MONTHLY INTEREST

RATE. ╔N TERMS OF THIS MODEL'S DATA,

THAT TRANSLATES TO:

    +╠8├4*(╠2├2/100/12)

  ╠8├4 IS THE BEGINNING PRINCIPAL

AMOUNT AND ╠2├2 IS THE INTEREST RATE

IN WHOLE NUMBERS. ╫E DIVIDE BY 100 TO

GET THE PERCENTAGE RATE AND DIVIDE

BY 12 TO GET THE MONTHLY RATE.

  ╬OW WE CAN REPLICATE THIS FORMULA

DOWN ├OLUMN 2. ╨RESS ╙╚╔╞╘-╥ IN

├ONTROL ═ODE AND CHOOSE RELATIVE

REFERENCING FOR THE TERM ╠8├4 AND

ABSOLUTE REFERENCING FOR THE TERM

╠2├2.

  ╥ELATIVE REFERENCING WILL STEP THE

LINE NUMBER BY ONE FOR EACH

DESCENDING CELL, WHILE ABSOLUTE

REFERENCING MEANS TO ALWAYS REFER

BACK TO THAT PARTICULAR CELL. ╫E

CHOOSE RELATIVE REFERENCING FOR THE

FIRST TERM BECAUSE WE'LL BE UPDATING

THE PRINCIPAL AMOUNT OUTSTANDING IN

├OLUMN 4 AFTER EACH PAYMENT.

  ╬OW WE KNOW HOW MUCH INTEREST WE'RE

INCLUDING IN THE FIRST MONTH'S

PAYMENT, SO WE'RE READY TO MOVE ON TO

├OLUMN 3 AND DETERMINE HOW MUCH

PRINCIPAL WAS PAID. ╘