With the advent of the computer and related

technologies, data processing has become simple,

accurate, interesting and fast. There are many
Key concepts software tools for handling character and numeric
• Electronic spreadsheet data. The software package for processing
software numbers and characters in tabular form is generally
• Spreadsheet basics
• Components of a
known as electronic spreadsheet. In this chapter
spreadsheet window we discuss the basic concepts of an electronic
• Entering data in a spreadsheet which will be hereafter referred as
spreadsheet
spreadsheet. Here we use different formulae for
• Working with formula
• Saving a spreadsheet various calculations, present the data in a well
• Closing and opening formatted manner and print the document. The
• Formatting a different ways of cell referencing are also discussed
spreadsheet - cells, here.
columns, rows, sheets,
merge cells
• Inserting cells, rows, 3.1 Spreadsheet software
columns or worksheets
A spreadsheet is an electronic document in which
• Deleting cells, rows,
columns and worksheets data is arranged in rows and columns in the form
• Editing features of a table. The data stored in the spreadsheet can
• Freezing rows and be manipulated and used in calculations as required.
columns
• Cell referencing
The problem with manual spreadsheets is that if
o Relative any error is found within the data, all the answers
o Absolute must be erased and recalculated manually. In the
• Page formatting and case of an electronic spreadsheet, formulae will
printing
o Print ranges
automatically update the results whenever data is
o Headers and footers changed. This also helps to answer 'What If'
o Page breaks questions, i.e., what will happen to the result if the
o Page style settings value of a data is changed? People in business often
o Printing
use this feature of spreadsheet for carrying out
o Export and PDF
business forecasting.
 VisiCalc is considered as the first spreadsheet program that combined
all essential features of a modern spreadsheet like interactive user
interface, automatic recalculation, formula lines, range copying, etc.
Dan Bricklin, a Masters student in Business Administration at Harvard
Business School was joined by Bob Frankston who wrote programs to develop VisiCalc
in 1979. VisiCalc was initially developed for Apple II and was later adapted to work
on IBM Personal Computers also. It was one among the first software available on an
IBM PC.

An electronic spreadsheet allows operations like entering, editing, formatting, calculating,

sorting, filtering, charting and analysing alpha numeric data. They are used for preparing
financial documents, reports, processing information from scientific researches, statistical
analysis, etc. Lotus1-2-3, Quattro Pro, Microsoft Excel, Open Office Calc, etc. are
well known examples of spreadsheet packages.
The following are the major features of an electronic spreadsheet:
• stores large volume of data in tabular form like marklists, financial statements from
a company, attendance sheet in a class, etc.
• carries out numeric calculations, comparisons and analysis using formulae and
functions.
• automatically updates results, if any change is made in the related data.
• provides text formatting features like alignment, borders, merge cells, font setting,
etc. and produce formatted reports/documents.
• offers facilities like sorting, filtering, etc.
• creates charts for graphical data analysis.
In this chapter we discuss the features of electronic spreadsheet based on Open Office
Calc in detail.

3.2 Spreadsheet basics

Electronic spreadsheet allows users to work with spreadsheets. A spreadsheet can
contain one or more worksheets. By default, there will be three worksheets in a
spreadsheet named Sheet1, Sheet2 and Sheet3. Each sheet consists of many rows
and columns. We can insert more sheets into a spreadsheet if required.

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 3. Data Processing with Electronic Spreadsheet

Let us see how a worksheet looks like.

A Row

A Cell A Column

Fig.3.1 : Spreadsheet window

3.2.1 Rows and columns

A worksheet is organised in rows and columns. We can see a number of rows and
columns in the above worksheet as shown in Figure 3.1. At the top of all the rows there
is a grey coloured row called the column header and at the left end of all the columns
there is a grey coloured column called the row header. The column header displays the
column names A, B, C, .., Z, AA, AB,…..,etc. and row header displays the numbers 1,
2, 3, . . . , etc. The total number of rows and columns of the spreadsheet will be different
in different versions of the spreadsheet package.

3.2.2 Cell
Cell is the intersection of a column and a row. It is the smallest unit of the worksheet
where data and formula can be placed. Each cell has a unique address. It is referred by
the combination of the column name and the row number. For instance, the cell address
A5 means; the intersection of column A and row 5.

In Figure 3.1, D8 is the currently active cell where the cell pointer points to. Cell pointer
is the dark cell-boundary which can be moved anywhere in the worksheet. It is the cell
where the next entry would take place.

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 3.2.3 Range
Range is a group of adjacent cells that form a rectangular area. A range may contain just
a single cell, or many cells. A range is specified by the addresses of the first cell in the
range and the last cell in the range. For instance, a range starting from B3 to E10 (Figure
3.2) is written as B3: E10, where ':' is the range indicator. The smallest range is a single
cell and the largest range is the entire worksheet.

Range B3:E10

Fig. 3.2 : Range of cells

3.3 Components of a spreadsheet window

The main components of a spreadsheet window are Menu bar, Toolbars, Formula bar,
Sheet tab and Status bar as shown in Figure 3.3. Let us discuss these components.

3.3.1 Menu bar

Menu bar contains pull down menu options like File, Edit, View, Insert, Format,
Tools, Data, Window and Help. Each contains various options to perform operations
on spreadsheet.
File menu contains menu options that apply to the entire spreadsheet like Open, Save,
Export, Print, etc. Edit menu consists of features like Cut, Copy, Paste, Find, Replace,
Undo, etc. View menu contains options for displaying toolbars, viewing full screen, etc.

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 3. Data Processing with Electronic Spreadsheet

Menu bar Toolbar Formula bar

Name box

Rows
Columns

Sheet tabs

Status bar

Fig. 3.3 : Components of spreadsheet window

Format menu consists of command for formatting cells, columns, rows, sheets, etc.
Data menu provides features for sorting, filtering, etc. Window menu allows to freeze
and split the window displayed.

3.3.2 Toolbars
Toolbars contain icons or short-cut buttons for commonly used menu commands. The
two important Toolbars are Standard toolbar and Formatting toolbar. A Standard
toolbar consists of icons for saving, opening existing spreadsheets, creating new
spreadsheets, cut, copy, paste, print, etc. Formatting toolbar contains icons and listboxes
for formatting spreadsheet like changing font, style, size, alignments, etc.

3.3.3 Formula bar

Formula bar consists of Name Box, Function Wizard, Sum Button, Function Button
and Input line. On the leftmost side of the formula bar is a small text box called Name
Box. It displays the address of the current cell. When a range of cells is selected, the
name box displays the range. The Function Wizard button opens a dialog box consisting
of the built-in function available in spreadsheet. The Sum button is used to calculate
and display the sum. Clicking the function button inserts an '=' sign in the Input line, that
allows the user to enter a formula. Input line displays the contents of the current cell. If
the cell contains a formula, it displays the formula, not the resultant value.

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 3.3.4 Sheet tab
Sheet tab shows the worksheets available in the spreadsheet. We can use Sheet tab
option to switch from one sheet to another. It provides an easy way to copy, move,
delete, insert and rename the sheets.
3.3.5 Status bar
The Status bar is an area where the current status about the worksheet is displayed.
For example, the result of certain operations like sum, average, etc. of a selected range
will be displayed here.

Check yourself

1. In a worksheet, ________ is formed when a row meets a column.

2. A worksheet file with one or more sheets is called ________.
3. In a worksheet, D10: H25 is called a ________.
4. The cell having a bold boundary is the ________cell.
a. first b. last c. current d. next
5. The user can move from one sheet to another in a worksheet is done using
________of spreadsheet window.
6. ________shows the address of the current cell.
7. The short-cut buttons of important commands are present in ________.
a. Menu bar b. Toolbar c. Formula bar d. Status bar

3.4 Entering data in a worksheet

We can enter different types of data like numbers, text, date and time or formula in a
worksheet. To enter data in a cell, place cell pointer in the desired cell, and then type
the data.
To edit the contents of a selected cell, press the function key, F2 or double click in the
cell. Editing can also be done by clicking and typing in the Input line box in the Formula
bar.

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 3. Data Processing with Electronic Spreadsheet

The following are the different types of data that can be entered in a cell.

a. Numbers
Worksheets are mainly used for entering and manipulating numeric data. By default,
numbers are right aligned as shown in Figure 3.4. To enter a negative number either
type a minus ( - ) sign to the left of it or enclose it in parenthesis. Examples of numbers
are 35, 225.75, -50, (105.5).

b. Text
Texts are alphanumeric data entered in a worksheet. By default, text is left-aligned in a
cell. To enter a number as text, put a single quote (') to the left side of the number.

Numeric data
(right aligned in
a cell)

Text data
(left aligned in a cell)
Fig. 3.4 : Text and numeric data
c. Date and Time
Spreadsheet recognises a variety of date and time formats. The date elements can be
seperated using a slash (/) or hyphen (-). Time elements can be seperated using colon
(:). Some examples are 12/01/2014, 10:00:00 AM.

d. Formula
A formula is an equation that begins with an equal (=) sign. The cell containing a formula
displays the resultant value of the formula. A formula can be used to show a relationship
between cells. It can contain operators. The commonly used operators are +, -, *, / and
^ (exponentiation). A formula can also contain functions. We will discuss about functions
in the next chapter. For example, a formula that calculates the sum of the values of the
cells A1 and B1, is written as = A1 + B1.

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 3.5 Working with formula
Let us consider the salary details of the employees of a company ABC Ltd. The salary
details consists of Employee number, Name of the employee, Designation, Basic Pay,
Dearness Allowance (DA), Provident Fund deduction and Net Salary as shown in
Figure 3.5.

Fig. 3.5 : Salary details of ABC Ltd.

Let us calculate DA and Net Salary of each employee. DA is calculated as 40% of the
Basic Pay. Net Salary can be calculated using the formula
Net Salary = Basic Pay + DA - PF
The DA of the first employee is to be calculated and displayed in the cell E3. For this
place the cell pointer in cell E3 and enter the formula =D3 *40/100 as shown in Figure
3.6. The cell D3 contains the Basic Pay of the first employee. The formula for calculating
DA can also be calculated as =D3*40%.

Fig. 3.6 : Formula for calculating DA

After pressing the Enter key, the result of the formula is displayed in the cell E3. Now
we need to find the DA of other employees. This can be done by copying the formula
to other cells in the column E. For this, select the cell E3 and move the mouse pointer to
the right bottom corner of the cell. Note that the mouse pointer turns to a thin + symbol.
Click and drag downwards to copy the formula to other cells. The result is displayed
as in the Figure 3.7.

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 3. Data Processing with Electronic Spreadsheet

Fig. 3.7 : DA calculated for all employees

Now, to calculate the Net Salary, use the formula = D3+E3-F3 in cell G3 and then copy
the formula to the cells below. The result is displayed as in Figure 3.8. Note that the cell
contains the result of the formula and the Input line in the Formula bar displays the
formula as in Figures 3.7 and 3.8.

Fig. 3.8 : Salary Bill of ABC Ltd.

3.6 Saving a spreadsheet
Spreadsheets can be saved using the Save option from the File menu (File à Save).
We can also save using the Save button on the Standard toolbar or by pressing Ctrl+S
keys on the keyboard. In the Save As dialog box that appears, choose a folder, enter
a file name and then click the Save button. The file is saved with the extension .ods.
The file extension for the file may differ with package and version. For example, Microsoft
Excel uses .xls or .xlsx as extension.
Once the file is saved, selecting the save option again will update the same file. If you
need to save the file with a new name, choose the Save As option in the File menu
(File à Save As).

3.7 Closing and opening spreadsheets

After finishing the work with the current spreadsheet, we can close it using the Close
option in the File menu (File à Close). If changes are made to the spreadsheet after
the last save, the spreadsheet prompts a dialog box as to whether to save the changes

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 or not. Note that closing a spreadsheet does not exit the spreadsheet application. To
exit a spreadsheet application use File à Exit.
To open an existing spreadsheet, choose File à Open. In the Open dialog box that
appears select the file and click Open.

• The loan details of customers in a finance company are shown

in the table. Use these details to find the interest payable. The
interest is calculated using the formula Loan Amount × Number
of Years × Rate of Interest. Interest is calculated at the rate of
Let us do
12%.
Loan No. Name Loan Years Interest
Amount Amount
L301 Rohith 60000 2
L302 Krishna 80000 1
L303 Anoop 10000 2
L304 Bipin 90000 3

3.8 Formatting a spreadsheet

The general appearance and arrangement of data in a spreadsheet is known as formatting.
Formatting makes the worksheet attractive. Formatting mainly focuses on numbers,
text (font, font size, font colour) and setting alignment, borders and background. The
data in a spreadsheet can be formatted in several ways.

3.8.1 Formatting cells

The cell formatting options are available in the Cells menu item of the Format menu
(Format à Cells…). It displays a Format Cells dialog box as shown in Figure 3.9.
Numbers, font, font effects, alignment, borders, background, etc. can be formatted
using Format Cells dialog box. The general appearance and arrangement of data in a
cell or a range of cells is known as cell formatting. In the following section we will
discuss the different cell formatting features.

a. Formatting numbers
The number formats can be applied to data in the cells using the Numbers tab of the
Format Cells dialog box. The appearance of numbers in a cell can be changed as
Percentage, Currency, Date, Time, Scientific, etc. The number of decimal places,
leading zeros, thousands separator, etc. can also be specified using this option. Note

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 3. Data Processing with Electronic Spreadsheet

that the value in the cell is not

affected while formatting.

b. Formatting font
Font tab of Format Cells dialog
box is used to change the font
face, size and style (bold,
italics) of a cell or a range of
cells. Effects like font colour,
underline, overline, strike
through and shadow can be
specified using the Font Effects
tab. Some of these options are
Fig. 3.9 : Format Cells dialog box
also available in the Formatting
toolbar.

c. Aligning cell content

The contents in a cell can be aligned both horizontally and vertically using the Alignment
tab of Format Cells dialog box. Indentation can be specified to the text inside a cell.
The orientation of the text inside a cell can be mentioned.

d. Setting borders
The Borders tab is used to set the borders, its style and colour. The spacing of text from
the border can also be specified. A shadow can be given to cells using the Shadow
Style option in the Borders tab.

e. Setting background colour

A background colour can be given to a cell using the Background tab. A colour set can
be removed by selecting the No Fill option in this tab.
The salary details spreadsheet of ABC Ltd. can be given cell formatting to appear as in
Figure 3.10.

Fig. 3.10 : Salary Bill of ABC Ltd. after cell formatting

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 3.8.2 Formatting columns
Column formatting features are available in the Column option of the Format menu
(Format à Column). The different options in the Column submenu helps to set the
column width, optimal column width, hide or show columns.
To set the width of a column, select the required column and choose Width option from
the Column submenu. Enter the required width in the dialog box that appears. The
Optimal Width option is used to resize the width of the column to the minimum required
width that suits the contents of the selected cell. The value given in the Add box of
Optimal Column Width dialog box shown in Figure 3.11 adds the specified value to
this minimum width for the column. Note that by double clicking on the right border of
the column header, the column
can be resized to fit the longest
entry in the column.
We can hide a column by first
selecting a cell in the column to
be hidden and then use the
menu item Format à Column
à Hide. The column will be
Fig. 3.11 : Optimal Column Width dialog box hidden on the screen, but the
data in the column will be used
for the calculations in the sheet. Column hiding is generally used before printing. We can
verify whether columns are hidden by checking the column header names. A hidden
column can be made visible by selecting the adjacent columns and then use the menu
item Format à Column à Show.

3.8.3 Formatting rows

The row formatting options are available in the Format à Row menu. The height of a
row or the optimal height of the row can be set using this feature. Options for hiding or
displaying are also available here.
To set the height of a row, select the menu option Format à Row à Height. The
Optimal Height, i.e., the minimum height required for the selected row can be set using
Format à Row à Optimal Height menu option. To hide a row, select a cell in the row
and then choose menu item Format à Row à Hide. Hidden rows can be identified
by verifying the row header names. To make hidden rows visible, select the rows above
and below the hidden row and then use the menu option Format à Row à Show.

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 3. Data Processing with Electronic Spreadsheet

3.8.4 Formatting sheets

By default, a spreadsheet consists of three worksheets named Sheet1, Sheet2 and
Sheet3. A worksheet can be renamed using the menu option Format à Sheet à
Rename. This displays a dialog box that prompts the user to enter a new name for the
selected sheet. Renaming can also be done by clicking the right mouse button on the
sheet name and selecting Rename option from the menu that appears. A sheet can be
hidden by selecting the menu item Format à Sheet à Hide. This hides the currently
selected sheet. To view the hidden sheets, use the menu option Format à Sheet à
Show. The hidden sheets will be
displayed in Show Sheet dialog
box as shown in Figure 3.12.
Select the sheet to be displayed
and click OK.

3.8.5 Merge cells

Combining multiple cells into one
cell is called merging of cells.
Merging is often used when a title
is to be centered over a particular
Fig. 3.12 : Show Sheet dialog box
section of a spreadsheet. When a
group of adjacent cells are merged,
only the text in the upper-leftmost box is displayed in the merged cell. The data in the
other cells will be lost. The merged cell will have the address of the upper-leftmost cell.
Select the cells to be merged and use the Merge Cells option from Format menu
(Format à Merge Cells). We can also use the Merge Cell button in the Format toolbar.
In our example, we will merge the cells A1:G1. To move the heading to the centre of the
salary statement use the Alignment tab of Format Cells dialog box. The result is as
shown in Figure 3.13.

Fig. 3.13 : Merged and center aligned heading

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 • Prepare a neatly formatted timetable of your class. Format
the cells with proper font type, size and colour (different colour
for different subjects). The first row should display the class
name in merged form.
Let us do

Check yourself…

1. The function key used to edit the contents of a cell is ________

2. The symbol used in spreadsheet for exponentiation is ________
3. What do you mean by optimal width of a column?
4. How can you hide a worksheet in a spreadsheet?
5. What is merging of cells?
6. Another way to enter the number -55 in a cell is ________

3.9 Inserting cells, rows, columns and worksheets

We can insert cells, rows or columns in a specified position of a worksheet. This feature
is often needed while working with spreadsheet. After insertion the column names and
row numbers are automatically rearranged. The cell addresses referred in the existing
formulae are adjusted accordingly.

a. Inserting cell
We can insert blank cells above or to the left of the active cell on a worksheet. This will
shift the cells below in the same column downwards or in the same row to the right. We
can also insert rows above and columns to the left of the active cell on a worksheet. To
insert a cell, use the Cells… option from the Insert menu (Insert à Cells …). Note that
if more than one cell is selected, it will insert the same number of cells selected.
Consider the worksheet given in Figure 3.14. Let us now insert a cell in the position B4.
Select B4 and choose Cells from the Insert menu. In the Insert Cells dialog box, choose
the option Shift cells down. The result is displayed as in the Figure 3.15.

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 3. Data Processing with Electronic Spreadsheet

Fig. 3.15 : Worksheet after cell

Fig. 3.14 : Insert Cells dialog box
insertion
b. Inserting row
To insert a single row, select the row or a cell in the row above where a new row is to
be inserted. For example, to insert a new row above row 4, click a cell in row 4. To
insert multiple rows, select the same number of rows above where the rows are to be
inserted. Rows can be inserted using the Rows option of Insert menu (Insert à Rows).

c. Inserting column
To insert a single column, select the column or a cell in the column immediately to the
right of the new column to be inserted. For example, to insert a new column to the left
of column B, click a cell in column B. To insert multiple columns, select the same number
of columns immediately to the right of the new columns to be inserted. For example, to
insert three new columns, select three columns. Columns can be inserted using the
Columns option of Insert menu (Insert à Columns). We can also right click the column
name and choose Column option from the popup menu.
Let us insert a new column Gross Salary in our Salary Bill example before the PF
column. Select the column F, choose Column option from the Insert menu and type
'Gross' as the column heading. The worksheet will now appear as in Figure 3.16.
Gross Salary is the sum of Basic Pay and DA. Type the formula for calculating Gross
Salary =D3+E3 in the cell F3 and copy it to the cells below.

Fig. 3.16 : Pay Bill after inserting a new column

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 d. Inserting a worksheet
A worksheet can be added to a spreadsheet using the menu item Sheet … from the
Insert menu. To insert a sheet, select the sheet before or after which the new sheet or
sheets are to be inserted from the Sheets tab. Choose Insert à Sheet… It will display
the Insert Sheet dialog box as in Figure 3.17. We can specify the position of the sheet,
number of sheets, name of sheet, etc. in this dialog box.

Fig. 3.17 : Insert Sheet dialog box

3.10 Deleting cells, rows, columns and worksheets
Spreadsheet provides us the facility to delete the desired number of cells, rows, columns
or worksheets. Select the cell, row or column to be deleted. Choose Delete Cells …
option from Edit menu (Edit à Delete Cells…). If cells are selected the Delete Cells
dialog box as shown in Figure 3.18 appears. The dialog box displays options to Shift
cells up, Shift cells left, Delete entire row(s) and Delete entire column(s). Choose
an option and click OK.
If a range of cells are to be
deleted, select from the options
Shift cells up or Shift cells left
in the Delete Cells dialog box
based on requirement.
If the entire row or multiple
rows are selected by clicking
Fig. 3.18 : Delete Cells dialog box
the row headers, the Delete

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 3. Data Processing with Electronic Spreadsheet

Cells option of the Edit menu will delete the entire rows. Similarly if entire column or
columns are selected, the Delete Cells option will delete the entire columns. Note that
Delete Cells dialog box will not be displayed in these cases.

It is possible to remove a worksheet permanently from the workbook. From the Edit
menu, select Delete option from the Sheet sub menu (Edit à Sheet à Delete). This
will prompt a confirmation dialog box for deleting the selected sheet.

3.11 Editing features in spreadsheets

Spreadsheets provide various editing features to fill a range with a value or a series of
values, copy or move a cell or range of cells, delete the contents of cells, etc. These
easy to use features enhance the usage of various data manipulation operations in a
spreadsheet.

3.11.1 Filling a range

A range of cells can be filled with
a value or a series. To fill a
range of cells with the same
value, enter the value in a cell
and select the range of cells in
which the values are to be filled.
Select the menu item Fill from
Edit menu and choose the Fig. 3.19 : Fill Series dialog box
appropriate direction.
To fill a range of cells with a series of values, type the starting value and then select the
range of cells to be filled. Choose the Edit à Fill à Series option. A dialog box as in
Figure 3.19 appears.
This dialog box allows
to set direction, series
type, start value, end
value and increment
value. Choose the
appropriate option and
click OK.
Fig. 3.20 : Filling Series examples

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 A shortcut way to fill cells is to click on the Fill Handle in the lower right hand corner of
the cell and drag it in the direction to be filled. If the cell contains a number, the number
will fill in series. If the cell contains a text, the same text will fill in the direction you
choose (Figure 3.20).

3.11.2 Copying and moving cells

The contents of a cell or a
range of cells can be copied to
another cell in the worksheet.
For this, select the range and
then choose Copy from the Edit
menu. The contents of the cell
are copied to the special
memory area called clipboard
of the operating system. Select
the destination cell and choose
Paste option from Edit menu.
The contents are pasted to the
new location from the
Fig. 3.21 : Paste Special dialog box
clipboard. The Paste Special
option in the Edit menu given in Figure 3.21 allows advanced paste options. Formulae,
text, numbers, formatting, etc. can be selectively copied using this feature.
The contents of a cell or a range of cells can be moved to another cell in the worksheet.
For this, select the range and then choose Cut option from the Edit menu. Select the cell
to which the contents are to be moved and choose Paste option from the Edit menu.
Here also the contents are copied
to the clipboard and then moved to
the new location. The contents can
also be moved by dragging the
selected cells.

3.11.3 Deleting cell contents

The contents of a cell can be deleted
using the menu option Delete
Contents… from the Edit menu (Edit
à Delete Contents…) or using Fig. 3.22 : Delete Contents dialog box

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 3. Data Processing with Electronic Spreadsheet

Delete key on the keyboard. This displays a Delete Contents dialog box as shown in
Figure 3.22. Using this option the text, numbers, formula, formats, etc. can be deleted
in the selected range. The Delete all option deletes the entire content of the cells within
the selected range.
3.12 Freezing rows and columns in a worksheet
Freezing locks a specified number of rows at the top of a spreadsheet or a specified
number of columns on the left of a spreadsheet or both. While scrolling inside the sheet,
the frozen columns and rows always remain in view. Freezing is the act of making a
selected set of columns or rows immovable while scrolling the worksheet. To freeze
rows, click on the row header below the rows to be frozen. Select Freeze option from
Window menu (Window à Freeze). Similarly, to freeze columns, click on the column
header to the right of the columns to be frozen and select the Freeze option from the
menu. After freezing rows 1 and 2, the Pay Bill worksheet will appear as in Figure 3.23
when scrolled 2 rows down. Note that in the figure, rows 3 and 4 have moved up and
rows 1 and 2 remain frozen as we have scrolled down.

Fig 3.23 : Pay Bill after freezing rows 1 and 2

Check yourself

1. How do you insert a cell in a worksheet?

2. What are the two methods of moving a range in a worksheet?
3. The act of making a column or row immovable is referred _______.
4. How can you fill the same value in a range of cells?
5. What is the difference between deleting a cell and deleting cell contents?

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 3.13 Cell referencing
Every cell in a spreadsheet has a cell reference which acts as an address of the cell.
These references can be used in formulae to perform various calculations. When the
data in a cell which is referenced elsewhere is changed, the formula which contains the
reference will be recalculated to reflect the change.
When a cell is referenced in a formula, the reference (cell address) can either be typed
in the formula or the mouse can be used to click on the cell to create a reference to it.
Any cell reference entered in a formula will be colour coded. The formula will show
different colours for different references and the cells will be outlined with the same
colour used in the formula as shown in Figure 3.24.

Fig. 3.24 : Colour coded cell references

In Figure 3.24, the formula for calculating Net Salary, = D3 + E3 - G3 is in the cell H3.
Note that the cells D3, E3 and G3 are outlined with the same colour as that of the
reference in the formula. The two different types of references are relative and absolute.
They behave differently when copied or filled to other cells.

3.13.1 Relative cell references

Most of the references in a spreadsheet are relative. Relative cell references are cell
references that adjust and change when copied or used with AutoFill feature. In relative
referencing, the cell addresses get adjusted automatically with reference to the current
cell during copying of the formula.

Fig. 3.25 : Relative cell references

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 3. Data Processing with Electronic Spreadsheet

In relative references, cell references will move to be in the same positions relative to
the new cell. Consider the Figure 3.24. When the Net Salary in cell H3 is copied to cell
H4, the references in the formula changes as = D4 + E4 - G4 as in Figure 3.25. This is
because D3, E3 and G3 are relative references and they move to the same relative
positions in the next row namely, D4, E4 and G4. Relative references are convenient
when the same calculation is to be repeated across multiple rows or columns.

3.13.2 Absolute cell references

Sometimes you do not want references to change when you copy a formula to a different
cell. In such cases you can go for absolute referencing. Absolute references remain
constant, no matter where they are copied. To make a reference absolute, put a Dollar
($) sign before both the row and column parts of the reference. To make an absolute
reference to cell A3, use $A$3 in the formula.

Fig. 3.26 : Absolute cell references

In our Salary Bill example, we calculated DA as 40% of the Basic Pay. Percentage of
DA of employees varies periodically. Each time a change occurs, we need to change
the formula of DA and drag and copy it to other cells. To avoid this, we can store the
percentage of DA in cell D2 as in Figure 3.26. All the cells in the DA column have to
refer to the cell D2 irrespective of the position of the cells to calculate the DA. This can
be done by making the cell D2 as absolute ($D$2) in the formula. Now the formula for
calculating DA is = D4 * $D$2 / 100 as shown in Figure 3.26.

Fig. 3.27 : Salary Bill of ABC Ltd.

87
 Now drag the formula in the cell E3 to the cells below. Note that the cell reference $D$2
remains the same in all the copied cells. Now the Salary Bill appears as in Figure 3.27.
When the percentage of DA changes, the cell D2 needs to be updated and the calculated
DA of all employees changes automatically.

3.14 Page formatting and printing a worksheet

After creating a worksheet, we may require its hard copy. Before printing a worksheet
we need to format the worksheet. Various print formatting features allow to select the
paper size, set margins, print range, etc. The Print Preview option in the File menu
displays how the page appears in the printout. We will discuss the different print
formatting features of a spreadsheet.

3.14.1 Print ranges

Print ranges allow to print only a specific part of the data or selected rows or columns
on pages. To define a print range or modify an existing print range, select the range of
cells to be printed and then choose Format à Print Ranges à Define. The Print
Preview will display only the defined range. A defined print range can be removed by
using the option Format à Print Range à Remove. This removes all the defined print
ranges on the sheet.
If a sheet is printed on multiple pages, we can setup certain rows or columns to repeat
on each printed page. Consider the Salary Bill of ABC Ltd. as shown in Figure 3.27. If
this worksheet consisted of salary details of many employees, it has to be printed in
many pages. It would be better if the first three rows are repeated on each page. This
can be done using the option Format à Print Range à Edit. To select the rows or
columns to repeat, use the Shrink button against each option in the Edit Print Ranges
dialog box that appears. Select the rows or columns to repeat using the cursor and then
press the button again. Figure 3.28 displays the Edit Print Ranges dialog box.

Shrink Button

Fig. 3.28 : Edit Print Ranges dialog box

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 3. Data Processing with Electronic Spreadsheet

3.14.2 Headers and footers

Headers are text appearing on the top of every page in a document. Footers are text
appearing at the bottom of each page. The text can be page numbers, name of the
document, date/time of creation of the document, author name, etc. They are useful
when the document is printed. Headers and footers can be given to a spreadsheet using
the Headers & Footers… option of the Edit menu (Edit à Headers & Footers…). A
Header/Footer dialog box appears as in Figure 3.29. The headers and footers can be
chosen from the list of predefined items like, page number, author, etc. or customised
according to users requirements.

Fig 3.29 : Header/Footer dialog box

3.14.3 Page breaks
If the contents of a worksheet are lengthy, the spreadsheet software automatically inserts
page breaks depending on the paper size while printing. Page breaks can be inserted
manually in a worksheet to ensure proper page organisation. A row page break inserts
a break above the active cell and a column page break inserts a page break to the left
of the active cell. Row page break is available at Insert à Manual Break à Row
Break and column page break is available at Insert à Manual Break à Column
Break.
To remove a manual page break, select the cell below the row break or the cell to the
right of the column break. Now choose Edit à Delete Manual Break à Row Break
or Edit à Delete Manual Break à Column Break.

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 3.14.4 Page style setting

The paper size / format, page

orientation and margins can be set
using this option. The paper sizes
can be A4, Legal, Letter, etc. or
customised according to users
need. The page orientation can be
portrait or landscape. The margins
can be adjusted manually. Page
styles can be set using the Format
à Page… menu option. Figure
3.30 displays the Page Style
Fig. 3.30 : Page Style dialog box dialog box.

3.14.5 Printing a spreadsheet

The Print option of File menu can be used to print a spreadsheet. We can select the
printer in which the spreadsheet is to be printed, the range to be printed, the number of
copies, the pages to be printed,
etc. using the General tab of the
Print dialog box as shown in Figure
3.31. The Page Layout tab of
Print dialog box allows to select
the number of pages to be printed
on each sheet and the order in
which the pages are to be printed.
A preview of the page is also
Fig. 3.31 : Print dialog box available in this dialog box.

3.14.6 Export as PDF

Calc can export documents to PDF (Portable Document Format), which allows the file
to be viewed on any platform. PDF is a popular format for transferring files to others.
Note that once a sheet is converted to PDF format, it is not easily editable. A worksheet
can be exported to the PDF format using the menu option File à Export as PDF… In
the PDF Options dialog box shown in Figure 3.32, the range of pages to be converted
to PDF, the quality of the images, etc. can be specified.

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 3. Data Processing with Electronic Spreadsheet

Fig. 3.32 : PDF Options dialog box

Check yourself

1. What is a cell reference?

2. What do you mean by header and footer in a spreadsheet?
3. What is a print range?
4. How can you insert a manual page break?
5. What is the advantage of exporting a worksheet to PDF format?

Let us sum up
We have now discussed the various operations that can be performed with the help
of spreadsheet package. The different components of the spreadsheet window and
its uses have been familiarised. It is an excellent tool for storing huge volume of data
(text, numbers, date and time, formula). The data entered in a cell can be formatted,
formulae can be inserted and many calculations can be done easily. The data in the
cells can be formatted using different font styles, sizes, colours, borders, etc. The
appearance of the different types of data, the width and height of columns and rows
can be set. The cells in the worksheet can be merged using the merge feature. A

91
 range can be selected, copied or moved to other locations. Cells, rows, columns or
worksheets can be inserted or deleted based on requirements. A range of cells can
be filled with values using the Fill Series option in the spreadsheet. Columns or rows
can be made immovable (freezed). Different types of cell references while copying
formulae, are also discussed in this chapter. Data in a worksheet can be printed after
applying the different print formatting features. Spreadsheet can be exported to the
PDF format, to use it on other platforms.

Learning outcomes
After the completion of this chapter the learner will be able to
• identify the features available in electronic worksheets.
• identify the need for spreadsheet package in numeric data processing.
• store data in a spreadsheet and analyse.
• format the contents of a spreadsheet.
• apply formula for calculations and create series.
• save the file permanently and retrieve it later.
• insert / delete / hide / freeze rows and columns.
• identify the use of relative and absolute referencing.
• use printing facility to take printouts of worksheets.
• familiarise with exporting worksheet to the PDF format.

Lab activities

1. Given a manual worksheet containing the details of students in a class with Reg.No,
Name, Age and Marks for 6 subjects. Create an electronic worksheet to calcu-
late the total mark and percentage (Max.Mark for each subject is taken as 100).
Use formula to calculate the total mark and percentage of marks for the first
student. Then copy the formula to the succeeding rows to complete the marklist.
Reg.No Name Age M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 Total Percent
t age
5460 Rajeev 16 60 55 48 75 65 50

5461 Binoy 17 80 90 62 70 60 45

5462 Rahul 17 78 82 60 55 45 30

5463 Parvathi 16 70 85 40 50 55 40

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 3. Data Processing with Electronic Spreadsheet

2. Create the following worksheet and perform the operations as directed.

Find out the values for the blank cells using appropriate formula
1. Total sales of each salesman
2. Commission for each salesman ( 10% of sales amount)
3. Total sales of each quarter
4. Total sales of the company in all three quarters
5. Total commission paid by the company.
Salesman Qtr1 Qtr2 Qtr3 Total Sale Commission
Code
S1001 4000 3500 5000
S1002 5000 4000 3000
S1003 4000 2000 2500
Total

3. Create a multiplication table using a spreadsheet as given below:

Hint: Use formula to fill the Answer column, use fill handle to fill first, second, third
and fourth columns

Number 1 Multiply Number 2 Equal to Answer

1 * 5 = 5
2 * 5 = 10
.. .. .. .. ..
12 * 5 = 60

Sample questions

Very short answer type

1. The symbol used for absolute cell reference is ______.
2. The file extension of Calc worksheet file is ______.
3. The default alignment of the text data entered in a cell is ______ .
4. The smallest range in a worksheet is ______.
5. The cell address of the very first cell in a worksheet is ______.
6. The range indicator symbol in Calc is ______.

93
 7. By default, ______ number of worksheets are present in a workbook.
8. The Save, Print commands are available in ______ menu of the worksheet win-
dow.

Short answer type

1. How do you define a range of cells in a worksheet?
2. Write any four application areas where electronic spreadsheet can be used. Rec-
ollect from your real-life experience.
3. How will you insert a column in a worksheet?
4. What are the methods of copying data from one place to another in a worksheet?
5. Suppose you need to hide the column F temporarily. How will you do that?
6. What is meant by 'freezing' rows or columns? What is its advantage?
7. Rahul wants to combine the cells from B5 to B10. How can he do it?

Long answer type

1. Explain the main components of a worksheet window.
2. Explain the different types of cell referencing.
3. Explain the different printing features available in a spreadsheet.

94
 We discussed the basic concepts of a spreadsheet
in the previous chapter. We saw how data is entered
in cells and how a cell is referred. We also learned
Key concepts
how to add a formula to a cell so that simple
• Functions
calculations can be done. This chapter introduces
various built-in functions available in a spreadsheet.
o Mathematical - SUM,
These functions make calculations simpler and
ROUND, ROUNDUP,
comparisons possible. Sorting and filtering are the
ROUNDDOWN,
two powerful features of a spreadsheet that make
COUNTIF
it an ideal tool for data analysis. Charts can also be
o Statistical - AVERAGE, used in the spreadsheet to provide information in a
MIN, MAX, COUNT graphical form.
o Logical - IF, AND, OR,
NOT
4.1 Functions
o Text - UPPER, LOWER, In this section we will learn different built-in functions
LEN available in a spreadsheet. For this, let us plan to
prepare the marklist of the first mid-term
o Nested functions
examination. The columns in the mark list are Roll
• Data manipulation
Number, Name, scores of six subjects including
o Sorting English, Second Language, Sociology, Journalism,
o Filtering Communicative English and Computer Application.
• Charts - Column, Bar, There are columns for Total, Percentage and Result
Line, Pie also.
In the last chapter we learned how to prepare a
work sheet. For preparing the mark list, create a
table with column headings as RollNo, Name,
English, Lang, Sociology, Journalism, Comm. Eng,
Comp. Appln., and Total as shown in Figure 4.1
 Fig. 4.1 : Marklist showing scores in each subject

To find the total marks, place the cursor in the cell I3, where you want to display the
total marks of the first student as shown in Figure 4.1. Click the AutoSum button
in the Formula Bar. Now you can see =SUM(C3:H3) in the cell I3. Here, C3:H3 is the
range of cells used to calculate the SUM (refer Figure 4.2).

Fig. 4.2 : Calculation of Total using AutoSum feature

Press Enter key if the range shown is correct. This will calculate and display the total
marks of the first student in the cell I3 as shown in Figure 4.3.

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 4. Data Analysis using Spreadsheet

Fig. 4.3 : Total marks calculated for the first student

How can you calculate the total marks of all other students? It is very simple. The total
marks for all students can be calculated and displayed using the following steps.
1. Select cell I3.
2. Move the mouse pointer to the bottom-right corner of the cell. See that the mouse
pointer changes to thin + symbol.
3. Click and drag downwards to copy the formula in all cells. The total marks are
now displayed in all the cells.
Actually SUM is a built-in function used in spreadsheets. Now we will discuss about
functions and its usage in detail.
Spreadsheet provides many built-in functions that help to do a variety of tasks easily.
Usage of functions saves a lot of time and effort. The real power of spreadsheet lies in
the availability of large number of built-in functions for various purposes. Each function
has a name. They perform some specific operations and the result is displayed in the
cell. A function makes use of values or cell references, just like a simple formula. The
numbers or cells used for calculations are placed in brackets after the name of the
function. Functions are considered as pre-defined formula in spreadsheets.

In order to use a function, click the button in the toolbar after selecting the
appropriate cell. A Function Wizard dialog box will be displayed as in Figure 4.4.

97
 Fig. 4.4 : Function Wizard dialog box

The built-in functions in spreadsheet are mainly categorised as Mathematical functions,

Statistical functions, Logical functions and Text functions.

4.1.1 Mathematical functions

The function SUM calculates the total of numbers given as number1, number2, number3,
…. as shown in the Function Wizard (refer Figure 4.4). This method is used when the
total is to be found for values stored in non adjacent cells. But in the case of values in
adjacent cells we can select a range of cells as discussed below.
The range of cells that is to be used by the function can be selected by the button
present in Function Wizard dialog box. You can type the range of cells directly as
C3:H3 within the brackets that follow the function name as =SUM(C3:H3). This statement
calculates the sum of the values in the cells ranging from C3 to H3.
Let us now try to compute the percentage of marks and display it in the column next to
the total marks in the mark sheet.

Eventhough SUM function is available under the category Mathematical

functions found in the Function Wizard, almost all spreadsheet
software also provides an AutoSum( ) button in the formula bar.
This is because SUM is the most commonly used function in spreadsheet.

98
 4. Data Analysis using Spreadsheet

In the last chapter we learned to insert formula in a cell. The total marks scored by the
first student is displayed in the cell I3 as indicated in Figure 4.3. You know that the
formula for calculating the percentage of marks is

Marks Scored
P= ×100
Maximum Marks

If the maximum mark for each subject is 50 the formula to be inserted in the cell J3 is
= I3 /300 *100

Press Enter key, the percentage of marks obtained by the first student is displayed in
the cell J3. Copy the formula to the cells below to find the percentage of marks for all
the students as shown in Figure 4.5.
You can see that the percentage of the student ‘Arun K’ is displayed as 81.3333333 in
Figure 4.5. Do you think that it will be better if the percentage is rounded to the nearby
integer? Or with exactly one or two decimal places? Here the function ROUND helps us
do this. Go to the cell K3 and click the insert function button. In the Function Wizard,
select Mathematical from the Category drop down box. Double click on the ROUND
function.

Fig. 4.5 : Marklist with percentage

Figure 4.6 displays the structure of ROUND function as given in the Function Wizard.
ROUND function rounds a number to the specified number of decimal places. ROUND
function requires two values, the number to be rounded and a count. number can be
a cell address which contains the number to be rounded (here it is the percentage of
total marks) . count is the number of digits to be displayed after decimal point. In this

99
 Fig. 4.6 : ROUND function

example, we need to round the percentage of total marks to the nearest integer value.
For this we fix count as 0. The result is shown in Figure 4.7.
Let us try to use the ROUND function for displaying the percentage of total marks in the
rounded format at column K where the formula to calculate the percentage is entered.
This can be done by using the formula for percentage as the first argument in the ROUND
function as given below.
= ROUND ( I3 / 300 x 100, 0 )

Fig. 4.7 : Result of ROUND function

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 4. Data Analysis using Spreadsheet

Now, if we compare the actual percentage of total marks obtained for each student and
their rounded percentage of total marks, ‘Arun K’ will lose 0.33333333 percentage
when it is rounded. Students ‘Alex Paul’, ‘Asha P’ and ‘Joby’ will also lose the same
percentage due to rounding of actual percentage to the nearest integer using the ROUND
function. That means 0.5 and above rounds to the next higher number and others to the
next smaller number. Suppose you want to round the value to the next higher integer
always. You can use the ROUNDUP function as shown in Figure 4.8.

Fig. 4.8 : ROUNDUP function

The arguments needed for the ROUNDUP function are the same as ROUND function but
the only difference is that ROUNDUP function rounds to the next higher number. For
example 81.33333333 will be rounded to 82 in our mark list. The result of ROUNDUP
function is shown in Figure 4.9.

Fig. 4.9 : Result of ROUNDUP function

101
 Similarly you can find another function named ROUNDDOWN in the function wizard.
You can try this function and observe the difference in output.
COUNTIF function counts the number of occurences of values in a list that matches a
criteria. Now let us consider that we need to find the number of students who have
scored more than 80 percentage or more marks in the class. The function
=COUNTIF ( K3:K12, “>=80” )
gives the number of students who have scored 80 percent or more. The first argument
specifies the range of values and the second argument specifies the criteria. Note that
the criteria should be specified in double quotation marks. Refer Figure 4.10.

Fig. 4.10 : COUNTIF function

Table 4.1 summarises the mathematical functions with their syntax and description.

Function Syntax Description

SUM ( ) SUM(Number1, Calculates the total of a set of numbers or
Number2, adds all numbers in the range of cells.
Number3, …) Number1, Number2, ..., Number30 are upto
30 arguments whose sum is to be calculated.
A range of cells can be entered by cell
reference as SUM(StartCell:EndCell).
ROUND ( ) ROUND(Number, Rounds the given number to a specified
Count) number of decimal places. Count is the
number of decimal places to which the value is
to be rounded.

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 4. Data Analysis using Spreadsheet

Function Syntax Description

ROUNDUP ( ) ROUNDUP Rounds the given number up to a specified
(Number, Count) number of decimal places. Count is the
number of decimal places to which the value is
to be rounded.
ROUND ROUNDDOWN Rounds the given number down to a specified
DOWN ( ) (Number, Count) number of decimal places. Count is the
number of decimal places to which the value is
to be rounded.
COUNTIF ( ) COUNTIF Counts the number of values in the range that
(Range, Criteria) meets the specified criteria.
Table 4.1 : Mathematical functions

• Prepare a table containing the name and age of all students in

your class using a spreadsheet. Find the number of students
who have age greater that 17 and age less than 15 using
Let us do
functions.

• Prepare a table containing the name and height of all students

in your class using a spreadsheet. Find the average height of
students in the class and then round the average height correct
to 2 decimal places using functions.

Check yourself

1. What is a function?
2. Name the function used to calculate the total of a set of cells.
3. The syntax of ROUND function is _______.
4. Differentiate between ROUNDUP and ROUNDDOWN functions.
5. Write the function to display the number 67.8675 as 67.86.
6. What does COUNTIF function do?

103
 4.1.2 Statistical functions
Statistical functions operate on a set of data and give summarised results. Spreadsheet
provides a number of statistical functions. A few of them are discussed in this section.
Consider the example of preparing the marklist that we discussed in the previous
section. Let us try to find the average of each subject and display it at the bottom row
of the mark entries. Subjectwise average is calculated for a particular subject by adding
marks of all students and dividing it by the number of students. But in a spreadsheet,
instead of performing this calculation you can directly use the statistical function
AVERAGE. The Function Wizard for the function AVERAGE is shown in Figure 4.11.

Fig. 4.11 : AVERAGE function

AVERAGE function calculates the average of a set of numbers. You can give number1,
number2, number3, etc. Instead of specifying each number, average can also be
calculated for the numbers in a range of cells as shown in Figure 4.12.
Here the function AVERAGE calculates the average value of the numbers stored in the
cells from C3 to C12.
Suppose you want to display the maximum mark and minimum mark in each subject
and also the number of students who appeared for the class test in each subject in the
marklist. Here you can make use of the functions MAX, MIN and COUNT.
The function MAX returns the maximum value from a set of numbers. You can specify
individual numbers number1, number2, number3, …or a range of values in this function.

104
 4. Data Analysis using Spreadsheet

Fig. 4.12 : AVERAGE function for range of values

The MIN function returns the minimum value within a set of numbers. The function
syntax is same as MAX.

Fig. 4.13 : COUNT function

COUNT function counts how many values are there in the list of arguments. It can also
count number of values within the specified range as shown in Figure 4.13.
The subject average, subject top score, subject minimum and the number of students
appeared for each subject obtained with the help of various statistical functions are
shown in Figure 4.14. The syntax of different statistical functions are summarised in
Table 4.2.

105
 Fig. 4.14 : Results of statistical function

Function Syntax Description

AVERAGE Calculates the average of a given set of
(Number1, numbers. Number1, Number2, ... must be
AVERAGE ( )
Number2, numerical values. It can also calculate the
Number3, … ) average of numbers in a range of cells. It is
given as AVERAGE(StartCell:EndCell).
MAX (Number1, Gives the maximum value in a list of numbers.
Number2, It can also return the maximum value in a range
MAX ( )
Number3, …) of cells.
Gives the minimum value in a list of numbers. It
MIN (Number1,
can also return the minimum value in a range of
MIN ( ) Number2,
cells.
Number3, … )
COUNT (Value1, Counts the number of values in the list of
COUNT ( ) Value2, Value3, …) arguments. Value1, Value2, Value3, … are
values. It can also count the number of values
in a range.
Table 4.2 : Statistical functions

Check yourself

1. Which function is used to find the highest value in a range of cells?

2. The function used to find the lowest value from a set of numbers is _______.
3. Name the function to find number of values in a range of cells.
4. Write the function to display the average of 30, 50, 40, 48.
5. How do you display the number of students with value 'A' in the range D3: D13?

106
 4. Data Analysis using Spreadsheet

4.1.3 Logical functions

Logical functions are used for checking a test condition. Consider a situation where you
need to display a result 'Pass' or 'Fail' for each student, depending on the mark or
percentage of marks scored. For this, a particular condition is to be tested. Let us
consider that a student has passed if he/she gets a total mark of 40% or more. So the
condition will be based on the percentage of total score.
The logical function IF is used to test a condition. If the condition is true, then one action
is taken; if the condition is false, then another action is taken. Figure 4.15 shows the
structure of IF function in the Function Wizard.

Fig. 4.15 : IF function

The structure of an IF function is:
=IF (Test, Then_value, Otherwise_value)

IF function has three parts - Test, Then_value and Otherwise_value as indicated in

Function Wizard ( Figure 4.15). We can specify a condition that is to be evaluated in
Test. Here the condition can be evaluated as True or False. If the condition is True,
Then_value is displayed and if the condition is False Otherwise_value is displayed as
the result.
In this example, the percentage of the first student is in the cell K3. Inorder to find
whether a student is 'Pass' or 'Fail' in the cell L3, we need to specify the condition
K3 >= 40 in Test. If the condition is True, then we print 'Pass' as the result. It is given in
the Then_value. If K3 is less than 40, the result should be displayed as 'Fail'. It is

107
 specified in Otherwise_value. On clicking the OK button the result will be displayed in
the cell L3. Copy the function to the other cells of the column. Now our mark list looks
as shown in Figure 4.16.

Fig. 4.16 : Marklist with result

Through the above example, we decided whether a student is considered as ‘Pass’ or
‘Fail’ based on the percentage of the total mark. Usually a student is decided ‘passed’
if he/she scores pass marks in all the subjects. In this case, instead of checking the total
percentage, we have to check the marks of each subject. Here the function AND comes
to our help. The AND function allows to check many conditions. It will return True, if all
the conditions are evaluated to be True; otherwise it will return False. Here a student
who scores 20 or more in all subjects is considered 'Pass'. The structure of AND function
is shown in Figure 4.17.

Fig. 4.17 : AND function

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 4. Data Analysis using Spreadsheet

Using AND function we can test up to 30 conditions. The maximum number of conditions
that can be tested may change depending on the version of the spreadsheet package
used. Each condition can return either True or False. In our example the AND function
can be specified as
=AND ( C3>=20, D3>=20, E3>=20, F3>=20, G3>=20, H3>=20 )

The result will be True if the scores of all subjects are greater or equal to 20. If the score
of any subject is less than 20, the function will return False. We can say that a student
has passed if AND function returns True and failed if the AND function returns False.
The OR function is another logical function. The result of OR function will be True, if any
of the conditions is True and will be False if all the conditions are False. In our example,
a student fails if he scores less than 20 marks for any of the subjects. So the result of a
student can be determined using the OR function as
=OR ( C3<20, D3<20, E3<20, F3<20, G3<20, H3<20 )

Here the result will be true if the score of any of the subject is less than 20. That is if OR
function returns True, we can say the student is failed, and if it is False the student is
passed.
The NOT function is used in situations where we need to get the reverse of logical test.
That is, if the condition is evaluated to true, NOT function returns False, otherwise it
returns True.
The logical functions in spreadsheet give either True or False as result. The syntax of the
different logical functions are given in Table 4.3.
Function Syntax Description
IF ( ) IF (Test, Then_value, If the condition is True, Then_value is
Otherwise_value) returned; else Otherwise_value is returned.
AND ( ) AND (Logical value1, Returns True if all the conditions are True;
Logical value2, …..) otherwise returns False.
OR (Logical value1, Returns True if any of the condition is True;
OR ( )
Logical value2, …..) returns False if all the conditions are False.
NOT(Logical value) Reverses the value of its argument. That is,
NOT ( )
if test condition is evaluates to True, then
NOT returns False and if the test returns
False, NOT returns True.
Table 4.3 : Logical functions

109
 Check yourself

1. The function used to test a condition is_______.

2. Multiple test conditions can be combined with _______functions.
3. Which function is used while combining more than one test conditions and
the result will be true if any of the condition is true?
4. Name the category of functions which returns either TRUE or FALSE as
result.

4.1.4 Text functions

There are many text or
character manipulation
functions in a spreadsheet. The
important text manipulation
funtions are explained below.

UPPER
It converts a text to the upper
case (capital letters). Only the
lower case (small letters) letters Fig. 4.18 : UPPER function
in the text are converted to the
upper case. Other characters in the text remain in the same form. Here we can give a
text as the argument. The argument can be a cell address also. The structure of UPPER
function in the Function Wizard
is shown in Figure 4.18.

LOWER
The LOWER function converts
a text to the lower case. Here
only the upper case letters in the
given text are converted to the
lower case.
Fig. 4.19 : LEN function

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 4. Data Analysis using Spreadsheet

LEN
It is used to calculate the
number of characters in
a text.
Figure 4.20 displays the
output of the above text
functions.
In our example, the
Fig. 4.20 : Text function examples
name and e-mail address
of a person is given in cells B1 and B2 respectively. The UPPER function is used to
convert name to uppercase letters and the LOWER function is used to convert email
address lower case letters. The number of characters in the name is also displayed
using LEN function. Note that space is also considered as a character.
The structure and description of commonly used text handling functions are shown in
Table 4.4
Function Syntax Description
UPPER ( ) UPPER(Text) Converts the given text into uppercase
LOWER ( ) LOWER(Text) Converts the given text into lowercase
LEN ( ) LEN(Text) Calculates the length of the text
Table 4.4 : Text handling functions

Check yourself

1. Which function converts an input text into capital letters?

2. Name the function that converts an input text into small letters.
3. The function used to find the number of characters in a cell is _______.

4.1.5 Nested functions

Spreadsheet allows you to include one function inside another function. This is often
required to perform many calculations in a single formula and to produce the desired
output. Placing a function inside another function is called nesting of functions.
Consider Figure 4.14, which shows the results of statistical functions. The subject
averages are 31.7, 39.8, 34.4, 35.2, 31.2 and 35.111. It would be better if we round

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 these values. Here subject average is calculated using the AVERAGE function. As you
have already learned, the ROUND function is used to round a number to the specified
number of decimal places. We can use the AVERAGE function inside the ROUND function.
The function can be written as
= ROUND ( AVERAGE ( C3:C27 ) ,0 )
Now the results will be 32, 40, 34, 35, 31 and 35.
In the case of nested function, the inner function is evaluated first and the outer function
operates on the result of the inner function.
Now let us assign grades to each subject. For this let us insert one column each after
every mark column. We have already discussed how columns can be inserted in the
previous chapter. Grades can be calculated based on the marks scored in each subject
using the following criteria.
It is clear that grades cannot be calculated
Marks Grade by testing a single condition. The IF
function we learned earlier has three parts;
40 or more A
A Test , Then_value and
Below 40 and 30 or more B Otherwise_value. Consider the case of
Below 30 and 20 or more C the first subject (English). In the Test part,
you can specify C3 >= 40. Then_value will
Below 20 D
be 'A' because if the mark is above or
equals 40, the grade is 'A'. The Otherwise_value is not a grade. Here we need to test
another condition C3 >= 30. For this we require another IF function in the
Otherwise_value part. To include a function in another function click button displayed
to the left of each item in the Function Wizard. As shown in Figure 4.21 the function to
find grade can be written as
=IF ( C3>=40,"A",IF ( C3>=30,"B",IF ( C3>=20,"C","D" ) ) )
This can be explained as: if C3 >= 40, then the grade is 'A'. Otherwise, check if C3 >=
30. If this is true, then the grade is 'B'. Otherwise check if C3 >= 20. If true, then the
grade is 'C' otherwise grade is 'D' .

Fig. 4.21 : Nested IF functions

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 4. Data Analysis using Spreadsheet

In the example of the mark list that we discussed, a student is considered passed if he/
she has got 20 marks or more in all the subjects. Earlier, you have seen that the function
AND or OR can be used to test more than one condition. These functions will however
return True or False as result. Here you have to check whether the mark of each
subject is greater than or equal to 20. If we are using an AND function for checking the
marks of individual subjects, it will return True if all the test conditions are True otherwise
returns False. So if an AND function is used in the Test part of the IF function, we can
test multiple conditions. The result 'Pass' can be specified in the Then_value and 'Fail'
will be specified in the Otherwise_value. As we have already learned, the text given in
the Then_value will be displayed, if the Test is evaluated to True and the text in the
Otherwise_value will be displayed if the Test is evaluated to False. So this will give the
desired result.
How will you include an AND
function in the IF function? In
the test section of the IF
function, click on the button
and select AND function. Now
you can set multiple conditions.
The function in the formula bar
will be displayed as Fig. 4.22 : Nesting using IF and AND functions

=IF ( AND ( C3>=20, E3>=20, G3>=20, I3>=20, K3>=20, M3>=20 ) ,"Pass", "Fail")
This nested function, will give you the result as 'Pass' if all the conditions mentioned
inside AND function are evaluated to true. The same thing can be done using OR function.
Figure 4.22 refers to the nesting of IF and AND functions.
From the above discussion it is clear that you can include one function inside another.
This feature makes a spreadsheet a powerful tool for data processing. The final mark
list is displayed as in Figure 4.23.

Fig. 4.23 : Complete Marklist of Humaities class

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 • Calculate the grades of other subjects in the example of
marklist preparation.
Let us do
• Find whether a student is ‘Pass’ or ‘Fail’ by using OR function
inside IF.

4.2 Data manipulation

A spreadsheet is often used to store a large volume of data. It can hold thousands of
records. Usually a column in a sheet contains the same type of data except the column
heading. The data under the column heading 'Mark' will store only numbers that represent
marks scored by students. The data under the column heading 'Date of birth' will be
dates and so on. The data presented in this structure is referred to as a data table. The
mark list is a data table because each column in the mark list contains same type of
data. It is not practical to scroll through the entire worksheet each time to find a particular
record. Sorting and filtering are two powerful features available in spreadsheet that can
be applied in these situations. Sorting allows us to organise the data in specific order
where as filtering finds out records with a specific condition.

4.2.1 Sorting
Consider the marklist in Figure 4.23.In order to prepare a rank list, the student with
highest total comes in the first row, the second highest total in the second row and so
on. It is not easy to find the student record with highest total by scrolling through the
sheet, cutting the row and pasting it as the first row. Then find the student with the next
highest mark and make it the second row, and so on.
Sorting allows us to arrange the data in a table either in ascending or descending order
of one or more columns. To get the rank list, sort the mark list in the descending order
(highest values comes first) of total. The following steps are used for sorting
1. Select the entire table
2. Click Data à Sort from the menu bar. This will display a Sort dialog box as in
Figure 4.24.
3. Select the column from the Sort by drop down list. (Select the column as column
O, the column of Total marks).

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 4. Data Analysis using Spreadsheet

4. Now choose either Ascending or Descending option. (Here we choose Descend-

ing because the data must be sorted in the descending order of total marks).

5. Click OK.

Fig. 4.24 : Sort dialog box

The ranklist is shown in Figure 4.25.

Fig. 4.25 : Rank List

Fig. 4.25 : Ranklist

There are two sort buttons in the Toolbar. Button (A to Z) for sorting data in ascending
order and button (Z to A) for sorting data in descending order. When these buttons
are clicked, the data will be sorted only by the first column in the selection. These
buttons can be used if the data is to be sorted based on a single column.
To consider the data in a range of cells as a table, the following
points are to be noted.

• Do not leave a blank row between column heading and the data, as
the blank row and blank column indicates the end of the table.

• The column headings given at the top of each column must be in a

single cell and make it unique (preferably) within a worksheet.

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 When Sort is clicked from Data menu or using sort buttons, the cells
above, below, to the right and to the left of the current cell will be
selected until it encounters a blank row or column. A spreadsheet treats
the topmost row in the table as the column heading. So they can be
used to specify the sort column instead of column label.

In the Ranklist example, you have sorted the data based on a single column, named
'Total'. If the total of two students is the same, who will get the priority? Here you can
use the option Then by in the Sort dialog box. That is, if there are more than one rows
with the same data in the column specified for sorting, Then by is used to specify which
column is to be considered next for sorting.

Fig. 4.26 : Sort window with multiple sort columns

This can be better explained by
taking your Class Register as
an example. Consider that the
Class Register is being
prepared. Before giving Roll
Number, all the students have
to be ordered in the following
way. Students who have
chosen Malayalam as the
Second Language comes first,
and then those who have chosen
Hindi. In each language, boys
come first, then girls. At last the
Fig. 4.27 : Sorted Class Register
names of the boys and girls in

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 4. Data Analysis using Spreadsheet

each Second Language section are sorted separately in the alphabetical order. The
Sort dialog box is shown in the Figure 4.26. In this dialog box, give Sort by as ‘Sec.
Language’, the first Then by as ‘Gender’ and the second Then by as ‘Name’. Now
click OK button and observe what happens.
The sorted list is given in Figure 4.27. Now the Roll Numbers can be given.
4.2.2 Filtering
Filtering allows us to display only data that meets some criteria. Filtering temporarily
hides the data in a spreadsheet that does not meet the condition. In our Marklist
example we have scores of each student in each subject, grades, total marks and the
result. Now let us prepare a list of students who have passed using the filtering feature
in spreadsheet. There are two types of filtering Autofilter and Standard Filter.
a. Autofilter
Autofilter displays a dropdown list containing all the values in each column and allows
to filter the rows based on values in the list. The steps for filtering using Autofilter are
given below

Fig. 4.28 : Drop down list in the Autofilter

1. Select the entire table.
2. Click on the Data menu.
3. Select Autofilter from the Filter option.
A drop down arrow appears in each column. Click on the arrow in the column for
which we want to specify the condition. In the case of 'Result' column, the screen will
appear as in Figure 4.28.
The drop down list in the 'Result' column displays 'Fail' and 'Pass'. We will select 'Pass'
because we need to get the list of passed students. The result of using Autofilter option
is shown in Figure 4.29.
Observe the result carefully. Row numbers are not in order. This indicates that some
rows were filtered out. This is because they do not satisfy the specified filter condition.
We have specified 'Pass' as the filter criteria.

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 Fig. 4.29 : List of passed students using Autofilter.
Autofilter allows
selection of records When you apply an additional Autofilter on another
that display column of a filtered data range, the other combo
identical values in boxes list only the filtered data.
the specified
column. Here the filter condition is tested for equality. That means it will display the
records that contain the specified value in the column in which Autofilter is applied. It
hides the rows from the result that do not satisfy the criteria.
In addition to filter data based on the values in the column, Autofilter permits to filter
top 10 rows. The top 10 filter works only with numbers. It will display top 10 rows
without sorting.
To display all records again, select the All entry in the Autofilter combo box. To cancel
data filter and display all data, reselect choose Data à Filter à AutoFilter again.
b. Standard filter
Standard Filter is used when the data is to be filtered based on a range of values in
particular data fields (column). It can also be used when multiple conditions are to be
used for filtering. These multiple conditions can be combined with either a logical AND
or a logical OR operator.
Suppose you need the list of students whose percentages are above 75 and who got 'A
grade' in English.
This cannot be done by the Autofilter, as there are two conditions and one of the
conditions does not depend on equality. Standard Filter can be used in this situation.
The first condition is Percentage above 75. The second condition is grade of English
should be 'A'. Both the conditions should be satisfied. Connect the conditions with AND
operator. The Standard Filter window is shown in Figure 4.30.

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 4. Data Analysis using Spreadsheet

Fig. 4.30 : Specifying conditions in Standard Filter

The result of applying Standard Filter is shown in Figure 4.31.

Fig. 4.31 : Result of Standard Filter

To remove a filter, click inside the area where the filter was applied, then choose
Data → Filter → Remove Filter.

Check yourself

1. Arranging data based on ascending or descending order of one or more column

is known as _______.
2. 'Sort' option is available in ________ menu.
3. How can we display the data in a table that meets a specified condition?
4. More than one conditions can be specified in ________ filter.

• Create a table containing the salary details (Employee No,

Name, Designation, Salary) of employees in a company. Sort
Let us do the details of employees in the ascending order of their name.
• Display the details of employees whose Salary is above 10,000
and Designation is 'Accountant'.

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 4.3 Charts
It is much easier to understand data when it is presented graphically. Charts are graphical
representation of numeric data. Charts make it easier for users to compare and understand
statistical data. They can be used for data analysis. Charts can present data entered
into the worksheet in a visual format using a variety of graph types.
Charts are constructed with the numeric data entered in the worksheet. The data can
be individual numbers in a worksheet or a data series within a column or a row. This
section explains how you can create simple charts from the data.
The following are sales details of ABC Ltd. during the four quarters of a year. Carry out
the following steps to create a chart.
1. Select the data range.
2. Select Chart from the Insert menu or click on the chart icon on the Tool bar. This
will display Chart Wizard.
3. Choose a Chart Type. There are many types of charts in spreadsheet like
Column, Bar, Line, Pie, etc. Select Column type.

4. Click on the Data Range. The selected range will be displayed. Ensure it is
correct. If needed, make the necessary changes.

Fig. 4.32 : Chart Wizard dialog box

5. Click Chart Elements and give titles for graph, X axis and Y axis. Here Chart
Title is given as 'Sales Report', titles for X-axis is 'Quarters' and Y-axis is ‘Amount’.
6. Click Finish.

4.3.1 Chart elements

A chart has many elements. Some of these elements are displayed by default, others
can be added as needed. Here are some standard chart elements.

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 4. Data Analysis using Spreadsheet

1. Chart Area : It includes the

entire chart and all its ele-
ments.
2. Chart Title : A chart title is
the descriptive text for a
chart.
3. X-Axis Title : A title given
to the X-axis data range.
4. Y-Axis Title : A title given Fig. 4.33 : Column chart
to the Y-axis data range.
5. X-Axis Category : These are the categories of the data which have been plotted.
These are taken from the first column or first row of your data range.
6. Y-Axis Value : This is the data range marked to plot the data series.

7. Data Labels : The values of the data series plotted.

8. Legends : A legend is a box that specifies the colour, symbol or pattern assigned
to the data series.

4.3.2 Chart types

Spreadsheet provides various types of charts to help you to display data in different
ways as per the need of the viewers. The type of the chart is determined by the type of
the data you are using and presenting. You can create a new chart or can change the
existing chart type.
a. Column charts
This type of chart is commonly used to compare values across categories. They are
best for charts that have relatively small number of data. They represent data in vertical
columns. It is easy to understand and is the default chart type. They give very effective
results to analyse the data of the same category on a defined scale.
b. Bar charts
Bar charts are used to show comparisons between individual items. To make a bar
chart the data should be arranged in the form of rows and columns on a worksheet.
The composition of column or bar can be stacked in more than one colour to represent
the contribution of each portion of the category to the total for that category.

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 c. Line charts
Data represented in columns or rows in a worksheet can be plotted with the help of line
chart. Line charts can be used to display continuous data over time with respect to a
common scale. Thus, Line charts are the best for viewing data trends at equal intervals
of time. The horizontal axis (x-axis) is used to represent the category data and all the
value data is distributed uniformly along vertical axis (y-axis). It is ideal for representing
large data that show trends or changes over time where you want to focus on continuity.
d. Pie charts
Pie chart is used to display how much each part contributes to a total value. It is very
useful in a situation where one has to show the relative proportions. It offers greater
visual clarity. In case of pie chart only one data series is used. If more than one data
series are selected, spreadsheet uses the first series.
When we create a pie chart, the spreadsheet totals the data points in the series and then
divides the values of each data point into the series total to determine how large each
data point's pie slice should be. It is effective where there is small number of data
points. Generally, there can be maximum of five or six data points or slices in a pie
chart. If the points are more in number then it becomes very difficult to interpret the
chart. Besides, it is very important to note that the values to be used in the pie chart

Fig. 4.34(a) : Column chart Fig. 4.34(b) : Bar chart

Fig. 4.34(c) : LIne chart Fig. 4.34(d) : Pie chart

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 4. Data Analysis using Spreadsheet

must be all positive. If there are some negative values, in that case the negative values
will be automatically converted in to positive values. Figure 4.34 displays different
types of charts.
Now let us consider the sales details of ABC Ltd. displayed in Figure 4.35. Here the
data of sales done by three salesmen in the four quarters of the year is given.
Let us draw a column graph
with these data. We have three
series of data corresponding to
each salesman. The range is
selected as A3 to D7. Then
follow the steps used to create
a chart mentioned earlier. On
clicking the Finish button the
Fig. 4.35 : Quarterly report of different salesmen
chart will be displayed as in
Figure 4.36.
Compare this chart with chart
in Figure 4.33. In the previous
chart there is one column
corresponding to each
quarter. Now there are three
columns corresponding to
each salesman. How do you
identify the column of a
particular salesman? Here the
colour legend comes to help. Fig. 4.36 : Bar chart

The legend is shown in the right side of the chart. It tells which is the colour used to
represent each salesman.
Try the same data with other types of charts. This data is not suitable for Pie chart as
this contains three series for each quarter. Pie chart can deal only with one series of
data.

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 Chart Wizard contains more options than we discussed. They are beyond our scope.
Still you can experiment with options available in Chart Type, Data Range, Data Series
and Chart elements.

Check yourself

1. The graphical representation of numeric data is known as _________.

2. The type of chart that supports only one data series is
a) Column b) Bar c) Line d) Pie
3. Which chart is used to show the upward or downward trends in value
over time?

• Prepare a column chart that shows the comparative study of

each subject in the mark list.
Let us do • Tabulate the data of survey related to the source of drinking
water in your locality and draw a pie chart.

Let us sum up
In this chapter we have familiarised ourselves with the spreadsheet. A large amount
of data can be entered in multiple sheets of a workbook. We can perform different
calculations by entering expressions or formula in a cell to perform calculations. In
the first section of this chapter we saw that there are many built-in functions available
in a spreadsheet that make calculations even simpler and comparisons possible.
These functions are categorized into different groups. We have discussed only a few
functions in the spreadsheet. A discussion on all the functions available in a spreadsheet
is beyond the scope of this book. Sorting and filtering are powerful features of the
spreadsheet that makes it an ideal tool for data analysis. In this chapter we also
learnt charts. There are different types of charts in a spreadsheet. Charts can be
used to provide information in a pictorial form. They make it easy to understand
facts.

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 4. Data Analysis using Spreadsheet

Learning outcomes
After the completion of this chapter the learner will be able to
• identify the use of different mathematical functions - SUM, ROUND,
ROUNDUP, ROUNDDOWN and COUNTIF.
• identify the use of different statistical functions - AVERAGE, MIN, MAX
and COUNT.
• identify the use of different logical functions - IF, AND, OR and NOT.
• identify the use of different text functions UPPER, LOWER and LEN.
• sort data in a spreadsheet.
• identify the use of Filtering.
• compare different types of charts.

Lab activities

1. Prepare the salary bill of employees of an organisation with following information

using a spreadsheet: Employee Code, Name of Employee, Designation, Basic
Pay, DA, GrossPay, PF, Net Pay. DA is calculated as 55% of the Basic Pay.
GrossPay = Basic Pay + DA. NetPay = GrossPay - PF. The amounts should be
rounded to the nearest rupee. (Use functions whereever possible.)
2. Prepare a table containing the sales of 10 salesmen. The table consists of Serial
No, Name, District, Actual Sales Amount, Expected Sales Amount, Difference in
Sales and Bonus. Bonus is calculated as if Actual Sales Amount exceeds Ex-
pected Sales Amount, then Bonus is 5%, otherwise Bonus is 3% of Actual Sales
Amount.
a. Sort this table with highest to lowest Bonus. If Bonus is same, sort with highest
to lowest Actual Sales Amount.
b. Filter the salesman in such a way that only those salesmen who have Bonus
more than 10000 and have a positive Difference in Sales are displayed.
Sample questions
Very short answer type
1. What is a function?
2. _________ function is used to calculate the total of a set of cells.

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 3. The syntax of ROUND function is _________ .
4. Name the function that is used to find highest value in a range of cells.
5. Which function is used to find number of values in a range of cells?
6. Which charts are considered suitable for viewing data trends at equal intervals of
time?

Short answer type

1. Differentiate between ROUNDUP and ROUNDDOWN functions
2. How does a function differ from a formula?
3. Explain different mathematical functions.
4. How do you display the number of students with value 'A' in the range D3: D13?
5. Write the function to display the number 67.8675 as 67.86.
6. Explain logical functions.
7. What do you mean by nesting of functions?
8. What is sorting?
9. How do you sort a table of data based on a column?
10. Explain different types of filtering.
11. "Standard filtering offers more flexibility". Explain.

Long answer type

1. Explain the elements of a chart.
2. Write the steps to create a chart.

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 5. Presentation Software

You were familiarized with the presentation software

Key concepts in the previous classes. We use the presentation
software for making a presentation with the help of
• Starting presentation
software graphs, pictures, sounds, videos, etc. A presentation
• Creating a presentation program helps both the speaker and the viewer. The
• Adding new slides presenter can easily convey ideas, and the viewers
• Formatting a slide
o Text formatting - can grasp the ideas better than in mere speech. Thus
Character, Paragraph if we are able to present our ideas graphically with
o Bullets and numbering
sound and visual effects, it will be more effective
o Setting the background -
Slide, Object and productive. This chapter introduces slide
• Adding images to the slide preparation and slide layout facilities available in the
• Slide masters
presentation software. We will also discuss various
• Duplicating and deleting
slides formatting features like adding text, images, tables,
• Inserting a table in a slide background, fonts, animations, sound, videos, etc.
• Inserting a sound file
in the presentation software.
• Inserting a video clip in a
slide Open Office Impress and Microsoft PowerPoint are
• Inserting hyperlinks
• Adding action objects the two popular software available for preparing a
• Drawing figures in the slide presentation. Most of the tools available in these
• Views of slides software are similar.
o Normal
o Outline
o Notes
5.1 Starting presentation software
o Handout
Presentation software is used to demonstrate a
o Slide Sorter
• Using slide animation concept or subject in front of others with the help of
effects pictures, audio and video. A presentation is
• Slide transitions
composed of several slides. Presentation software
• More presentation settings
• Printing a presentation consists of an editor to create attractive slides that

127
 contain graphics and a facility for slide show. Presentation tool facilitates the creation of
presentations on any particular topic like uses of Internet, global warming, social
networking, etc.
Let us prepare a presentation to give awareness about the importance of saving our
environment from various threats. Before we start, we should have a clear idea about
the content and the structure of the presentation. The first slide in the presentation
usually contains the title of the presentation and details of the presenter. The second
slide gives an introduction to the topic. More details about the subject are included in
the succeeding slides. The contents in these slides can be presented with the help of
bulleted lists, images, tables, audio and video. Instead of presenting the matter in
paragraphs, it would be better if they are presented in the form of a bulleted list. After
the contents are presented, it will be better to conclude them in the presentation.
In this chapter, we use Open Office Impress as a tool for creating the presentation.
Note that there may be changes in the features available depending on the software and
its version. When we open Impress, a dialog box showing the Presentation Wizard as
in Figure 5.1 appears on the screen.

Fig. 5.1 : Presentation Wizard dialog box

The three options in this dialog box are Empty presentation, From template and Open
existing presentation.

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 5. Presentation Software

The Empty presentation option is selected by default and then the Create button at the
bottom of the wizard is clicked. The window as in Figure. 5.2 is displayed.

Fig. 5.2 : IDE of presentation software

Let us discuss the different components of this window. On the top of this window
there is a Title Bar with the name of the presentation on it. Below this, a Menu Bar
containing menus like File, Edit, View, Insert, Format, Tools, Slide Show, etc. are
shown. The different Tool Bars like Standard, Presentation, Drawing, etc. are displayed
below it. The Toolbar consists of icons for frequently used commands. On the right
side of the window we can see the Tasks pane. Different slide layouts, master pages,
table designs, custom animation, slide transitions, etc. are available in this Tasks pane.
On the left side there is the Slides pane. It shows the different slides used in the
presentation. The Status Bar is shown at the bottom of the window. At the centre of
this window is the working area on which we can insert text, picture, sound, etc. This
window together with all these components is called the Integrated Development
Environment (IDE) of the presentation.

5.2 Creating a presentation

Let us start creating a simple presentation with Open Office Impress. This section
describes the procedure for this. Suppose you open Impress and opted Empty
presentation, the first slide of our presentation appears.

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 Designing the first slide
Let us give our presentation the title 'Save our Planet - Earth'. By default, the design of
the first slide consists of provisions to add a title and a text. Click on the provision given
for the title and enter heading of our presentation. Similarly, the name and class of the
presenter can also be entered in the box below. After entering the title the slide appears
as in Figure 5.3.

Fig. 5.3 : First slide

Saving a presentation
Now, we can save this file in a folder. For this, click the Save icon in the
Standard toolbar or press the shortcut keys Ctrl + S. While saving the file for the first
time, the Save As dialog box appears as in Figure 5.4. In this dialog box choose the
folder and specify a file name. Click the Save button. Now the file is saved.

Fig. 5.4 : Saving the presentation

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 5. Presentation Software

Opening a presentation
To open an existing presentation, choose File à Open or
Ctrl + O. An Open dialog box appears. Select the file that
we want to open and click Open.
5.3 Adding new slides
While designing presentation, we may need to add more
slides. Let us now add a slide that introduces the topic. Use
the menu item Insert à Slide to add a slide. Here, we choose
the Title Only layout from the predefined layouts in the Tasks
pane (refer Figure 5.5).
Entering text in a slide
In this slide we introduce the topic. Here, we will have a
Fig. 5.5 : Predefined
heading and a narration about the topic. There are two ways
layouts
to add text in a slide. Text can be typed directly in the text
element in a slide or using the Text tool in the Drawing toolbar.
By directly typing the text in the slide
Here, text can be added directly to the title object and the body object. For entering a
text, click on the object as described in Section 5.2. Enter the title as 'Our Earth'.
By using a Text tool
1. Click on the Text icon on the Drawing toolbar.
2. Click and drag to draw a box for the text on the slide.
3. Type the contents in the text box and click outside the textbox to deselect it.

Fig. 5.6 : Entering text in slide

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 Check yourself

1. Name any two popular presentation software.

2. The text tool is available in the _______ toolbar.
3. Give the names of different components of presentation software IDE.
4. Write the shortcut key to open a file.

5.4 Formatting a slide

Formatting a slide is a way in which its contents are arranged and presented. Let us
discuss the methods available in presentation software for making the slides more
attractive. The appearance of slides can be enhanced by formatting the text or by
setting the background of the slide.

5.4.1 Text formatting

Appropriate text formatting can give a presentation a consistent look and feel. Applying
effects to the text in a slide is called text formatting. Text formatting can be classified as
character formatting, paragraph formatting and list formatting.

a. Character formatting
Setting the font face, size, colour
and other effects to the characters
in the slide is called character
formatting. Character formatting
options are available in Format à
Character menu or clicking the
character button in the Text
Formatting toolbar. A Character
dialog box is displayed as shown
in Figure 5.7.
The Font tab of Character dialog Fig 5.7 : Character dialog box
box can be used to select the
desired font face, style (Regular, Bold, Italic and Bold Italic) and the size of the font.
Font Effects tab is used to specify a font colour, gives effects like embossed, engraved,
outlined, shadow, etc. It can also be used to specify the style and colour of underline,

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 5. Presentation Software

overline and strikethrough. The Position tab provides facility to make a text superscript
or subscript. In addition, it allows to set the spacing between the characters.

b. Paragraph formatting
These formatting features apply to a paragraph of text. Indentations, spacing, alignment
and tab setting can be done using this feature. Select Format à Paragraph menu item
or click the paragraph button on the Text Formatting toolbar to view the Paragraph
dialog box as in Figure 5.8.
Indentation of the text, spacing before and after the paragraph and spacing between

Fig. 5.8 : Paragraph dialog box

lines of a paragraph can be set using Indents & Spacing tab of the Paragraph dialog
box. Alignment of a paragraph can be selected from Alignment tab. Tab stops can be
set using Tabs.
After applying the character and paragraph formatting, the presentation appears as in
Figure 5.9.

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 Fig. 5.9 : After applying character and paragraph formatting
5.4.2 Bullets and numbering
Bullets and numbering allow to present a list of items in the slide attractively. Bullets
and Numbering can be accessed using the menu item Formatting à Bullets or using
Bullets and Numbering icon in the Formatting toolbar.
In our presentation about the earth, let us add a new slide about the issues that affect
our environment. For this, we add a new slide and select a layout that contains bullets.
Type the points in the bulleted list. To change the format of the bullets, select the list of
items and then click the Bullets and Numbering icon. The Bullets and Numbering
dialog box as in Figure 5.10 appears.
The Bullets and Numbering dialog box
contains five tabs namely, Bullets,
Numbering type, Graphics, Position and
Customize for formatting the lists. The
Bullets tab is used to set the style of the
bullet. To use a more attractive graphical
bullet, choose a suitable bullet from the
Graphics tab. Numbering type tab
provides option to select the different
numbering styles available. Position tab
allows to set indent, width of numbering
and alignment of the different levels of Fig. 5.10 : Bullets and Numbering dialog
box

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bullets and numbering.

The style and
appearance of the levels
of bullets and numbering
can be modified
according to our
requirements using the
Customize tab of
Bullets and Numbering
dialog box. Now the
Fig. 5.11 : Slide with bullets new slide appears as
shown in Figure 5.11.

5.4.3 Setting the background

We can set different background styles to slides, to make the presentation more beautiful.
The background styles can be set for a slide or an object in the slide.

a. Setting slide background

The background of a slide can be given a
colour, gradient, hatching pattern or bitmap.
This can be done using the menu option
Format à Page and then select the
Background tab from the Page Setup dialog
box as in Figure 5.12.
Setting background colour
A uniform colour can be set as the
background of a slide using the Color option Fig 5.12 : Background tab of Page
in the Fill dropdown box. Choose the desired Setup dialog box
colour from the list of colours displayed
below and then click OK button as in Figure 5.13(a). This will display a confirmation
dialog box as in Figure 5.13(b). This prompts a message to the user stating whether the
background setting is to be applied for all the slides in the presentation or to the current
slide.
After setting the background colour our presentation appears as shown in Figure 5.14

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 Fig 5.13(b) : Confirmation dialog box
Fig 5.13(a) : Choosing a colour for
background

Fig 5.14 : After applying background colour

Applying gradient fill

A gradient fill provides a smooth transition from one colour to another. A gradient fill
can be applied to the background of a slide using the Gradient option in the Fill dropdown
box as shown in the Figure 5.12. Then select a gradient style from the list as in Figure
5.15. When the OK button is clicked, the confirmation dialog box is displayed as in
Figure 5.13(b).

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Fig 5.15 : Choosing a gradient for background

Setting hatching pattern
Fine lines are used in graphic arts to show shading. The process of decorating a slide
using such lines is known as hatching. To apply a hatching pattern to the slide, select
Hatching item from the Fill list as in Figure 5.12.

Setting a bitmap as the background

A bitmap image can be used to fill the background of a slide. Choose the Bitmap
option in the Fill dropdown box as in Figure 5.12.

b. Setting background of an object

We can set the background of an object
or an area in a slide with a uniform colour,
a gradient, a hatching pattern or an image.
This can be done using the Format à Area
menu item. An Area dialog box as in Figure
5.16 is displayed.
To set a background colour of a selected
object, choose the Area tab. Select an
appropriate colour for the object and click
OK button.
Fig 5.16 : Choosing colour for an Area

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 In the same way, a gradient,
hatching pattern or a bitmap
image can be set as the
background of an object.
The Shadow tab is used to
set shadow to an object.
The percentage of
transparency of an object
can be set using the
Transparency tab. Figure Fig. 5.17 : Slide after applying gradient
5.17 shows the slide after
applying gradient to the title object.

5.5 Adding images to a slide

Images can convey a message
effectively to the audience. The effect
of our presentation can be enhanced
by inserting suitable images to it. In our
presentation about earth, let us add a
new slide that displays images of the
various types of pollutions that affect
our environment.
Fig. 5.18 : Image insertion
After adding a new
slide, select a layout that
has a title and facility to
add 4 images. In each
of the 4 content boxes
in the slide, we can add
images by clicking Insert
Picture and browse to
add images. Our new
slide is displayed as
shown in Figure 5.18.
Another method of
inserting images to a Fig. 5.19 : After image insertion

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slide is by selecting Insert à Picture from File menu option. Let us give a background
image to our first slide using the above method. In the Insert Picture dialog box that
appears, browse and select an image. The selected image will be added to the slide.
Note that this image will hide other objects in the slide. To send it to the back of other
objects, right click on the image and choose Arrange à Send to Back. Image and
other objects in the slide can be resized and re-positioned by clicking and dragging.
The new appearance of the first slide is as in Figure 5.19.

5.6 Slide masters

A slide master controls the basic formatting of all the slides in a presentation. A slide
master has a defined set of characteristics for background colour, graphics (logos,
decorative lines, etc.) and placement and formatting of text. A slide master is also called
a template.

5.6.1 Applying slide master

Slide masters are available in the Master Page section of the Tasks pane. Select a
suitable slide master from the available list. This will change all the slides in the presentation
according to the formatting defined in the slide master. After applying the template, our
presentation appears as in Figure 5.20.

Fig. 5.20 : After applying Slide Master

5.6.2 Loading additional slide master

Sometimes in a presentation we may need to mix multiple slide masters. For example,
we may need an entirely different layout for the first slide of the presentation. The Slide
Design dialog box makes this possible. It is available at Format à Slide Design menu
option. Figure 5.21 displays the Slide Design dialog box. In this dialog box use the

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 Load button to select an appropriate
template. Click OK button to apply the
template to current slide (Figure 5.22).
Templates can also be selected at the
time of creating a new presentation.
The Presentation Wizard shown in
Figure 5.1 allows you to create a
presentation from a list of existing
templates.
Fig. 5.21 : Slide Design dialog box

Fig. 5.22 : Slides with multiple templates

Check yourself

1. What do you mean by gradient?

2. Name the different text formatting options in presentation software.
3. How do you add new slides to your presentation?
4. How can you insert an image in a slide?
5. Which of the following controls the basic formatting of all the slides in a
presentation?
a) Gradient b) Hatching Pattern c) Slide Master d) Bitmap fill

• Make five different slides based on any topic that you have
studied this year and give suitable background colour, text
etc.
Let us do

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5.7 Duplicating and deleting slides

Duplicating a slide means making a copy of the same slide. To duplicate a slide, right
click on the slide which is to be duplicated in the Slides pane. From the popup menu
choose Duplicate Slide. A copy of the selected slide is inserted as the next slide.
To delete a slide, right click on the slide in the Slides pane and select Delete Slide from
the popup menu. The selected slide will be removed from the presentation.

5.8 Inserting a table in a slide

Tables are powerful tools to convey structured information quickly. Hence table is an
important tool in presentations. In our presentation about earth, let us insert a table to
list the important days related to environment.

Fig 5.23(a) : Insert Table Fig 5.23(b) : Table toolbar

dialog box
A table can be easily inserted into a slide using Insert à Table menu item. From the
Insert Table dialog box, select the number of rows and columns (Figure 5.23(a)).

The table inserted on the slide can be resized and positioned by dragging it. When a
table is selected, a Table toolbar is displayed (Figure 5.23(b)). This toolbar contains
tools for merging, splitting, giving colours, borders, alignments, etc. to the cells of a
table. This toolbar also
consists of buttons for
inserting or deleting
rows and columns,
setting table properties,
etc. The Tasks pane
shows various
predefined styles of
tables from which we
can select a suitable
style. A Tasks pane can
Fig. 5.24 : A slide with table
also be used to create
a table. This can be done by clicking a suitable design from the Table Design tab in the
Tasks pane. The important days related to environment can be presented using a table
as in Figure 5.24.
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 5.9 Inserting a sound file
At times, it may be necessary to
play sound during the
presentation. In our presentation,
let us insert a poem 'Bhoomikkooru
Charamageetham' by Prof.
O.N.V. Kurup. This poem is
stored as bhoomi.wav. Let us
now create a new slide to insert
this poem. In this slide, first insert
an image of Prof. O.N.V. Kurup.
Now we can insert the sound file.
A dialog box as in Figure 5.25 is Fig. 5.25 : Open dialog box to select sound files
displayed when we select Movie
and Sound option of Insert menu. Click Open button after selecting the audio file. The
new slide is displayed as in Figure 5.26.
We can see that the sound file
is inserted in our slide in the
form of a sound icon. It is set
to begin automatically when
the slide comes on the screen.
If we do not want the sound
icon to appear on the screen,
you can drag it off the slide.
It will be still active but will
not be visible on the slide.
Fig. 5.26 : Slide with sound file
5.10 Inserting video clip in a slide
A video clip can be inserted into a
slide in the same way as we insert
a sound file. Select the movie file
from the Open dialog box that
appears, when we choose Insert à
Movie and Sounds menu. Let us
include a video on pipe compost in
our presentation. The new slide
with the video clip is shown in the Fig. 5.27 : Slide with video clip on pipe compost
Figure 5.27.

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Remember that whenever we need to move our presentation to other computers, both
the presentation and the folder with the movies and sound files must be copied together.
Otherwise, the presentation software will not play the audio or video. This is because
the presentation software loses its link to the specified file in the new computer.

5.11 Inserting hyperlinks

A hyperlink can be inserted into a slide. When we click on the hyperlink, it leads the
viewer to some other documents or slides. To insert a hyperlink, or to customise the
appearance of a hyperlink, select Insert à Hyperlinks from the menu. The Hyperlink
dialog box shown below (Figure 5.28) opens.

Fig. 5.28 : Dialog box for creating or editing hypertext

On the left hand side, select one of the four types of hyperlinks:
• Internet: Used to hyperlink to a web page in the Internet, normally starting with
http://.
• Mail & News: Create or edit hyperlink for email or news address.
• Document: The hyperlink points to a document, sections of a document or to
another slide in the presentation.
• New document: The hyperlink creates a new document of the selected type.
The right part of the dialog box changes according to the choice made for the hyperlink
type. A full description of all the choices and their interactions is beyond the scope of
this chapter.

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 5.12 Adding action objects
In the presentation we can add actions, such as going to another slide, play audio or
video, etc. to an object in a slide. The object can be a shape like a text box or an image.
When the user clicks on it or points to that object, the action will be applied.
5.12.1 Adding a button to move to the first slide
1. Select a slide to insert a button.
2. Choose the Rectangle tool from the Drawing toolbar ( ) and drag it on the
slide to a suitable place such as the lower-right corner of the slide.
3. Right-click on the rectangle and select Interaction from the popup menu (Figure
5.29). The option Interaction is also available in the Slide Show menu. An
Interaction dialog box appears as in Figure 5.30.

Fig. 5.29 : Adding action button

4. Select Goto first slide from the dropdown box for Action at mouse click and
click OK.
5.12.2 Applying interaction method to play audio and video
If we want to play an audio file or a video file
during our presentation, we can use an
interaction button. The button can be created
as explained in the previous section. For this
select the object which is to act as the
interaction button. Then choose the menu
Fig. 5.30 : Interaction dialog box

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item Slide Show à Interaction. In the Interaction dialog box that appears (refer
Figure 5.30), select Go to document item for Action at mouse click setting as in
Figure 5.30. Then browse the sound or movie file that we want to play. Remember that
all the file types that are listed in the dialog box are not supported by the presentation
software.

5.13 Drawing figures in the slide

Presentation allows us to draw figures in a slide. There are many drawing tools available
in Drawing toolbar which is generally displayed below the slides in normal view. Different
shapes, lines, curves, etc. can be used to draw figures in our slide. In our last slide we
will draw a happy earth using symbol shape in the Drawing toolbar. It is shown in
Figure 5.31.

Fig. 5.31 : Slide with a drawing

5.14 Views of the slides
The presentation has five different workspace views from which we can choose. Each
view is designed to perform certain tasks easier. The different views are:
• Normal view (Slide view)
• Outline view
• Notes view Fig. 5.32 : Slide view pane
• Handout view
• Slide Sorter view
The different views can be selected from View pane shown in Figure 5.32.

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 5.14.1 Normal view
It is the main view for creating individual slides. It is used to design and format various
objects in the slide. The whole slide is visible on the screen when normal view is used.
This is the default view in a presentation.

5.14.2 Outline view

Outline view contains all the slides of the presentation in their numbered sequence. It
shows titles, bulleted lists and numbered lists for each slide in outline format. Use this
view to edit titles and text, rearrange the order of items in a list, etc. Outline view
(Figure 5.33) shows only the text in the slides. No graphs or tables can appear in this
view.

Fig. 5.33 : Outline view

Fig. 5.34 :Notes view

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5.14.3 Notes view

Notes view allows us to add notes to each slide. In Notes view each slide is displayed
as a combination of a preview of the slide and a text box to add notes below it. This
view enables the presenter to make notes regarding each slide. Notes can be shown on
the printout but they will not be shown on the screen during the presentation. Figure
5.34 shows the Notes view of our third slide.
5.14.4 Handout view
Handout view is for setting up the layout of a printed handout. Click the Handout tab in
the workspace, and then choose Layouts in the tasks pane. We can then choose to
print 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 or 9 slides per page. The thumbnails of slides will appear in the chosen
format. They can be re-arranged by dragging. We can add headers and footers to the
handout. Figure 5.35 shows the handout view.

Fig. 5.35 : Handout view with layout

5.14.5 Slide Sorter view

Slide Sorter view shows a thumbnail of each slide in the order they are to be displayed
at the time of the slide show. This view is used to rearrange the order of slides or add
transitions between selected slides. Slide Sorter view can be used to work with a single
slide or group of slides. The number of slides displayed in a row can be changed using
the slides per row box in the Slide view toolbar. Using Slide Sorter view we can add
new slide, delete or rename a slide. Also we can change the layout of the slide. All these
options are available in the popup menu appeared in response to a right click on the
thumbnail of the slide.

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 a. Changing the order of slides in a presentation using Slide Sorter view
To move a slide in a presentation using the Slide Sorter view,
1) Click on the slide. A thick border is shown around the slide.
2) Drag and drop it to the required position.
Suppose our aim is to move the fifth slide 'Days to Remember' to the last position.
Click on the slide, drag and drop it to the last position. After sorting, the Slide Sorter
view appears as in Figure 5.36.

Fig. 5.36 : Slide Sorter view

b. Selecting and moving groups of slides
To select a group of slides, click on the first slide then hold the Ctrl key pressed and
then click other slides. Then drag it to the needed position.

5.15 Using slide animation effects

Animations can make a presentation more lively and memorable. Animations are applied
to individual elements on a slide like title, text, image or individual bullet point in a list.
Animation effects need to be applied from Normal view so that we can select individual
objects on a single slide.

Applying an animation effect

In Normal view, choose the desired slide. Select the text or object to animate. When an
object is selected a coloured handle appears around the object. Then choose Custom
Animation from the Task pane as in Figure 5.37.

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Fig. 5.37 : Custom

Animation pane Fig. 5.38 : Custom Animation dialog box

Click the Add button. The Custom Animation dialog box appears as in Figure 5.38.
Choose an effect from one of the pages of this dialog, and choose the speed or duration
of that effect. In our presentation 'Save Earth', select the title and click the Add button
from the Custom Animation pane. From the Entrance tab of the dialog box, select Fly
In and click OK.

There are five tabs in the Custom Animation pane as shown in Figure 5.38. Each tab
contains many effects. You can experiment with different effects.

5.16 Slide transitions

Slide transitions are defined as special effects that play when we display a slide during
a slide show. Roll down from top or Fly in from left are some slide transitions. They
add dynamic styles to a slide show, smoothing the transition between slides. We play
sound or specify the speed of transition in the Modify transition section of the Slide
Transition pane.

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 We can add transitions, in Slide Sorter view or in Normal
view. To see the effect of a selection, we need to be in Normal
view and select the Automatic preview checkbox on the Slide
Transition page of the Tasks pane as in Figure 5.39.

We can apply a single type of transition to all slides in the

presentation or apply a different transition to each slide. Some
of the slide transition settings are given below:

5.16.1 Automatic slide transition

We can set up a slide show to run automatically, either
unattended or while you speak. To set the default time for
slides to be displayed before changing to the next slide, go to
the Slide Transition pane, choose Automatically after in the Fig. 5.39 : Slide
Advance slide section, set a time and click the Apply to All Transition pane
Slides button as in Figure 5.39.

5.16.2 Rehearse timings

While giving a talk using a presentation, the time required for presenting each slide may
differ. The timing for each slide can be determined only after taking a rehearsal.
Presentation software provides a facility to set different timings for different slides. This
option is available at Slide Show àRehearse Timings in the Menu bar. On selecting
this, the slide show begins in full-screen mode, and a timer appears in the lower left-
hand corner of the screen. When we want to advance to the next slide, click the timer.
Continue this process for all slides in the presentation. It records the display time for
each slide. Save the presentation. When we show the slides next time, the time for
displaying of slides will be changed to match what we have set when rehearsing.

5.17 More presentation settings

During presentation there may be a situation where we need to repeat the entire
presentation or play background music throughout the presentation. Let us discuss
these features below:

5.17.1 Auto-repeat presentation

Before an audience or in a seminar, we may have to make a presentation regarding the
events. Such a slide show should auto-repeat until the event starts. For this, open the

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menu Slide Show à Slide Show

Settings as shown in Figure 5.40. Select
Auto from Type option in this dialog box.

5.17.2 Background sound for a

presentation
We can use the Slide Transition pane
to set a sound or a song to be played
throughout the presentation.
Select the slide in which the sound is to
be inserted. In the Modify transition Fig 5.40 : Slide Show settings dialog box
section of the Slide Transition pane
(refer Figure 5.39), choose Other Sound … from the Sound dropdown box. Select
Loop until next sound checkbox if we want the sound to restart once it is finished. Do
not select the Apply to all slides button as it will re-start the music at every slide
change.

5.18 Printing a presentation

Keeping a printed copy of the presentation will be helpful to the presenter during a
presentation as a reference. A hard copy of the presentation may be given to the audience
for future reference. Presentation software provides many options for printing a
presentation such as a single slide per page, multiple slides on one page, slide with
notes, outline or handout. The slides can be printed in their original colour, grayscale or

Fig. 5.41 : Print dialog box

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 in black and white. For printing a presentation, choose File à Print to display the
Print dialog box (refer Figure 5.41).
Choose the required settings from the options and click the Print button. A preview of
the page to be printed is also available in this dialog box.

Check yourself

1. To remove a transition effect select ________ item in the list on the slide
transition page in the Tasks pane.
2. Define the term slide transition.
3. Give any three items present in the slide transition pane.
4. What do you mean by action button in a slide?
5. Write the steps to insert a transition effect to slide of a presentation you
have created.

• Suppose you get a movie file that shows working of a laser

printer. Insert this movie file on the slide and play it by clicking
the picture of that printer.
Let us do

Let us sum up
An effective presentation helps to convey ideas to the audience better than a mere
speech. Presentation software enables presenting the topic with the help of pictures,
sounds, videos and animations. Slides can be prepared and its content can be
formatted by inserting text boxes, setting the background colour and patterns. The
various built-in templates called master pages can be used to make the presentation
attractive. Formatting can be done to a particular area in the slide or to the entire
slide. The different styles of bullets and numbering available can be used if required.
Facilities to insert images or draw pictures on the slides are available in presentation
software.
Presentation software provides different slide views that support the presenter. Tables
inserted in a slide can be formatted using different built-in formats available or can
be customised. Movies and sound can be inserted in the slides. Different built-in
transition effects can be set to slides. Animations given to the objects in the slide
make a presentation attractive. We can create hyperlinks in a slide that provides
links to documents or websites. Various printing options are available to print the
slides, notes, handouts, etc.

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Learning outcomes
After the completion of this chapter the learner will be able to
• identify the use of presentation software and its features.
• create slides by entering text and formatting it.
• insert various objects like images, tables, audio, video, etc.
• make the slides attractive using transitions and animation.
• identify the different slide views and its use.
• familiarise with various printing options.

Lab activities

1. Create a presentation on the ‘Importance of growing vegetables’. Give proper

formatting to background and text of slides. Insert pictures, tables, etc. that en-
courages growing vegetables. Presentation should consist of atleast 8 slides.
2. Design a presentation on ‘Blood donation’. Give a suitable template for your
presentation. Links to different websites should also be given in the slide. Presen-
tation should consist of atleast 8 slides.
3. Design a presentation on the topic 'Input and Output Devices'. Complete the
presentation by inserting pictures of these devices in the slides and set timings for
transitions according to their content.
Sample questions
Very short answer type
1. What are the two different ways of inserting a text into a slide are?
2. How can you insert an image into a presentation?
3. Name the view that helps to change the order of slides.
4. What is a hatching pattern?

Short answer type

1. What are the different types of numbering possible in presentations?
2. What do you mean by hatching? Write the steps to insert a hatching pattern to
slides?

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 3. Discuss the different ways of inserting a sound file to a slide.
4. How can you play background music in presentation?
5. Explain how tables can be inserted into slides.
6. What do you mean by rehearse timings in slide transition?
7. Give the steps to insert action buttons in a slide. Explain its use.
8. What do you mean by hyperlink? How do you insert hyperlinks in a slide?

Long answer type

1. Explain the different slide views.
2. Explain the IDE of a presentation software.

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