With these preliminary considerations in mind, let's look at how such tasks can be performed with PlanMaker.
To do so, start PlanMaker now.
On Windows, PlanMaker looks as follows:
The worksheet takes up most of the program window. The top of the worksheet is bordered by a bar with letters and by a bar with numbers on the left.
Let's take a closer look at the worksheet:
The structure of a spreadsheet
As you already know from the Basics chapter, a worksheet is divided into rows and columns. They are also indicated by the gray lines that are displayed in the worksheet.
The cell in the top left corner is surrounded by a dark border. This is called a cell frame. It indicates which cell is currently active.
When you type something, it is always entered in the active cell.
You can use the arrow keys on your keyboard, e.g., â and à, to move the cell frame from one cell to another.
When doing so, take a look at the display panel on the left above the worksheet: PlanMaker displays the address of the currently active cell. The address always consists of one or two letters and a number:
"A1" means "column 1, row 1".
"A5" means "column 1, row 5".
"D5" means "column 4, row 5", etc.
The fact that each cell has a unique address is the key to all functions of a spreadsheet: This allows you to enter calculations in any cell that relate to other cells – for example, to form the sum of cells. You don't even need to deal with variables like a, b, c, as you just use the coordinates of the cells.
This is like handing someone a worksheet and asking them, for example, "Please add the numbers in the second, third and fourth rows of the second column".