{S:X;X;0;2;If you are new to Resultz then I suggest that you read the [ReadMe] file in the Documents directory before trying to use Resultz.}
{S:X;X;0;3;What is a Spreadsheet?{ITR-X}{ITR-X}When I am asked \‘What are microcomputers used for most?\’ I reply either \‘Playing Games\’ or \‘Word Processing\’ depending on the age and interests of the questioner. A word processor is an application which lets you enter text into your computer from a keyboard, edit it, check your spelling, move words, phrases, sentences or paragraphs around and, when you are satisfied, print the result. A spreadsheet is an application into which you type numbers and formulae\\\; in a flash the spreadsheet calculates and displays the result of substituting your numbers into the formulae you have provided. Any sum that you can do on a scientific, business or statistical calculator can be done on a spreadsheet. Spreadsheets are particularly useful if you have to do the same or a similar calculation many times.}
{S:X;X;0;4;Possibly the reason that spreadsheets are less popular than word processors is that the average microcomputer owner can\’t see an immediate use for \‘doing sums\’ to the same extent as they can see uses for writing words. I think another reason is that being non-numerate is more acceptable socially if not educationally than is being illiterate. The uses of \‘sums\’ range from simple Percentages and Ratios such as VAT and miles per gallon through Financial Calculations such as finding the book value of an asset amortized through a sinking fund, Statistical Analysis of say, the annual pattern of sunshine or new car registrations, to the Engineering Design of a new suspension bridge or Forecasting the effects of widening the M25 motorway or annihilating a rain forest.}
{S:X;X;0;5;What Spreadsheet Packages are Available?{ITR-X}{ITR-X}Pencil and paper spreadsheets were used by engineers and accountants long before they were \‘computerised\’ (computerisation of spreadsheets was an invention of the late 1960s, ten years before the microcomputer). The software engineers who created these early spreadsheet programs, to their everlasting credit, took into account the centuries of expertise hard won by their predecessors. That is one reason why it is so very hard to improve on the main features of spreadsheets. In the late 1980s, without doubt the most popular and definitive spreadsheet for microcomputers was one which runs under MS DOS on PCs, ATs and the like called Lotus 1-2-3. Another, Excel, is the biggest seller on the Apple Mackintosh and, more recently, it has been \‘ported\’ to run in the Windows PC environment (a Graphic User Interface similar to the Archimedes Desktop). Excel (running under PC Windows) is now rivalling Lotus 1-2-3.}
{S:X;X;0;6;For the old BBC B and Master, Acorn\’s Viewsheet, Computer Concepts\’ Intersheet and BBC Soft\’s Ultracalc were popular and they will run on the Archimedes under BBC emulators. However, if you are to do justice to the Archimedes, then you need software which is multi-tasking under RISC OS. As I write (it is August 1993) multi-tasking spreadsheets available for the Archimedes are PipeDream and now Resultz from Colton Software, Clares\’ Schema and Longman Logotron\’s Eureka.}
{S:X;X;0;7;PipeDream has a long history. The earliest, PipeDream 1, was known as View Professional. PipeDream 2 was (and still is) available as a single tasking application for the Archimedes, for PCs under MS DOS and for the portable Z88 (the keystrokes are identical and the files can be transferred between machines). PipeDream 3 and PipeDream 4 are multi tasking versions which run under RISC OS which have more facilities than PipeDream 2 but reduced portability between platforms. As far as I know there will not be a PipeDream 5. Colton Software\’s new spreadsheet, Resultz, with its GUI interface, custom functions, graphs, arrays and variable names is more like the powerful Excel which makes Lotus look rather old-fashioned.}
{S:X;X;0;8;Getting Started{ITR-X}{ITR-X}The objective of this series of articles (continued on later ZLine discs) is to bridge the gap between the Resultz User Guide provided by the Colton Software and Specialist Training Courses for the use of spreadsheets in Accountancy, Geography, Engineering, Management, Science, Statistics, etc, by experts in these fields. I hope that later issues of ZLine will include articles by industrial, commercial and business experts who use Resultz.}
{S:X;X;0;9;I shall assume that you are able to start up the Archimedes, that you have successfully installed Resultz and that you are familiar with using the mouse to control the WIMPS environment\—at least so far as understanding the meaning of phrases such as \‘click the mouse select button\’ and \‘drag a file from the directory viewer into the Resultz spreadsheet\’. Apart from this, everything you need to do will be explained in plain English (no unexplained technical jargon) and you will learn by working through structured examples.}
{S:X;X;0;10;The Example{ITR-X}{ITR-X}Do not use the original files from this ZLine disc. Copy all the files in this directory to another \‘working\’ disc so that, if anything should go wrong, then your originals will be safe.}
{S:X;X;0;11;In this directory is an example called [Mileage]. Load it now and, if you can, take a printout. Rather than use the [Mileage] file on this disc I suggest that you try to make your own from scratch following the instructions below, however, if at any stage you have a problem, then you might find it useful to \‘cheat\’ a little by loading the finished version.}
{S:X;X;0;12;Unlike PipeDream, if you have already loaded a file with a leafname (eg Mileage) then Resultz (like Wordz and all the members of the Fireworkz set) will not allow you to load or use a second file with the same leafname. For that reason I suggest that you call your file [MyMileage] rather than [Mileage].}
{S:X;X;0;13;Creating a New Blank Spreadsheet{ITR-X}{ITR-X}Open a directory viewer containing the !Resultz application and double click using the mouse \‘select\’ (left) button on the !Resultz icon and Resultz will be installed on the icon bar. Load the Resultz template file [ZLSheeT] from the Templates directory by double clicking the mouse select (left) button on the file. Use [ZLSheeT] your starting point. Place it in a suitable position on your screen.}
{S:X;X;0;14;When the template file has loaded make sure that the file title (at the top of the window) starts with \“Resultz:\”\\\; if it doesn\’t (for example it might start with \“Wordz:\”) then delete it and try again but this time load it by dragging the file onto the Resultz icon (the one installed on the icon bar).}
{S:X;X;0;15;Moving Across the Sheet{ITR-X}{ITR-X}The sheet you have consists of five columns (a to e) and one row (number 1). You will see that the column border (across the top) has five \‘buttons\’, a, b, c, d and e representing the columns and one row \‘button\’, 1. The a button and the 1 button are in a slightly darker shade of grey, as if the buttons have been pushed in. This, and the position of the rectangular box, indicated that you are \‘in\’ slor a1. It is more correct to say that the \‘input focus\’ is slot a1 meaning that anything which you type in at the keyboard is intended for entry into slot a1.}
{S:X;X;0;16;You can move the input focus from column a to column b by tapping the right arrow key which you will find between the QWERTY keyboard and the numeric pad. You will see the rectangle move to the right and the b button will appear as if it has been pushed in. You can move back from b to a by using the left arrow key.}
{S:X;X;0;17;Adding Rows{ITR-X}{ITR-X}Tap <Return> a five times and you will see five new rows (2, 3, 4, 5 and 6) added at the bottom of the sheet as the input focus (the rectangle) is moved into a2, a3, a4 etc. Move back up the sheet using the up arrow key. The down arrow key moves you down again but it will not create new rows. From anywhere in the sheet you can return to row 1 by holding down <Ctrl> and tapping the up arrow key.}
{S:X;X;0;18;An alternative method of moving around the sheet it by using the mouse. Position the pointer over a slot and click the select button to make that slot the input focus.}
{S:X;X;0;19;Text, Numbers and Formulae{ITR-X}{ITR-X}You may be wondering whether you\’re going to create a working spreadsheet at all from this article! Yes! You are going to use the spreadsheet to work out miles per gallon from miles and gallons. The spreadsheet, when complete, will look like the file [Mileage] in this directory. Load it when you feel the need to do so, have a look at it or, if you like, keep it in a separate window on the screen so that you can check how you are getting along.}
{S:X;X;0;20;Move the input focus into slot a3 and type the word Distance (as it appears here, without inverted commas) and you will see it in the formula line just to the right of the cross and tick buttons. If you make a mistake you can use the <Delete> key to delete a character at a time or <Ctrl U> (hold down <Ctrl> and tap u or U) to delete everything in the formula line. When you are satisfied you have Distance then tap the <Return> key. The word Distance appears in the slot a3 left justified. Tap <Return> again to move the input focus into slot a4 and type in Fuel the same way. Enter Mileage into a6. All these three entries are text.}
{S:X;X;0;21;When you have made an entry in the formula line an alternative to tapping <Return> is to click select on the green tick. Some people prefer to use the keyboard (the <Return> key) and some prefer to use the mouse. If you have been typing away in the formula line and decide that, after all, you don\’t want to change the original entry, then you can either click select on the red cross or tap the <Escape> key.}
{S:X;X;0;22;Now for two numeric entries. In slot b3 type 103 and tap <Return>. One difference from text entries which you should notice is that the number is right justified and that the value is shown as 103.00 (two decimal places) in the slot. Being a number it also appears at the top of the spreadsheet in the formula line. In the same way enter 5 in slot b4 to show 5.00.}
{S:X;X;0;23;The next entries are formulae. Move the input focus to b6 and enter the formula for miles per gallon, b3/b4. The / means that the value in b3 is divided by the value in b4 and the result is displayed in b6. When you tap <Return> or click on the green tick the calculation is carried out automatically, the value 20.60 appears in slot b6 but it is the formula (b3/b4) and not the value (20.60) which appears in the formula line.}
{S:X;X;0;24;There are 1.609344 Km in a mile and 4.54596 litres in a gallon so enter the formula 1.609344*b3 into d3, the formula 4.54596*b4 into d4 and the formula d3/d4 into d6. By the way, the * acts like a multiplication sign and the / as a division sign\\\;}
{S:X;X;0;25;Complete your spreadsheet by entering the text phrase Mileage Calculation in slot b1, Miles into c3, Gallons into c4, Km into e3 and Litres into e4.}
{S:X;X;0;26;Now check that your sheet looks like the [Mileage] spreadsheet on this disc.}
{S:X;X;0;27;What if?{ITR-X}{ITR-X}Spreadsheets are very good for What if? questions. Go back to slot b3 and type in another number. When you press <Return> or click the mouse select (left) button on the green tick, the values in slots b6, d3 and d6 will also change. Try smaller and larger numbers until you are satisfied that you are familiar with the technique and understand what is happening.}
{S:X;X;0;28;Saving Your Work{ITR-X}{ITR-X}If you have the full version of Resultz and not the demo disc version then you can save your work. Tap the function key <F3> or click the mouse select (left) button on the Save file button (it looks like a blue floppy disc) near the top of your Resultz file window. Delete the name which appears in the dialogue box (you can do this with <Ctrl U>) and type in [MyMileage]. Drag the Resultz icon (which appears just above the dialogue box into which you typed the new file name) and drag it into your directory viewer. A new file called [MyMileage] will appear in the directory viewer confirming that you have just saved the file.}
{S:X;X;0;29;Closing Down Resultz{ITR-X}{ITR-X}Click the menu button over the Resultz icon on the icon bar and then click select on Quit. The removal of the Resultz icon from the icon bar shows that you have successfully closed down the Resultz application. Never switch off without closing down an application. If you have RISC OS 3 then you can use <Ctrl Shift F12> to close all applications.}
